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Research Centre for Catholic Studies: Staff Profiles

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Biography

I studied History at Balliol College Oxford and then Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. After a long spell as Director of Studies of the Berlitz Language Centers in Italy, I resumed my theological studies at Leuven and Heythrop with a Masters in Systematic Theology, and then a doctorate in Church History. This was published by Brepols in 2010. I have taught theology and history in the Pontifical Beda College, Rome and Heythrop College. I currently teach courses at Allen Hall, Maryvale and Blackfriars, Oxford. I am the Prior Provincial of the British Province of Carmelites.

Research

Carmelite spirituality and history; Mariology and Ecclesiology.

Publications (selected)

  • “Carmelite Liturgy and Resurrection Spirituality” in Festschrift for Prof. Michael Sargent
  • “The Idea of Mary as ‘Sister’ in Carmelite Mariology” in The Oxford Handbook of Mary (forthcoming 2019)
  • “Carmelite Marian Studies in the Twentieth Century” in Sentire cum ecclesia Festschrift for Christopher O’Donnell O. Carm. (Rome: Edizioni Carmelitane, 2018)
  • “Fighting Lollardy with the Rule: Thomas Netter and the Doctrinale” in M. Sauer and K. Alban (eds), Celebrating St Albert and his Rule. Rules, Devotion, Orthodoxy and Dissent. (Rome: Edizioni Carmelitane, 2018)
  • “Some aspects of Carmelite involvement in the early years of the Abbey of Syon” in Continuity and Change. Papers from the Birgitta Conference at Dartington 2015. Eds Elin Andersson, Claes Gejrot, Eddie Jones and Mia Åkestam. Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antikvitetsakademien. Konferenser 94 (Stockholm, 2017)
  • “Carmelite Identity and Orthodoxy: Thomas Netter and the Doctrinale” in J. Röhrkasten and C. Zermatten (eds) Historiography and Identity. Responses to Medieval Carmelite Culture, (Münster: LIT Verlag, 2017), pp. 63-75

Editor - Translator

  • Revisiting the Fountain of Elijah – Essays in Honour of Wilfrid McGreal (Rome: Edizioni Carmelitane, 2018) – Editor with Johan Bergström-Allen
  • Celebrating St Albert and his Rule. Rules, Devotion, Orthodoxy and Dissent (Rome: Edizioni Carmelitane, 2018) – Editor with M. Sauer

Biography

I am a priest of the Diocese of Brentwood and am currently diocesan Director and Chaplain for Marriage and Family Life, as well as a parish priest. Previously I was a minister in the Church of England, and I received dispensation from the Holy Father to be ordained in the Catholic church as a married man. Having completed the Marriage and Family MA I have subsequently been involved in delivering the Sacramentality of Marriage module for this course.

Research

  • Theology of the Body
  • Natural Family Planning
  • The Nuptial Significance of Priestly Celibacy

Publications

  • Introduction to Natural Family Planning, Catholic Medical Quarterly, forthcoming

Biography

My first degree at Oxford was in Modern Languages (French and Latin). I followed that with a second BA degree, in Theology. I was in ordained Anglican ministry for five years but subsequently returned to Oxford to do a doctorate in Intellectual History under Sir Isaiah Berlin. My topic was the thought of three publicists of the immediate postRevolutionary period in France; Joseph de Maistre and the Vicomte de Bonald (both promoters of Catholicism) and the proto-socialist Claude-Henri Saint-Simon. I was a Fellow in the History Department at University College London for several years, during which I helped produce scholarly editions of some of the manuscripts of the law reformer and philosopher Jeremy Bentham. I spent three Summers at the University of Geneva working on a book about Bentham and his Genevan editor, former pastor Etienne Dumont – published 2008. I also published the first Encyclopedia of World Fascism (2006). For CTS Publications I produced booklets on Protestantism and Pentecostalism. Over the last 20 years I became increasingly engaged with the Carmelites as a member of the Seculars (OCDS) and translated a book on St Teresa of Avila from the German. My life commitment has been enhanced intellectually by involvement in supervision of a thesis on mysticism and one on monasticism.

Research

I am currently working on a book-length study of the origins of the ideology of the Holocaust, and I have had a lifelong interest in Intellectual History/the History of Ideas, chiefly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Germany and France.

A long immersion in French studies has given me a particular interest in French Catholic spirituality.

For the past twenty years I have been walking the way of the Secular Carmelites and this has led me deep into the thinking of the Spanish Mystics and St Therese of Lisieux and into the traditions of Catholic spirituality. I am currently involved in the supervision of doctorates on the Contemplative Gaze and on the way that members of Enclosed Orders experience time.

Publications

Books

  • The French Revolution and the Creation of Benthamism, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2008
  • The Path to Rome, 2nd ed., Leominster: Gracewing, 2010 (co-editor with Dwight Longenecker)

Chapters

    ‘Panopticism and Recidivism’ in Françoise Briegel/Michel Porret (eds.), Le Criminel Endurci. Récidive et Récidivistes du Moyen Age au XXe siècle, Geneva: Droz, 2006
  • ‘Berlin, Maistre, and Fascism’, in Carolina Armenteros/Richard A Lebrun, Joseph de Maistre and his European Readers. From Friedrich von Gentz to Isaiah Berlin, Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2011
  • >

Translation

  • ‘Not all Nuns may do this’. Teresa of Avila and Father Gracián. The Story of a Historic Friendship, Leominster: Gracewing, 2012 (translated from the German text)
  • The Path to Marriage. Daring to say ‘I will’ through Faith, Leominster: Gracewing, 2017 (translated from the German text)

Biography

Dr Briliute was appointed Dean of Maryvale Institute in January 2020.

