--- title: "Congratulations Dr. Wagdy Samir! · St Cyril’s" url: https://stcyrils.edu.au/news/congratulations-dr-wagdy-samir description: "We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Wagdy Samir, Director of Orthodox Studies at AIOCS, for recently completed his PhD at the Sydney College of…" --- 1. [Home](https://stcyrils.edu.au/) 2. [News](https://stcyrils.edu.au/news) # Congratulations Dr. Wagdy Samir! 6 May 2025 ![Congratulations Dr. Wagdy Samir!](https://stcyrils.edu.au/_image?href=https%3A%2F%2Fstcyrils.edu.au%2F_emdash%2Fapi%2Fmedia%2Ffile%2F01M5HJA09EDFJMCSS3RE7RVSXC.jpg&w=1400&h=932&f=webp&fit=cover&position=center) We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Wagdy Samir, Director of Orthodox Studies at AIOCS, for recently completed his PhD at the Sydney College of Divinity under the supervision of Rev. Dr Doru Costache. Dr Samir’s doctoral research has been published by Brill (April 2025) under the title “Divine Participation: A Reconstruction of St Cyril of Alexandria’s and Fr Matta al-Miskīn’s Commentaries on the Gospel of St John.” This important monograph offers a comparative study of these two Coptic theologians, exploring their understanding of deification as a real, transformative, and asymmetrical participation in the divine life. By bridging over fifteen centuries, the work highlights the continuity between ancient Alexandrian theology and contemporary Coptic Orthodox thought. To purchase a copy of Dr Samir’s publication, please visit: [https://brill.com/display/title/72109…](https://brill.com/display/title/72109) ## More from the College * [2 September 2026Unveiling Paul](https://stcyrils.edu.au/news/unveiling-paul) * [14 August 2026Sacred Hospitality with Fr Stephen Muse, PhD](https://stcyrils.edu.au/news/sacred-hospitality-with-fr-stephen-muse-phd) * [9 June 2026Enrolments for Semester 2 are now open!](https://stcyrils.edu.au/news/enrolments-for-semester-2-are-now-open-2) --- St Cyril’s Coptic Orthodox Theological College · 6/252–254 West Street, Carlton NSW 2218, Australia · +61 2 9546 6411 · registrar@stcyrils.edu.au Site guide for AI agents: https://stcyrils.edu.au/llms.txt