The second instalment of the Cathedral Talks: Wisdom and Light—An Introduction to the Philosophy of the Greek Church Fathers was successfully held at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Redfern, on Monday 24 August 2026, with approximately 40 people in attendance to hear an engaging presentation by Dr Samuel Kaldas, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

The evening commenced with a welcome from the Sub-Dean of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College, Dr Philip Kariatlis, who addressed those present on behalf of the College’s President and Dean, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, as well as Professor Nathan Lyons, Co-President of the Centre for the History of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame Australia, with whom the College has collaborated in presenting the Cathedral Talks.

In his introductory remarks, Dr Kariatlis reflected upon the purpose of the Cathedral Talks as an opportunity to recover the perennial significance of the Greek philosophical tradition and to consider how its fundamental questions continue to speak to the human person today. He also drew attention to the College’s recently commenced Master of Greek Philosophy, which seeks to foster the systematic study of the richness and continuing significance of Greek philosophical thought.

Introducing the evening’s speaker, Dr Kariatlis noted with particular pleasure that, amongst his many academic achievements, Dr Kaldas is also an alumnus of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College. Dr Kaldas presently lectures in Philosophy in the School of Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia and serves as Seminar Convenor in its Centre for the History of Philosophy.

Entitled “The Wisdom of the Desert: The Desert Christians and Philosophy as a Way of Life,” Dr Kaldas’ presentation began by dismantling a number of long-held stereotypes surrounding the early Christian ascetical tradition. In particular, he challenged the assumption that the Desert Fathers and Mothers were somehow anti-intellectual, or that their withdrawal from society reflected a fundamentally negative or even misanthropic attitude towards the world.

On the contrary, Dr Kaldas demonstrated the philosophical richness of the ascetical tradition. Like the philosophical schools of the ancient world, the Desert Fathers understood wisdom not principally as the accumulation of abstract knowledge, but as something with profound existential ramifications. Philosophy was a way of life: truth was something to be lived, practised and embodied.

Dr Kaldas also offered an important reconsideration of the ascetics’ withdrawal into the desert. Far from representing a rejection of society or an indifference towards the world, their withdrawal arose, paradoxically, from an intense concern for the world and for the human person. By creating distance from the distractions and conventions of ordinary social existence, they sought a deeper communion—with God, with themselves and, ultimately, with others. Their withdrawal was therefore not simply an escape from relationship, but a radical attempt to discover the conditions for more authentic relationship and deeper connectedness.

In this way, the evening brought into particularly sharp focus one of the central themes of the Cathedral Talks: that the encounter between Greek philosophy and Christianity was not merely a meeting of abstract ideas. It concerned the deepest questions of human existence—who we are, how we ought to live, and what it means for the human person truly to flourish.

Dr Kaldas’ presentation was followed by a lively period of questions and discussion, giving those present the opportunity to explore further the relationship between ancient philosophy, Christian asceticism and the continuing relevance of the wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers for contemporary life.

The third and final Cathedral Talk in this year’s inaugural Wisdom and Light series will take place on Monday, 21 September 2026, from 6.00–8.00 pm, at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Redfern. The concluding lecture will be delivered by Professor Bronwen Neil FAHA, Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University, who will speak on the fascinating theme, “Neither Male nor Female: Christ and Gender in the Cappadocian Fathers.” The evening promises to bring the series to a fitting conclusion, continuing its exploration of how the Greek Fathers’ creative engagement with the philosophical tradition of antiquity offers enduring insights into questions of human identity, meaning and flourishing.