Studying theology at Catholic University in Leuven gave me a fundamental training in the best European theological traditions and religious studies. Since my PhD was on religious education, I am especially equipped to be a researcher and lecturer in pastoral theology and religious studies. It enabled me to teach in a hermeneutical and communicative way.

Over 30 years as a teacher and lecturer, I have acquired extensive international experience in the field of RE and theology and have a wide range of professional connections, both in the UK and abroad. This has provided me with knowledge of diverse HE educational systems and varied teaching practices to achieve high standards of learning.

  • 2018: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (GB).
  • 2018: Panel member of The Open University HE Programme Revalidation Process in the UK.
  • 2013: Team member of the researchers working on the international research project “Enhancement of Catholic Identity of the Catholic Schools (KU Leuven (BE), Australia & UK).
  • 2013: Member of The European Association of Catholic Theology.
  • 2008: Appointed to the team of organisers facilitating international professional enrichment leave for the Australian principals of Catholic schools. (Under auspices and supervision of Prof. D. Pollefeyt, Vice-Rector for Education of the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Belgium), since 2008.
  • 2007: Member of The Catholic Theological Association (GB).

Research

I am a Catholic theologian with an especial interest in contemporary methods of education in Catechesis, RE and pastoral theology. My current research looks at how Catholic theology might inform and transform contemporary educational discourses in developing and maintaining Christian identity of Catholic educational institutions in the UK and abroad.

Doctoral Supervision

  • Internal viva examiner (Maryvale) for: Mr. Robert Rice (2016); Mr. Eric Westby (2016) and Sr. Mary M. Fox (2018).
  • Supervisor of a doctoral dissertationL Strategies for Effective Catholic Media Evangelization: A Discourse of Fulton J. Sheen in the Light of Inter Mirifica and Evangelii Gaudium, by Maurice Emelu, Maryvale Institute, since 2014.
  • Supervisor of a doctoral dissertation: Investigation into Contemporary Models of Pre-Evangelization in the Hope of Sufficiently Answering the Question: “How do we Prepare Young Adults to Hear and Receive the Gospel Message?, by Tamra Hull Fromm, Maryvale Institute, since 2014.
  • International external examiner for the doctoral dissertation, Living the Future in dialogue. Towards a New Integral and Transformative Model of Religious Education for Nigeria in the 21th Century, by Mary-Chizurum Ugbor, K.U. Leuven (Belgium), 2013.
  • International external examiner for the doctoral dissertation, Beyond Intolerance: Towards A Paradigm Shift for Confessional Religious Education in Nigeria, by Stella-Adamma Nneji, K.U. Leuven (Belgium), 2012.

Publications (selected)

Contributions to Books:

  • B. Briliute, (to be published in 2019), “Repairing Religious Education Using Family-Based Pastoral Approach” (Challenges in Developing New Approaches to Children’s Religious Formation in Contemporary Family Context. Rethinking our Approach to Families’ Religious Formation in the Perspective of J. Bowlby’s Attachment Theory) in E. Osewska and J. Stala (eds.) The Person and the Challenges: The Journal of Theology, Education, Canon Law and Social Studies Inspired by Pope John Paul II, 12 (2019) no 2. Warszawa, Poland.
  • B. Briliute, (2018), “Contemporary Catholic Studies in a Secular University: Friend or Foe?” (An investigation in to a new understanding of the development of Catholic identity and new models of RE used in a contemporary secular university) in E. Osewska and J. Stala (eds.) The Person and the Challenges: The Journal of Theology, Education, Canon Law and Social Studies Inspired by Pope John Paul II, 8 (2018) no 1. Warszawa, Poland.
  • B. Briliute, (2017), “Global Overpopulation and Catholic Family Ecology”. (An investigation into Pope Francis’ call for a human ecology, change of culture and how it is linked to the Catholic teaching on family, sex and abortion: Cross-examination of Laudato Si’ and Amoris Laetitia), in E. Osewska and J. Stala (eds.) Religious Education in the Family: European Perspective” II. Warszawa, Poland.

Articles:

  • B. Briliute. (to be published in 2019), “Religious Education in the Modern World: Challenges and Solutions”, (Interview for the magazine Fides Finland). Katolinen Hiippakuntalehti. Toimituksen osoite: Katolinen Tiedotuskeskus, Pyhän Henrikin Aukio, Helsinki, Finland.
  • B. Briliute, (2018), “Catechism of the Catholic Church and Laudato Si’”. Cambridge Scholars Press, 2018.
  • Biography

    My academic journey started in Lithuania after the fall of communism in 1991. This is where my interest in personal and societal transformation and deep learning takes roots from. I was instrumental in establishing a formal RE programme in state schools in Lithuania, starting with RE teacher training provisions, curriculum, publication of textbooks for all state schools and taking part in negotiating related legislation.

    In all this work and being part of a society in a rapid transition I felt a need for academic studies which led me to follow MA in social sciences (VMU, Lithuania), MA in RE (Maryvale Institute) and MA and STL in pastoral theology (KU Leuven, Belgium).

    My studies exposed me to enriching cultural and educational experiences and have opened doors to work in advisory and coordinating roles in Lithuania, USA and England. While studying for my Ph.D. at Loyola University, Chicago, I coordinated ministerial development and certification of the Directors of RE in Archdiocese of Chicago.

