My research and teaching has had its focus on Early Christianity (2nd to 7th century) with an emphasis on the Eastern Mediterranean traditions. I have also worked on the history of the Coptic, Ethiopicc and Syriac traditions, on relations between Christianity and early Islam. Specifi interests have been early monasticism and its role in the transformation of Greek paideia, as well as the encounter between European missions and the Orthodox Churches in the nineteenth century.