8 /26 TO BHMA The Greek Australian VEMA
The Bradshaws accompanied by the course coordinator, the Very Revd Fr Dr Doru Costache, and the students.
The First Fruits of Spring at St Andrew’s Theological College:
Professor David Bradshaw’s Lectures on Ancient Greek Philosophy
The new ecclesiastical year has com- its good friend, Professor David Brad- Mrs Mary Bradshaw (both of whom are
menced at St Andrew’s with joy and en- shaw (Department of Philosophy, Uni- Orthodox Christians). To be sure, the in-
lightenment thanks to the second visit of versity of Kentucky, USA) and his wife, ternationally renowned scholar has
added to the prestige of the College over
the past few years as a member of the
editorial board of - and contributor to -
the biannual journal, Phronema, as a
guest lecturer for certain units in patris-
tic theology, and as a main speaker at
various public events.
I first met Prof. Bradshaw in 2013,
when he delivered a keynote paper at
the College’s Patristic Symposium on St
Cyril of Alexandria. During the lunch
break he graciously made time for us to
Helen Battalis m: 0428 871 196 discuss the philosophy of Gennadius
International & Domestic p: 1300 365 688 Ext 735 Scholarius, in which I was interested at
Consultant the time. I also had the pleasure of at-
e: hbattalis@mtatravel.com.au tending the Round Table that he had just
City Beach WA
participated in at St Andrew’s (i.e. ‘Ex-
panding Reason: the Christian Transfor-
mation of Philosophy in the World of the
www.mtatravel.com.au/hbattalis Fathers’). One can therefore imagine my
ATAS A10541 IATA 0235190-4
excitement - as well as that of my col-
There are many available travel destinations and amazing opportunities. leagues and fellow students - upon learn-
ing that he had once again accepted the
Join my monthly email newsletter to receive alerts for HOT DEALS. invitation of Protopresbyter Dr Doru
Simply log on to my webpage featured below, click on RECEIVE DEALS Costache (Senior Lecturer in Patristic
Studies) to visit our humble campus.
(top right corner) and subscribe! This year Prof. Bradshaw lectured as a
(your email details will be strictly confidential guest over the course of four days for the
postgraduate unit coordinated by Father
and not used for any other purpose) Doru entitled ‘Classical Philosophy and
www.mtatravel.com.au/hbattalis the Church Fathers’. On the second day
he also delivered the public lecture ‘Why
Alternatively, just send me an email with the subject line HOT DEALS Orthodoxy Needs Ancient Greek Philoso-
and I will sign you up! phy’ to an enthusiastic audience of fifty
people (many of whom were first-time
visitors to St Andrew’s).
Whilst my duties as the College’s I.T.
and Registry Officer often required my
SPECIALISTS IN THE ART OF TRAVEL
attention elsewhere, I had the privilege
and pleasure of attending many of the
professor’s lectures. The scope of his
MEMBER marvellous expose extended from the
time of the poet Hesiod to that of the
first Neo-Platonist, Plotinus (about one
thousand years). It isn’t often that one
OCTOBER 2015
has the opportunity to learn about Pre-
Socratic philosophy, Pythagorism, Pla-
tonism, Aristotelianism, Epicureanism,
Scepticism, Stoicism, and Neo-Platonism
from a scholar of his calibre in an envi-
ronment as amiable as that of St An-
drew’s.
I particularly enjoyed Prof. Bradshaw’s
dynamic and varied method of teaching.
For instance, in one session he would
outline the influential ideas of a particu-
lar Greek sage, situating them within
their broader socio-political and intellec-
tual contexts. In another, he would me-
thodically examine an ancient text, iden-
tifying its similarities with Christian liter-
ature. In fact, he encouraged us to share
our own thoughts on the philosophical
conundrums faced by the Hellenes, such
as the difference between form and mat-
ter, the nature of time and motion, and
the relation between the mundane and
the divine. He thus helped us determine
the relevance of classical and late an-
tique philosophy for our everyday lives,
including our mutual vocation as stu-
dents of theology. Prof. Bradshaw also
demonstrated his altruism and skill by
clarifying the more difficult concepts we
encountered whilst drawing analogies to
basic arithmetic and geometry.
Of particular interest to me were Prof.
Bradshaw’s reflections on the ,LJŵŶ ƚŽ
ĞƵƐcomposed by the Stoic philosopher
Cleanthes. Interestingly, Cleanthes prai-
sed a single god for the splendour of the
created order in a manner reminiscent of
the Psalms. As highlighted by the profes-
sor, the Stoic implores Zeus to enlighten
those who defy his will in the hymn’s
concluding petition. Suffice it to say
thatwe were all delighted to discover
that Stoic piety was often similar to that
of the Church.
On a personal note it was a wonderful
and fitting coincidence that on the final
day of Prof. Bradshaw’s lectures, my bro-
OCTOBER 2015 The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 9 /27

