Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford

Last updated

The Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion co-ordinates the teaching of theology at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division.

Contents

The Theology Faculty Centre was at 34 St Giles' in central Oxford. It is now on the second floor of the Gibson Building in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter on Woodstock Road.

History

One of the first series of lectures delivered at Oxford University was on theology. As early as 1193, Alexander Neckam from St Albans gave biblical and moral lectures on the Psalms of David and the Wisdom of Solomon. One of the first university buildings was the Divinity School, begun in 1423 specifically for theology lectures.

The modern theological faculty emerges during the reform of the University of Oxford in the nineteenth century. The Final Honour School of Theology - as a route to the Bachelor of Arts degree - was introduced in 1869. Up until then, theological study was the reserve of graduates and those seeking ordination in the Church of England, who would attend a short series of lectures by the Regius Professors on basic divinity; its focus was on the Thirty-Nine Articles, Joseph Butler's Analogy of Religion and a knowledge of the Greek New Testament. Although an honour school in theology was recommended from as early as 1853, it was not until the late 1860s, amidst concerns about the declining influence of the Established Church in the university, that Edward Pusey and Henry Parry Liddon began to advocate the introduction of a separate School of Theology responsible for the training of Anglican ordinands. Its curriculum was biblical and historical in its focus, with its first examinations requiring knowledge of scripture, ecclesiastical history and patristics, dogmatic and symbolic theology, apologetics, liturgy and sacred criticism.

The faculty remained as a stronghold of the Church of England well into the 20th century, with denominational restrictions on the higher theological degrees (the Bachelor of Divinity and the Doctor of Divinity) and examiners in the Final Honour School of Theology only being abolished in 1920 and 1922 respectively. Still, three of the regius professorships are tied to canonries at Christ Church Cathedral, requiring their holders to be in ordained in the Church of England or in a church in communion with the Church of England. A significant proportion of the faculty's students are preparing for ordination, either as candidates for the B.A. or the B.Th.

Despite the faculty's historic obligations to the Church of England, the foundation of Nonconformist and Roman Catholic institutions in Oxford from the late 19th century onwards, alongside changing academic and ecclesiastical attitudes towards theological study, resulted in the gradual transformation of theology from a purely professional discipline into an aspect of humanistic study.

During the 20th century, Oxford established itself as an internationally significant centre of theological study with important contributions from S. R. Driver, William Sanday, C. H. Turner, B. H. Streeter, N. P. Williams, R. H. Lightfoot, G. R. Driver, Austin Farrer, Maurice Wiles, Henry Chadwick, James Barr and Arthur Peacocke. Although the department has, more recently, introduced examination papers in modern systematic theology, world religions and even separate postgraduate master's degrees in the study of religion, the Final Honour School of Theology remains primarily focused on biblical and historical study. Each undergraduate devotes at least half of his or her degree to the study of the Old Testament, New Testament, the development of Christian doctrine to AD 451 and modern Christian doctrine. Candidates can then choose four further papers from a wide selection of topics in biblical studies, history, doctrine and world religions.

Professors

Statutory professorships

The following statutory professorships are held in conjunction with a canonry of Christ Church: the professor must be ordained in priest's orders in the Church of England or in an Anglican church in communion with the Church of England, or eligible for and prepared to accept ordination.

The following statutory professorship is held in conjunction with a canonry of Christ Church: the professor must be ordained in priest's orders in the Church of England or in an episcopal church in communion with the Church of England, or eligible for and prepared to accept ordination; alternatively, in accordance the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 1995 §2, the professorship may be held in conjunction with a lay canonry: the professor must be a lay member of the Church of England, or of any church in communion with it, or a minister or lay member of a church not in communion with the Church of England provided he or she is a suitably qualified member of one of the churches to which the Church of England (Ecumenical Relations) Measure 1988 refers.

Other professors

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooke Foss Westcott</span> British bishop, scholar and theologian (1825–1901)

Brooke Foss Westcott was an English bishop, biblical scholar and theologian, serving as Bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death. He is perhaps most known for co-editing The New Testament in the Original Greek in 1881. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the British Empire.

The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College Dublin.

Canon is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn McCord Adams</span> American philosopher (1943–2017)

Marilyn McCord Adams was an American philosopher and Episcopal priest. She specialized in the philosophy of religion, philosophical theology, and medieval philosophy. She was Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology at Yale Divinity School from 1998 to 2003 and Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford from 2004 to 2009.

Stephen Whitefield Sykes was a Church of England bishop and academic specialising in divinity. He was Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at Durham University from 1974 to 1985, and Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University from 1985 to 1990. Between from 1990 and 1999, he served as the Bishop of Ely, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Ely. He was the Principal of St John's College, Durham from 1999 to 2006. He served as an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Durham during his time as head of St John's College and in retirement.

