I am an independent researcher currently based in Scotland, working on early Greek Christian theology (4th-7th centuries) and its relevance to topics in contemporary Christian ethics.
I have just completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, in the Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät, where I was conducted a research project entitled ‘The Absence of Sex and Gender in Early Byzantine Theology’. This project looked at the genderless nature of 
humanity in the works of Maximus the Confessor and Gregory of Nyssa, and considered the potential relevance of such theologies to contemporary transgender thought. Previously I have worked as an adjunct lecturer for Munich School of Ancient Philosophy where I lectured on Early Christian Theology and Neoplatonism, and also a Teaching Fellow at the University of Edinburgh where I lectured in Christian Ethics. This is my personal site where a summary of my research interests, publications, and outreach can be found and a copy of my C.V. can be downloaded. Please feel free to contact me.
Postdoctoral Research
I have just completed a research project, for which I was the recipient of an Incoming LMU Research Fellowship. The project was entitled ‘The Absence of Sex and Gender in Early Byzantine Theology’, and evaluated this facet of theology in the works of Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus the Confessor especially surrounding the concept of ‘holy genderlessness’. The project also surveyed monastic sources from the 4th to 7th centuries, looking in particular at instances of monastics who chose to live as genders different to those they were assigned at birth, including identifying as ‘above’ or ‘beyond’ gender. The aim of the project was to evaluate links between this theology and these monastic practices, and also to consider the relevance of these findings for contemporary theological ethics especially in gender and LGBTQA+ studies. I am still working on topics related to this project in an independent capacity.
Doctoral Research
I completed my doctorate in Greek Early Christian theology and its relevance to contemporary ethics at Durham University in 2017. My thesis, Revolution in the Microcosm: Love and Virtue in the Cosmological Ethics of St Maximus the Confessor, was on St Maximus the Confessor with relevance to virtue ethics and contemporary anarchist theory.
In my doctoral research I considered the works of St Maximus the Confessor from within the meta-ethical framework of virtue ethics, and suggested ways in which his thought might be relevant for today. I demonstrated a way of critiquing the nation state using his thought and considered the compatibility of Maximus’ ethics with contemporary anarchist philosophy. My doctoral research was funded by the AHRC through Durham University.
In general, I am particularly interested in Late Antique and Eastern Roman theology and aside from Maximus the Confessor have also worked on Gregory of Nyssa, John of Damascus and Gregory Palamas. My aim is to explore ways to present Early Christian theological and philosophical ideas in lay, contemporary terms that demonstrate the relevance of Early Christian theology for contemporary Christian ethics.
E. Brown Dewhurst 