ŽŶƚ͘ĨƌŽŵƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐƉĂŐĞ

ther Mario (Associate Lecturer in Church

History at St Andrew’s) obtained his
Doctor of Philosophy degree from the
University of Sydney.
Upon his return from the graduation
ceremony, Father Doru warmly congratu-
lated Mario in the presence of the pro-
fessor and the students, joyfully encour-
aging him to undertake new scholarly
and ecclesial initiatives in a spirit of
Christian compassion. Left: Prof. Bradshaw. Right: On Monday 21 September, His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos (College Dean) welcomed Professor David
Let me now highlight a few aspects of Bradshaw and his wife Mrs Mary Bradshaw to St Andrew's. Here they are pictured together with His Grace Bishop Iakovos
Prof. Bradshaw’s public lecture, which of Militoupolis (College graduate).
was met with much acclaim (as demon-
strated by the numerous requests that
I’ve received to post footage of the event
on YouTube!).
Having been introduced by Father GreekOrthodoxArchdioceseofAustralia
Doru, he began by reciting a moving
question that had been presented to him The CENTRAL PHILOPTOCHOS (Welfare) Australia
by one of the students, namely: how
might a Christian intellectually engage in conjunction with the
with loved ones who dismiss the very no-
tion of faith?
To answer this difficult question, the Greek Orthodox Parishof St. Nicholas
professor examined Plato’s WŚĂĞĚŽ, un-
derscoring Socrates’ assertion that rea- in aid of the
son is given to humans by the gods so
that they might live virtuously. Both
Socrates and Plato maintained that since
the gods are good they honour those
who earnestly seek the truth while at- Greek Welfare Centre
tempting to live by reason. Prof. Brad-
shaw noted that Socrates also speaks of
an afterlife and divine judgment within
the WŚĂĞĚŽ despite the sceptic chal-
lenges posed to him in relation to the
soul’s immortality. In a manner worthy
39th Walk-a-thon
of imitation, the professor gently refuted
modern sceptics by describing how
Socrates had put his faith in reason
whilst acknowledging that all investiga-
Sunday, 1st November 2015
tions of the truth ultimately depend up-
on the former.
I could easily see that the audience
was greatly impressed by Prof. Brad-
Greek Orthodox Parish of “St Nicholas”
shaw’s sensitivity and discernment, best
reflected by his concluding remarks. In
203-207 Livingstone Rd, Marrickville
short, he stated that in the Scriptures
and the other writings of the saints,
Registrations:11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Christ – the supreme truth – invites all of
humanity to know him as a person. He
Start of Walk:1:00 pm
then expressed his admirable conviction Glendi:2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
that Plato would have rejoiced if he had
known that the quest for truth would no
longer be limited by faith, but could cul-
minate in personal experience.
Prof. Bradshaw’s knowledge of the ma-
WIN LOTS OF PRIZES!!!
jor classical and late antique thinkers is Travel vouchers (value $3000), Laptop, Jewellery,
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His admiration for Socrates in particu-
lar is inspiring. It is needless to state that
we hope that he will continue to cross
the Pacific in order to share his philo-
sophical insights with the Orthodox faith-
ful in Australia.

For more information on Prof. Brad-

shaw’s important research, visit the foll-
wing website: ŚƚƚƉƐ͗ͬͬƉŚŝůŽƐŽƉŚLJ͘ĂƐ͘
ƵŬLJ͘ĞĚƵͬƵƐĞƌƐͬĚďƌĂĚƐŚ

For snippet videos from his various FOR RAFFLE TICKETS &FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
presentations at St Andrew’s, see the fol-
lowing link: ǁǁǁ͘LJŽƵƚƵďĞ͘ĐŽŵͬƵƐĞƌͬ
^'KdͬǀŝĚĞŽƐ 378A King Street (PO Box 784) Newtown NSW 2042
T: (02) 9516 2188 F: (02) 9516 3177 E: admin@gwccs.org.au
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