‘Theologising in the Shadow of the Pandemic’ seminar series

As part of the Sydney College of Divinity’s ‘Theologising in the Shadow of the Pandemic’ seminar series, on 28 May 2021, Associate Professor Ben Myers presented a paper on ‘The Uses of Adversity: George Herbert and the Christian Experience of Affliction’. Dr Andrew Mellas from St Andrew’s Theological College was the respondent to Professor Myer’s paper, which explored a Christian understanding of suffering through a close reading of George Herbert’s poems of affliction. Responding to this poetic portrayal of affliction as a form of participation in Christ, Dr Mellas drew on the hagiography and hymnography of Byzantium, investigating how the poetry of Herbert echoed Christian themes in the lives of martyrs and Byzantine hymns.