The Van Mildert Professor of Divinity is one of the oldest chairs at Durham University. The chair is named in honour of Bishop William Van Mildert, one of the founders of the university. The holder of the Van Mildert chair, which is jointly funded by the university and Durham Cathedral, is also a residentiary canon at the cathedral and member of its Chapter, thus one of the requirements of post holder is to be an Anglican priest or a minister in another church in communion with Church of England.

Graham John Ward is an English theologian and Anglican priest who has been Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford since 2012.

Leonard Hodgson was an Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, historian of the early Church and Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford from 1944 to 1958.

Paul Stuart Fiddes is an English Baptist theologian and novelist.

The Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture is a chair in theology, particular Old Testament studies, at the University of Oxford. Oriel College, Oxford, decided in 1876 to establish a chair in theology, funded by the revenue from a canonry at Rochester Cathedral controlled by the college. The first professor, John Wordsworth, was appointed in 1883. The chair was renamed in 1991 to mark a donation from the Laing Foundation that secured its endowment. The professorship carries with it a fellowship of Oriel College.

David Alexander Syme Fergusson is a Scottish theologian and Presbyterian minister. Since 2021, he has been Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge.

The Regius Professorship of Moral and Pastoral Theology, together with the Regius Professorship of Ecclesiastical History, was founded at the University of Oxford by an act of Parliament in 1840, and first filled in 1842. The act attached the chair to the fourth canonry at Christ Church from the next vacancy, which occurred in 1849: as such, the holder must be an Anglican priest or a priest of a church in communion with the Church of England. The initial title, Regius Professor of Pastoral Theology, was expanded for the appointment of K. E. Kirk in 1933. The professor is a member of the Chapter of Christ Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture</span> Professorship at the University of Oxford

The position of Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture was established at the University of Oxford in 1847. This professorship in the critical interpretation or explanation of biblical texts, a field known as exegesis, was instituted by John Ireland, who was Dean of Westminster from 1816 until his death in 1842. He founded scholarships in his lifetime at the University of Oxford, which are still awarded after an examination to undergraduates "for the promotion of classical learning and taste". In his will, he left £10,000 to the university, with the interest arising to be applied to the professorship. The first professor, Edward Hawkins, was appointed in 1847. The second Dean Ireland's Professor, Robert Scott, had won an Ireland scholarship in 1833 while studying at Christ Church.

Hindy Najman is an American academic specialising in Jewish studies and the Hebrew Bible. Since July 2015, she has been Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford. Previously, she was Director of the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto from 2008 to 2012, and Professor of Religious Studies and Classics at Yale University from 2012 to 2015.

Carol Harrison is a British theologian and ecclesiastical historian, specialising in Augustine of Hippo. Since January 2015, she has been Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford; she is the first woman and first lay person to hold this appointment. She is a fellow of Christ Church, Oxford and an honorary fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. On 27 April 2015, she was installed as a Canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. She was previously Professor of the History and Theology of the Latin West at Durham University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedley Sparks</span> British biblical scholar and Catholic priest

Hedley Frederick Davis Sparks, was a British biblical scholar and Church of England priest. From 1946 to 1952, he was Cadbury Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham. From 1952 to 1976, he was Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford.

Edward Bentham was an Oxford based theologian who in 1763, with some evident reluctance, became Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University.

Susan E. Gillingham is a British theologian, academic, and Anglican deacon. She specialises in the Hebrew Bible, the Psalms, and Jewish history from the Israelites to the Second Temple. She has been Fellow and Tutor in theology at Worcester College, Oxford since 1995, and was Professor of the Hebrew Bible at the University of Oxford from 2014 to 2019. She is the first British woman to have been awarded a Doctor of Divinity (DD) degree by the University of Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Bailey Wells</span> Bishop, priest and academic

Joanne Caladine Bailey Wells is a British Anglican bishop, theologian, and academic. Since January 2023, she has served at the Anglican Communion Office in London as "Bishop for Episcopal Ministry". Previously, she was a lecturer in the Old Testament and biblical theology at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and then associate professor of Bible and Ministry at Duke Divinity School, Duke University, North Carolina; From 2013 until 2016, she had served as Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury; she was then Bishop of Dorking, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Guildford, 2016–2023.

Stanley Lawrence Greenslade was an English theologian, ecclesiastical historian and clergyman. He held the Regius Professorship of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford from 1959 to 1972.

References

  1. ↑ "The Revd Canon Professor Graham Ward". Christ Church College. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "Professor Carol Harrison". University of Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Professor Nigel Biggar". University of Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Professor Hindy Najman". University of Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Professor Markus Bockmuehl". Keble College. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "Professor Mark Wynn". University of Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Next Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion announced". University of Oxford Humanities Division. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Appointments". Oxford University Gazette. University of Oxford. 4 December 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Revd Professor Paul Fiddes". University of Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "Professor Martin Goodman". University of Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion. Retrieved 20 November 2023.

Further reading

51°45′27″N1°15′37″W / 51.7576°N 1.2604°W / 51.7576; -1.2604

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.