Sarah Gador-Whyte

Dr. Sarah Gador-Whyte is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry within the Faculty of Theology & Philosophy at Australian Catholic University. She holds a PhD in Classics and Applied Mathematics from the University of Melbourne, with her dissertation evolving into the monograph Theology and Poetry in Early Byzantium (Cambridge University Press, 2017). Her work bridges Late Antique cultural interactions, Byzantine liturgical practices, and emotional theology.

• Current roles include Chief Investigator on the Australian Research Council Discovery Project 'Night Vision in the Late Ancient Mediterranean' (2025).
• Co-leader of Strand 3 ('Flourishing Communities: Ecologies and Places') in the ACURF project 'Flourishing in Early Christianity'.

Her research emphasizes dialogue as a theological tool, particularly in contexts of religious conflict, and explores women's liturgical roles in Late Antiquity. She contributes to the Byzantina Australiensia series as co-editor and is affiliated with the Gender and Women’s History Research Centre at ACU.

Recent publications include Hymns, Homilies and Hermeneutics in Byzantium (Brill, 2021) and analyses of Romanos the Melodist's kontakia. Her work interrogates how liturgical performance shapes communal identity through repentance, baptism, and eucharistic practice. She is actively involved in professional networks such as the Australasian Association for Byzantine Studies and serves as a mentor for Australasian Women in Ancient World Studies.