BA, BAHons, PhD

Professor Mayer is internationally recognised for her research on early Christian preaching and in particular on the life and preaching of the famous late-antique Antiochene priest and Constantinopolitan bishop, John Chrysostom. She is, additionally, attracting international attention for her work on the mechanisms that drive religious conflict and violence in both past and present.

She is the recipient of 6 ARC grants to date, 3 of which are for collaborative projects. The most recent, in partnership with the Lutheran Church of Australia and Prof. Sarah Wendt, Flinders University, explores the role of Australian Lutheran theology and religious belief in male perpetration of domestic violence. Prof. Mayer sits on a number of editorial boards of journals and book series. These include new series developed with the publishers Brill (Critical Approaches to Early Christianity) and Brill Schoeningh (Patristics Studies in Global Perspective). In November 2019 she was elected for 3 years to the position of head of the Religion Section of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

In her role as Dean of Research Strategy at the University of Divinity, Professor Mayer is responsible for helping to develop higher level research skills training and helping to build research strategy across the University’s colleges. Previously, Wendy was Associate Dean for Research at Australian Lutheran College, a role which enabled her to support research students, foster a research culture, and identify and conduct denominationally relevant research projects. In her own research, she continues to work with her primary area of interest, early Christian preaching, while increasingly focusing on research related to the nexus between spiritual, mental, and physical wellbeing, as well as her research on religious conflict and violence. She continues to serve the Lutheran Church of Australian and New Zealand (LCANZ) as its representative on the Board of the Christian Research Association and is currently engaged in a research project with the Lutheran Church and Flinders University to explore the role of faith in male perpetration of domestic violence.

Professor Mayer’s career is research focused. Prior to 2017, she spent some 25 years at Australian Catholic University as a researcher, collaborating closely with Prof. Pauline Allen, Dr Geoffrey Dunn, and Dr Bronwen Neil (now Professor at Macquarie University) in the former Centre for Early Christian Studies.

Professor Mayer is an active member of both the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She served on the Australian Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue for 10 years (1995-2004) and while living in the US (2006-2016) chaired the steering committee of the Steinbruck Center for Urban Studies in Washington, DC, and co-led or assisted with wellness programs for homeless and low income women, including development of a craft cooperative. She edits the Lutheran Theological Journal for the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand, and recently served on the Key Definitions Issues Analysis Group for the Constitution Review being conducted by the church, assessing terms associated with theology and doctrine.

Positions

• 

  Dean of Research Strategy

  University of Divinity

External Affiliations

• Australian Academy of the Humanities (Fellow)
• Christian Research Association (Lutheran representative, Board of Directors)
• Patristic Studies in Global Perspective (Co-Chair, editorial board)
• Critical Approaches to Early Christianity (Co-Chair, editorial board)
• Journal of Early Christian Studies (Associate Editor)
• Fathers of the Church (Editorial Board member)
• Studies in Late Antiquity (Editorial Board, international member)
• Journal of Early Christian History (Editorial Board member)
• Lutheran Theological Journal (Editor)
• Byzantina Australiensia (Editorial Board member)
• Australasian Association for Byzantine Studies (Committee member)
• Pacific Partnership in Late Antiquity (Member)
• North American Patristics Society (Member)
• Association Internationale d’Études Patristiques/International Association for Patristics Studies (Member)
• Working Group for Religion, Medicine, Disability and Health in Late Antiquity (Member)
• Asia Pacific Early Christian Studies Society (Member)
• Australasian Society for Classical Studies (Member)
• Society of Biblical Literature (Member)