It was first in the sea-side port of Alexandria that Greek philosophy met Christian thought and it can be argued that it was there that theology bore its first fruits. Theological enquiry, the search for God’s truth and purity of Dogma are values dear to the heart of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
St Athanasius College brings this yearning for the knowledge of God to Australia and the world. We are firm in our belief that to know God is to love God and to love God is to serve Him. With this perspective in mind, we welcome all students from all walks of life to engage with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and therein discover Him.
Our student cohort consists of high school graduates, university students, university graduates, Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, ministry workers, professionals, parents, and seminarians; basically all people who want to deepen their spiritual understanding of theology. To our students, SAC becomes the vehicle through which they engage with theological studies in its many disciplines and are spiritually formed in the warm, supportive, yet academically rigorous environment. As a member college of the University of Divinity, SAC offers and adheres to the finest academic standards and is at the forefront of delivering Theological Education in a variety of modes; face to face, online, intensive and mixed mode.
St Athanasius College was established in 2000 and continued to grow, becoming a member college of the University of Divinity in 2011. The continuous growth of the College and its nurturing is credit to its founder His Grace Bishop Suriel. The College is firmly established building on past hard-won achievements. The College operates out of the Diocese of Melbourne Headquarters in Donvale and has expanded in 2017 with the opening of a second campus in La Trobe Street in the Melbourne CBD. This new campus, provides a state-of-the art learning and teaching environment and a hub for specialist research studies in Orthodox Christianity.
St Athanasius College offers undergraduate courses (Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Bachelor), as well as postgraduate courses (Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Masters by coursework) and Higher Degree Research programs (Masters by Research, Master of Philosophy, and PhD).
To accompany our coursework offering, SAC faculty is engaged in a variety of research activities both here in Australia and overseas. Publication of research, as well as conference participation by SAC faculty and students, contributes to and promotes the body of knowledge that can further God’s Kingdom.
We welcome both returning and prospective students to St Athanasius College and invite you to journey with us in discovering the wonders of God and thereby equip yourself for His great work.
The Word of God thus acted consistently in assuming a body and using a human instrument to vitalise the body. He was consistent in working through man to reveal Himself everywhere, as well as through the other parts of His creation, so that nothing was left void of His Divinity and knowledge. For I take up now the point I made before, namely that the Saviour did this in order that He might fill all things everywhere with the knowledge of Himself, just as they are already filled with His presence, even as the Divine Scripture says, “The whole universe was filled with the knowledge of the Lord.” (Is. 11:9)
~ On the Incarnation