    In my pastoral and educational work, I felt a need to integrate theological thought, social, psychological and educational sciences. Therefore, I find my work for the Open University, where I teach undergraduate modules in education and psychology especially enriching.

    Research

    My current research focuses upon deep learning theories. For my practice-based project in this area I was awarded a Fellowship of Higher Education Academy in 2016. I am also interested in religious transformative experiences in a secular world where in some sacred spaces and places a person is enabled to reach the depth of human soul, reflect on the human condition, find meaning and encounter with the divine. I am interested in the creation of unexpected encounters, environments, spaces and places that are beautiful and rich in symbolism. These can open the doors into the depth of Christian thought and way of life for people who live in a secular context and who are disconnected or have never known the Christian tradition.

    Publications (selected)

    Books

    • B. Briliute and A. Karaliute, "Theologizing and Philosophizing with Children and Young People: Towards a New Paradigm in RE. (Research on Religious Values' Change in Lithuania)" in E. Osewska and J. Stala (eds.), Religious Education in the Family: European Perspective. Warszawa 2010.
    • A. Saulaitis, S.J. and A. Karaliute, Krikscionybe ir Kultura (Christianity and Culture, Basics of Christian Teachings), Kaunas: MTC 2005 and 2006.
    • A. Saulaitis, SJ and A. Karaliute, Savanorystes Kultura ir Bendruomene (Volunteering and Community), Kaunas: MTC 2004.
    • A. Karaliute, Prospects for Christian Spiritual Development in Higher Education, Vilnius University: Acta Paedagogica Vilnensia, Vol. 7 (2001).

    Presentations

    • A. Karaliute (May 2007). Presentation on issues of changing religiosity in societies in transition, Heythrop College, London University, Study day.
    • A. Karaliute (Mar 2005). Presentation on Issues of Traditional Religious Education Versus Non-Traditional Religious Education - the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIEGSA) at Stanford University California, USA.

    Biography

    In October 2017, I successfully defended my doctoral thesis at the University of Bristol (Roman Catholicism and Modern Democracy: Natural Allies or Uneasy Bedfellows. An Exploration of the Tenability of Catholic Citizenship in Contemporary Liberal Democracies My work sought to develop a Ratzingerian critique of the secular democratic theories of Jürgen Habermas and John Rawls, using the same-sex marriage debates in Ireland and the United Kingdom as case studies.

    As a practising pharmacist and a practising Catholic, the formative tensions of Catholic citizenship inform my research interests in theology, political philosophy and communications ethics. In addition to my Pharmacy professional qualification and doctorate in Theology and Religious Studies, I also have an undergraduate degree in History and Political Science and a Masters in Public and Political Communication.

    I currently lecture on the MA programme in Catholic Applied Theology at Maryvale Institute. During my time at the University of Bristol, I undertook undergraduate seminar teaching as well as pastoral work as a Senior Resident in one of the University Halls of Residence.

    Research

    My doctoral research explored the tenability of Catholic participation in the public discourse of contemporary liberal democracy, bringing Joseph Ratzinger’s theology of politics into conversation with the secular liberalism of Jürgen Habermas. My research interests include: Communication of Religion and Theology in Secular Media; Communications Ethics; Agenda-Setting and Framing in Communications Theory; Theology of Politics and the State; Second Vatican Council; Catholic Social Teaching; Political Theory; Religious Discourses in Secular and Post-Secular cultures.

    Publications (selected)

    Journal Articles

    • ‘The 2015 Marriage Referendum in Ireland: a Ratzingerian Analysis.’ Communio: International Catholic Review 44:2 (Summer 2017).
    • ‘Does Vatican II Represent a U-Turn in the Catholic Church’s Teaching on Liberal Democracy?’ International Journal of Public Theology 6:2 (2012), 228-253.

    Book Reviews

    • Review of The Myth of Liberalism, by John P. Safranek’ Reviews in Religion and Theology 25:4 (2018), 748-751.
    • ‘Review of A Godly Humanism: Clarifying the Hope that Lies Within, by Francis Cardinal George’, Reviews in Religion and Theology 25:2 (2018), 280-283.
    • ‘Review of Illusions of Freedom: Thomas Merton and Jacques Ellul on Technology and the Human Condition, by Jeffrey M.Shaw’, Reviews in Religion and Theology 25:1 (2018), 151-154.

    Biography

    I have been teaching Biblical Hebrew and Patristics at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford since 2012. I was a graduate student at Brasenose College and Keble College, Oxford (Byzantine Studies) and currently I am preparing my PhD thesis ‘Between Authority and Orthodoxy: Historical perspectives and Narrative Strategies in Sozomen’s Historia Ecclesiastica’ for submission at the Institute of Byzantine Studies, University of Lodz, Poland.

    Research

    • Church history and historiography in Byzantium from late antiquity onwards
    • Patristics: especially Patiristic Biblical Exegesis and spirituality
    • Monasticism. Modern Catholic and Orthodox Eastern European theology

    Publications (selected)

    • Giving the Heretic a Voice: Philostorgius of Borissus and Greek Ecclesiastical Historiography, Athenaeum 89 (2001), pp.497-530.
    • A Church Historian in Search of an Identity: Aspects of Early Byzantine Palestine in Sozomen's Historia Ecclesiastica Zeitschrift fur Antikes Christentum 9 (2006), pp.367-396.

