Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis was born in Australia (1958), where he matriculated from the Scots College (1975). He received his degree in Theology from the University of Athens (1980), a diploma in Byzantine Music from the Greek Conservatory of Music (1979), and was awarded a research scholarship to St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary (1982). He completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at the University of Oxford (1983).

After several months in silent retreat on Mt Athos, he served as Personal Assistant to the Greek Orthodox Primate in Australia (1984-94) and was co-founder of St. Andrew's Theological College in Sydney (1985), where he was Sub-Dean and taught Patristics and Church History (1986-95). He was also Lecturer in the Divinity School (1986-90) and the School of Studies in Religion (1990-95) at the University of Sydney. In 1995, he moved to Boston, where he was appointed Professor of Theology at Holy Cross School of Theology and directed the Religious Studies Program at Hellenic College until 2002. He established the Environment Office at the same School in 2001. He has also taught as professor of Patristics at Balamand University in Lebanon. Currently, he serves as theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch on environmental issues.

The author of several books and numerous articles in several languages on the Church Fathers and Orthodox Spirituality, Fr. John’s publications include Soul Mending: The Art of Spiritual Direction (Holy Cross Press, 2000), In the Footsteps of Christ: Abba Isaiah of Scetis (SLG Press Oxford, 2001), The Body of Christ: A Place of Welcome for People with Disabilities (Light and Life, 2002), Letters from the Desert: A Selection from Barsanuphius and John (St. Vladimir’s Press, 2003), Cosmic Grace, Humble Prayer: The Ecological Vision of The Green Patriarch (Eerdmans, 2003), Light Through Darkness: The Orthodox Tradition (Orbis Books, 2004), John Climacus: From the Egyptian Desert to the Sinaite Mountain (Ashgate, 2004), The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A Brief Guide (Ecumenical Patriarchate, 2005), The Reflections of Abba Zosimas (SLG Press Oxford, 2006), and Beyond the Shattered Image: Insights into an Orthodox Christian Ecological Worldview (Light and Life, 2nd ed. 2007). Two volumes with the full correspondence of Barsanuphius and John appeared in 2006-2007 in the Fathers of the Church series of Catholic University Press.

More about the Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis can be found at www.worldwisdom.com. World Wisdom publishes his most recent book In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers which examines the lives and words of early Christian monastics, and offers for the first time a translation of The Reflections of Abba Zosimas. Dr. Chryssavgis is also the author of a moving foreword in The Sermon of All Creation: Christians on Nature. A bibliography and DVD and other offerings can be found at the World Wisdom web site.