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Robin Darling Young is Ordinary Professor Emerita of the History of Christianity at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., with a scholarly focus on Eastern Christianity in the ancient world, especially the interactions among Armenian, Greek, and Syriac traditions. A native of Hampton, Virginia, she earned her undergraduate degree from Mary Washington College and later completed her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago under Bernard McGinn. Her academic career has included teaching at Wesley Theological Seminary, advanced study at the University of Oxford where she began Classical Armenian, and further specialization with Harvard scholar Robert W. Thomson. She has made significant contributions to Armenian studies, including translating Eznik of Kolb’s On God/Against the Sects, and has held teaching and visiting positions at institutions such as the University of Chicago, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Virginia.

A leading expert on the ascetic theologian Evagrius of Pontus, Professor Young has led major translation projects, including the Gnostic Trilogy (2024), and continues to work on further translations and a monograph on his life and thought. She has also been deeply involved in ecumenical dialogue and in promoting Armenian language and culture through her work at Catholic University, where she co-directs the Institute for the Study of Eastern Christianity. In recognition of her many years of research on the Armenian Church and her dedication to advancing Armenian studies, she will be the recipient of the Friend of the Armenian Award during the 124th Diocesan Assembly Gala at the historic Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.