    Biography

    Theological ordination studies began in 1988 at Allen Hall Seminary, Diocese of Westminster and concluded with the award of the Leuven University External S.T.B. in 1994 summa cum laude.

    From 1995 until 2009 I acted as an Academic Tutor at Maryvale. Postgraduate studies began in Rome in 2000 with the award of an S.T.L. from the Angelicum in 2002 (magna cum laude) and an S.T.D. from the Alfonsianum defended in 2006 summa cum laude.

    Since 2009 I have been on the full-time staff at Maryvale as a Programme Director and since 2013 a member of the Senior Management Board. I have taught undergraduate courses in Paul/Acts, Introduction to Moral Theology, Introduction to Theology, Faith and Revelation, Liturgy, Matthew’s Gospel, and sacred music.

    Previous to entering seminary I was a university lecturer in mathematics with a Ph.D. from Cambridge and a B.A. from Oxford.

    Research

    My dissertation entitled Victor Paul Furnish’s Theology of Ethics in Saint Paul. An Ethic of Transforming Grace was selected for publication in a series of the best Alfonsianum dissertations and appeared in 2007.

    Publications

    • Introduction to Natural Family Planning, Catholic Medical Quarterly, forthcoming

    Biography

    From 1986-2002 I was involved in Further Education, teaching Literacy and Numeracy, and eventually serving as Head of Department for Community Education. I helped to develop educational workshops in Mental Health outpatient centres; Family Learning and Basic Skills training for parents of Primary School children and, perhaps most relevantly, taught Study Skills and acted as personal tutor for Adult returners on Access to Higher Education.

    For the last twelve years I have been employed in a parish within the Archdiocese of Birmingham as a catechist and pastoral assistant. My responsibilities include First Communion and Confirmation preparation, RCIA and adult faith formation, and Baptism preparation. My great desire is to pass on the truths of the Catholic Faith in language which is both faithful and accurate, but easily accessible to people (adults and children) at all levels.

    Having graduated with the Bachelor of Divinity (Ecclesial Service) in 2012, I have served as marker for both the Certificate in Catechesis and the B. Div. (Pathway B). I also serve as a student advisor. My “specialism” is in helping students to plan and structure their work, and to be able to express what they have learnt in their own words.

    Biography

    • Assistant Tutor in Hebrew, University of Birmingham 1996-7 (MA in Biblical Studies 1997) and 1998-9; Honorary Lecturer 2001-4
    • Associate Tutor, Maryvale Institute, Birmingham 1999-present
    • Tutor in Greek, Hebrew and Latin, St. Mary’s College, Oscott, Birmingham 1996-2002
    • Royal English College of St. Alban, Valladolid, Spain 1987-91
    • University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain 1984-5 and 1986-7
    • Balliol College, Oxford 1982-6 (1st Modern Languages 1986, MA 1990)

    Biography

    I am a Dominican Sister of St Joseph, currently responsible for Adult Faith Formation and Catechesis in the Diocese of Portsmouth. I joined the Dominican Sisters after completing a MA in contemporary history at the university of Bordeaux in France. My research was conducted in Krakow in Poland, focusing on the episcopate of Karol Wojtyla, who would become St John Paul II. Once a Dominican Sister, I completed a Baccalaureate in Philosophy, a Master in Applied Theology and a Licence in catechetics, all at Maryvale Institute.

    Research

    My current focus is on catechetics, and, drawing from my research work and experience in catechesis and catechists formation, I have authored and translated several catechetical resources destined for adults and children.

    Publications (recent)

    Books

    • In James Pauley (ed.), Liturgical Catechesis in the 21st Century: A School of Discipleship: Come follow me, a new model for catechesis, Liturgical Press, 2017
    • Anchor: Anchoring you in New Life – Catechesis for adults on Baptism, Dominican Sisters of St Joseph, 2014
    • Preparing for your Child’s Baptism, Catholic Truth Society, 2014
    • Anchor: Anchoring you in Happiness – Catechesis for adults on Confession, Dominican Sisters of St Joseph, 2013

    Translations

    • Bagnol, Rineau and Caulle, I want to make my home in you, Catechist’s Book and children’s book, Redemptorist Publications, 2018 (First Holy Communion resource)
    • Tellene, Children Praise your God, Dominican Sisters of St Joseph, 2016 (Catechetical resource)

    Articles

    • 'First Proclamation and Catechesis', The Sower Review, October-December 2013
    • 'Notre Dame de Vie Catechesis and the desire for God', The Sower Review, April-June 2011

    Biography

    Fr Marcus Holden has been a lecturer, tutor and course book writer at Maryvale since 2008 and, until recently, was Pathway Leader for the MA in Apologetics. He holds a Master degree in Theology from Oxford University and ecclesiastical Baccalaureate and Licentiate degrees in Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome. Since 2013 he has been external examiner for the Theology Masters degree at St Mary's University, Strawberry Hill.

    He is parish priest at St Bede's, Clapham Park. He is also co-founder of the Evangelium Project, St Anthony Communications and the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy.

    Publications

    Fr Marcus is author of many articles and publications including Saints of the English Calendar (2005), the Evangelium Course (2007), the Why Course (2012). He often represents the Catholic Church for local and national media and has co-presented several historical and catechetical film documentaries.

    Biography

    • Fr Dylan James has taught the principles of Moral Theology at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh for 13 years.
    • He has also taught Moral Theology to the Ordinariate candidates for the priesthood, 2014-2019.
    • He has previously lectured at Maryvale in 2012-13.
    • He is a member of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain, the National Catholic Bioethics Centre (USA), and the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (USA).

