Early Christian Centuries conference was held in Melbourne on 3-5 October 2013. We have rebranded the triennial Prayer and Spirituality in the Early Church conference as the triennial Early Christian Centuries conference, and the first was held at Australian Catholic University, on our Melbourne campus between 3 and 5 October. This was the eighth APECSS conference and marked the end of the first decade of Asia-Pacific Early Christian Studies Society, since our first meeting in Tokyo in 2004. Participants came from across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Belgium, the United States of America, Russia, Canada, South Africa, and Italy. The theme was Men and Women in Early Christianity.

The opening address was given by Andrew McGowan from Melbourne University and the closing address by William Loader from Murdoch University. The keynote speakers were Elaine Wainwright (“Threads of Tradition Weaving a Complex Web: The Challenge of Reading Women in Early Christianity”) from University of Auckland, Mathijs Lamberigts (“The Debate between Julian of Aeclanum and Augustine of Hippo on Sexuality”) from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and Claudia Rapp (“Sisters and Mothers, Brothers and Sons: Roles and Representations of Women and Men in Late-Antique Christianity”) from the University of Vienna.

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32 other papers in 15 sessions were also presented on the theme. Our cultural event was a performance of Mozart's Requiem at St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, conducted by our own Tom Buchanan. The conference dinner was held at the Melbourne Club. Our great thanks go to Lawrence Cross, the convenor, and the conference secretary, Birute Arendarcikas, RSM.