    He is parish priest at St Bede's, Clapham Park. He is also co-founder of the Evangelium Project, St Anthony Communications and the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy.

    Research

    Fr Dylan's particular interest is in the revival of Thomistic ‘virtue ethics’ approaches, as pioneered by Servais Pinckaers, OP.

    Publications (selected)

    • “Contraception and the Imperfection of Natural Family Planning” (Faith Magazine, Sept 2011)
    • "Recent Science and the Personhood of the Human Embryo"(Faith, Jan 2010)
    • “Science and Modern Threats to the Human Person” (Faith, March 2007)
    • “Sexual Morality: The ‘Perverted Faculty’ Argument” (Faith, March 2006)
    • “The Evangelical Counsels in the Life of the Diocesan Priest” (Faith, May 2005)

    Biography

    Currently Programme Director for the MA in Catholic Applied Theology at Maryvale Institute, I have also worked as a researcher (education) since 2005 in Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Greenwich and more recently within the charity sector (education) as well as being a Research Associate at the University of Warwick (2012-2018) and a Visiting Fellow at Plymouth Marjon University (2019-2021).

    A Department for Education funded project (2018-2020; part of SEND Schools Workforce Contract for 2018-2020)- I led on the implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting on a leadership (school) exchange programme for the development of strategic leadership of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

    And an Erasmus project (June 2021- May 2023). One of four partner countries working on the programme- Modules and applications for increased school success of students with the innovative digital school model. Part of team leading on the Digi-school workshops (sharing of good practice in primary schools) and training (increased digital skills of teachers).

    Research

    I am a Director of Studies for PhD students at Maryvale and have supervised a number of students on the Bachelor of Divinity and Masters in Catholic Applied Theology.

    I am a member of British Educational Research Association, have presented at a number of national and international conferences and am Assistant Editor of the Inclusion Journal (Teaching Times publication).

    Research areas of interest include: moral education, religious education, evaluation methodologies, inclusive education, SEN, teacher professional development.

    Publications (selected)

    Books

    • Blandford, S. and Knowles, C. (2020) Beyond Poor Inclusive Thinking and Worse Practice, Professional Development Today, issue 21.2: 31-39
    • Bullivant, S., Knowles, C., Vaughan-Spruce, H. and Durcan, B. (2019) Why Catholics Leave, What They Miss and How They Might Return, New Jersey: Paulist Press.
    • Blandford, S. and Knowles, C. (2019) Reflecting on Your Practice, Every Child Journal, issue 7.3: 20-31
    • Blandford, S. and Knowles, C. (2018) Raising Attainment in the Primary Classroom, London: Bloomsbury.

    Reports

    • Knowles, C. (2017), Closing the Atainment Gap in Maths: a Study of Good Practice in Early Years and Primary Settings, London: Fair Education Alliance.

    Journal Articles

    • Blandford, S. and Knowles, C. (2016), Engaging Parents in the Early Years, Every Child Journal, Vol. 5.4: 10-15.
    • Blandford, S. and Knowles, C. (2016), Aspiration, Common Sense and Improving Practice, Professional Development Today, Issue 18.4

    Conferences (recent)

    • Engaging Parents and Carers: Learning from ‘Lockdown’. Paper given at the Inclusive and Supportive Education Conference- ISEC 2021, Institute of Education, University College London- UCL, August 2021.
    • Exploring the New Directory for Catechesis Conference (Chair of round table discussion, Session 4: Philosophical Reflections & Global Educational Challenge; theme: Challenges and Concepts of Catechesis in the 21st Century, Maryvale Institute & Archdiocese of Birmingham, June 2021.
    • Why Catholics Leave, What They Miss and How They Might Return (Paper given at Maryvale Institute, Postgraduate Student Conference, June 2020.
    • Connecting the Dots: Where We are Now. Connecting to Create Resilience Focusing on the Current Political Landscape. Panel member at The Society of Heads Conference, Chester, March 2020.

    Biography

    • Associate Staff Lecturer on the MA in Catholic Applied Theology programme, Spirituality and Marriage and Family Pathways.
    • Currently working for the Diocese of Plymouth - Marriage and Family and Catechetics.
    • Previously worked in the NHS (Nursing, Midwifery, Health Visiting and Child Guidance)
    • I have been a Carmelite Secular (Discalced) since 2000 and studied for an MA (Personal Moral and Spiritual Development) at Maryvale, graduating in 2005.

    Research

    • Presently undertaking research on the Maryvale-Liverpool Hope University PhD Programme (in the area of Spirituality, particularly Carmelite Spirituality, and psychology).
    • I have supervised student dissertations for the MA.

    Publications

    • Examining the Spiritual Traditions of the Early Modern Church (16th-17th centuries), Birmingham: Maryvale Institute, 2009.
    • (Contributor) Love, Marriage and the Family: a Psychological Perspective, Birmingham: Maryvale Institute, 2011.

    Biography

    • 2012-2018: Lecturer (Church History and Historical Theology), Heythrop College, University of London.
    • 2008-2013: Consultor to the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.
    • 2008-2012: Staff member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
    • 2007-2008: Staff member of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church

    During my years in Rome I taught for a Master’s degree course in architecture, sacred art and liturgy at the Università Europea di Roma/Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum. From 2008 to 2011 I was Coordinator of this Master’s programme. In the academic year 2011/2012 I was Professore incaricato for the history of Christian worship and hagiography the Pontifical Institute for Christian Archeology in Rome.

    At present, I teach Church history and patristics at Allen Hall Seminary in London. I am a Visiting Faculty member of the Liturgical Institute at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, Illinois. I am also a Board Member of the Society for Catholic Liturgy and edit the society’s journal, Antiphon (published by the Catholic University of America Press).

    Research

    My doctoral research in Oxford focused on the history of doctrine in the early Christian period, in particular the Christological controversies after the Council of Chalcedon. Since then, my research interests have shifted towards liturgical studies, with a strong historical emphasis. My main interests are ritual, language and non-verbal expression, including questions of sacred architecture, art and music.

    My most recent research project explores the liturgical veneration of the Holy Face of Christ in the late medieval and early modern period.

    Currently I supervise one MPhil student (at the Maryvale Institute). I am happy to accept postgraduate students in Church history and historical theology, preferably in Christian antiquity, or the late medieval and early modern period, and in liturgical studies.

    Publications (selected)

    Books:

    • Signs of the Holy One: Liturgy, Ritual and the Expression of the Sacred, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015.
    • The Voice of the Church at Prayer: Reflections on Liturgy and Language, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012. Also published in German and Italian translation.

    Edited Books:

    • The Fullness of Divine Worship: The Sacred Liturgy and Its Renewal, Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2018.
    • Authentic Liturgical Renewal in Contemporary Perspective: Proceedings of the Sacra Liturgia Conference held in London, 5th – 8th July 2016, London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017.

    Chapters:

    • ‘Augustine and the Dissolution of Polarity – Some Thoughts on Augustine Reception in the Late 13th and Early 14th Centuries According to Thomas Aquinas and Meister Eckhart’ in From the Fourth Century Onwards (Latin Writers), Nachleben, Studia Patristica vol. XCVII (Leuven: Peeters, 2017), 329-344.
    • ‘The Reception of Augustine in the Theology of Alexander de Sancto Elpidio OESA’, in John T. Slotemaker and Jeffrey C. Witt (eds.), Augustine in Late Medieval Philosophy and Theology, Studia Patristica vol. LXXXVII (Leuven: Peeters, 2017), 47-58.

    Journal Articles:

    • “Votive Masses of the Holy Face of Christ in Early Printed Diocesan Missals”, in >Mediaeval Studies 79 (2017), 165-203.
    • “Augustine's Conception of Sacrifice in 'City of God', Book X, and the Eucharistic Sacrifice”, in Antiphon 19 (2015), 29-51.

    Book Chapters:

    • “Origins of the Liturgical Veneration of the Roman Veronica”, in A. Murphy – H. L. Kessler – M. Petoletti – E. Duffy – G. Milanese (ed.), The European Fortune of the Roman Veronica in the Middle Ages (Convivium Supplementum, 2), Turnhout: Brepols, 2017, 144-155.
    • “The Tridentine Liturgical Reform in Historical Perspective”, in U. M. Lang (ed.), Authentic Liturgical Renewal in Contemporary Perspective: Proceedings of the Sacra Liturgia Conference held in London, 5th – 8th July 2016. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017, 109-124.

    Book Reviews:

    • “Josef Johannes Schmid, Sacrum Monarchiae Speculum: Der Sacre Ludwigs XV. 1722: Monarchische Tradition, Zeremoniell, Liturgie, Münster: Aschendorff, 2007”, in Antiphon 22 (2018) 86-88
    • “Brian E. Daley, S.J. and Paul R. Kolbet (eds.), The Harp of Prophecy: Early Christian Interpretation of the Psalms, Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 2015”, in Church History 86 (2017), 183-185.

    Biography

    A member of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle) since 1953, I obtained my PhD in Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Psychology and Educatio¬nal Sciences, Katholieke Universi¬teit Leuven. I did my theological studies at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Leuven and at the International Institute Lumen Vitae, Brussels.

    Initially I was professor at the Teacher Training College Saint Thomas, Brussels, and at the International Institute Lumen Vitae where I also acted as director of the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis. In 1975 I moved to the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Leuven where I taught several subjects related to religious education in schools. Besides the theoretical study of catechesis and adult education, I integrated social and organizational psychology as sub-disciplines of practical theology. For several years I acted as Chair of the Department of Practical Theology and of the Centre for the training of teachers of religion. For 23 years I was a member of the standing commission for the curriculum development of religious education in secondary schools.

    Research

    For the past twenty-five years I organized residential training sessions of participative school management, using systems thinking as a way of situating schools always in their social, cultural, economic, political context. The 3 or 4-day sessions are a kind of laboratory where governors, principals, a delegation of teachers and a delegation of students (17 year) work together and experiment with probing situations and thematic aspects they meet in the reality.

    I also launched a project related to the personal search of the many people who abandoned religious practice or distanced themselves from the Church. A space was imagined for people to find the atmosphere and architectural qualities supporting their personal journey: the disclosure of what is waiting inside to be recognized and reflected upon. The research is focussing upon the idea of chora or khôra: the kind of (immaterial) space where things can emerge, can come into being. It’s inducing a new affinity and attention, a new perception of presence, transcendence, interiority, the divine, the personal God of Christian faith.

    Supervison: Regular teaching visits to Latin America and Asia offered me an opportunity to become acquainted with Liberation theology and Political theology. I supervised or evaluated a number of doctoral theses related to this theological discipline.

    Publications (recent)

    Articles in numerous reviews, including Lumen Vitae, Verbum, Tijdschrift voor Catechese, Korrel, Temps et Paroles, Word in Life, The Living Light, The Sower, Medellin, Journal for Religious Education, Katecheta, and in various collective works.

    • S. Gatt, H. Lombaerts, E. Osewska & A. Scerri, Catholic Education. European and Maltese Perspectives, Malta, 2004.
    • H. Lombaerts & D. Polllefeyt (Ed.), Hermeneutics and Religious Education, Leuven, 2004.
    • D. Pollefeyt, D. Hutsebaut, H. Lombaerts, e.a., Godsdienstonderwijs Uitgedaagd, Leuven, 2004.
    • Festschrift on the occasion of retirement: B. Roebben & M. Warren (ed.), Religious Education as Practical Theology, Leuven, 2001.
    • H. Lombaerts & B. Roebben, Godsdienst op School in de Branding. Een Tussentijdse Balans, Antwerpen, 2000.

    Biography

    Rev Dr Robert Ignatius Letellier was educated in Grahamstown, Cambridge, Salzburg, Rome (the Gregorian University, the Biblical Institute) and Jerusalem (the Ecole Biblique). He is a member of Trinity College (Cambridge), the Salzburg Centre for Research in the Early English Novel (University of Salzburg), the Maryvale Institute (Birmingham), and the teaching panel of the Institute for Continuing Education at Madingley Hall (Cambridge).

    His publications number over 100 items, including books and articles on the late-seventeenth-, eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century novel (particularly the Gothic Novel and Sir Walter Scott), the Bible, and European culture. He has specialized in the Romantic opera, especially the work of Giacomo Meyerbeer (a four-volume English edition of his diaries, studies and analysis of his operas), the opéra-comique, the Operetta, and the Romantic Ballet. He has also worked for the BBC, the Royal Opera House, Naxos International and Marston Records, in the researching and preparation of productions.

    Research

    All aspects of Biblical studies.

    Publications (selected)

    • The Bible in Music. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016.
    • The Bible and Art: Finding God’s Covenant of Love in Word and Image. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016.
    • The Bible as Revelatory Word: 1. Scripture as Oracular Text (The Prophetic and Wisdom Traditions). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016.
    • The Bible as Revelatory Word: 2. Scripture as Providential Text (Late Old Testament Narrative). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016.
    • 'The Scriptural Roots of [Pope Francis’ encyclical] Laudato Sì'. September 2015.

    Biography

    Professor Loughlin is a Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, Emeritus Fellow of St Edmund’s College, Cambridge and Emeritus Professor of European Politics at Cardiff University. He is a Fellow of the UK’s Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS), of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA – until 2015) and a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (FLSW). He has held Visiting Professorships and Fellowships in Oxford, Paris, Florence, Princeton, and other European universities.In 2009, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Umeå, Sweden in recognition of his research on European politics. In 2010, the French Government appointed him Officier des Palmes Académiques (equivalent to the OBE) in recognition of his contributions to French language and culture and research on European politics.

    Research

    Professor Loughlin's research interests include:

    • Human Dignity in the Judaeo-Christian Tradition.
    • Theology and the formation of the modern State.
    • Regionalism, Federalism and Local Government.
    • The Catholic Perspective on the European Union.

    I also launched a project related to the personal search of the many people who abandoned religious practice or distanced themselves from the Church. A space was imagined for people to find the atmosphere and architectural qualities supporting their personal journey: the disclosure of what is waiting inside to be recognized and reflected upon. The research is focussing upon the idea of chora or khôra: the kind of (immaterial) space where things can emerge, can come into being. It’s inducing a new affinity and attention, a new perception of presence, transcendence, interiority, the divine, the personal God of Christian faith.

    Supervison: Regular teaching visits to Latin America and Asia offered me an opportunity to become acquainted with Liberation theology and Political theology. I supervised or evaluated a number of doctoral theses related to this theological discipline.

    Publications (selected)

    Authored and Co-Authored Books

    • (with Peter Allott and Richard Crellin), The UK Government’s ‘Big Society’ Programme and Catholic Social Teaching. 77 p. (Chelmsford: Matthew James Publishing, 2013). ISBN 978-0-9574962-0-0.
    • Subnational Government: the French Experience. 239 p. (Basingstoke: Macmillan Palgrave, May 2007), ISBN: 0333994477.

    Publications (recent)

    Books and Journal Special Issues (Edited)

    • Human Dignity in the Judaeo-Christian Tradition: Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant Perspectives, London: Bloomsbury Press, (forthcoming 2019).
    • (Guest editor with Sandrina Antunes), “Europeanisation and Territorial Politics in Small European Unitary States”, Regional and Federal Studies. Special Issue, (forthcoming 2019).

    Articles in Refereed Journals

    • (with Sandrina Antunes), “Europe, subnational mobilization and state rescaling in small unitary states: a comparative analysis”, Regional and Federal Studies, 2019

    Chapters in Books

    • “Territory and Governance”, in Annsi Passi, John Harrison and Martin Jones (eds.), Handbook of Regions and Territories, Edward Elgar, pp. 197-207. ISBN-10: 1785365797; ISBN-13: 978-1785365799, 2018.

    Biography

    In retirement from a civil service career, I studied at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Maryvale, attaining a distinction at MA. I was awarded the Institute’s Edward Hulmes Prize for Research in 2016 for my MA dissertation on the pre-Reformation Church in England. I was subsequently invited to teach the module on controversial issues from Church history on the MA course and, having revised the coursebook, am about to work on a more substantial revision.

    Research

    My particular interest is in pre-Reformation Church history, and I am currently scoping a research project in that area.

    Biography

    Robert was educated at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and Maynooth (NUIM), Ireland, where he studied physics and applied science, and philosophy and theological studies, respectively, at the International Theological Institute (ITI), Austria, where he received a master's degree in the theology of marriage and family, and at Liverpool Hope University (LHU), United Kingdom, where he completed a doctorate in philosophy with a dissertation in philosophical anthropology detailing Edith Stein’s engagement with the thought of Thomas Aquinas in her mature philosophy of the human person. Robert is a faculty member of Franciscan University of Steubenville (FUS), Ohio, where he teaches philosophy and theology, an associate member of faculty at Maryvale Institute (MI), United Kingdom, and the Priory Institute (PI), Ireland, and a founding member of the Aquinas Institute of Ireland.

    Research

    Broad Areas of Research:

    • Metaphysics
    • Personalism
    • Thomism
    • Phenomenology
    • Marriage and Family
    • Theology of the Body
    • Philosophy of Physics

    Principle Thinkers Researched:

    • Thomas Aquinas
    • Edith Stein
    • Karol Wojtyla/Pope John Paul II
    • Aristotle

    Publications (selected)

    Forthcoming Peer Reviewed Academic Articles

    • ‘The Christian Philosophy of Edith Stein’ in American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly (forthcoming).

    Peer Reviewed Academic Articles

    • ‘Human Individuality in Stein’s Mature Works’ in Edith Stein's Herausforderung heutiger Anthropologie, ed. by Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz and Mette Lebech (Heiligenkreuz: Be&Be, 2017), pp. 124-39.

    Academic Presentations

    • ‘The Structure of the Human Person’, Symposium on Edith Stein's Philosophical Anthropology, Maynooth, December, 2018. I provided the translation of Stein's work for this session, and co-organised and co-hosted the session with Mette Lebech of Maynooth University.
    • ‘Edith Stein’s Understanding of the Soul as Form of the Body.’ International Theological Institute, Trumau, Austria, October 2018.
    • ‘The Cognition of the Human Individual,’ Hildebrand Schülerkreis, June 2018.

    Biography

    • Taught German and French in secondary schools for 31 years
    • Ofsted Inspector for MFL with work also on SMSC
    • Lecturer at Sheffield University in MFL teacher training
    • Director of the PGCE course at Maryvale Institute
    • Inspector for the Archdiocese of Birmingham, Section 48
    • Chair of Governors of a Catholic secondary school
    • Member of the Interim Academy Board of a Catholic primary school
    • Member of the Council for Christians and Jews

    Research

    Research interests include the curriculum of secondary education, teaching about other faiths in Catholic secondary schools, the use of Catholic art in catechesis, and the Holocaust. I am currently revising a course on Catholic art.

    Publications (selected)

    • Lettelier, R. and Mellor J.M., The Bible and Art, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2016.
    • Convery, A., Evans, M., Green, S., Macaro, E., and Mellor, J.M., Pupils' Perceptions of Europe, Cassell, London,1996
    • Mellor, J.M. and Trafford, J. National Curriculum in Modern Foreign Languages - the First Year of Implementation: the ALL Survey, Language Learning Journal, No.10, September 1994
    • Mellor, J.M. and Gallenschütz, A., Wirtschaftsprobleme, BBC TV Select, ed. Pawling, E., programme 6, 1993, BBC London.
    • Mellor, J.M., Umwelt, BBC TV Select, ed. Pawling, E., programme 3, 1993, BBC London.

    Biography

    My first studies were in modern history at Girton College, Cambridge University. Later I gained a BD degree from London University, where I also studied for my doctorate. My publications have mostly been in Old Testament although my thesis was published in 1990, Human Agents of Cosmic Power in Hellenistic Judaism and the Hellenistic Tradition, and re-printed in 2015 by Bloomsbury Academic Press. I have lectured and researched in biblical texts and interpretation for 30 years.

    Research

    Conferences: I have been a regular giver of papers at the Society of Biblical Literature Meetings each year, and have been a member of the Society for OT Study for many years. In addition I am a member of the EABS. I have given annual bible workshops at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education for many years. I have also examined and supervised research students in a number of HEIs and in my recent post at Maryvale Institute have overseen the successful completion of doctoral degrees of over 20 students.

    Monographs: include Biblical Morality: Moral Perspectives in OT Narratives, cited in biblical ethics scholarship; Reading Ecclesiastes, cited in later wisdom texts scholarship; Alterity, Pain and Suffering in Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, also cited in recent scholarship and Urban Imagination in Biblical Prophecy. As well as these I have published articles in a number of volumes of Collected Papers, including the series Constructions of Space in Biblical Context.

    Dissemination: works include Images of God in the OT, Joshua to Kings (now 3rd edition), Study Guide to Jeremiah and articles in two of the OUP Handbooks series with biblical content.

    Biography

    I am a theologian and church historian based in Macau SAR, China, at the University of St Joseph, where I am Dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies and Assistant Professor of Theology, and Academic Director of the Diocesan Seminary, and teach courses in fundamental and dogmatic theology.

    I am an alumnus of the Maryvale Institute’s undergraduate Catholic Theology programme and my post-graduate work was undertaken at the University of Oxford, where I obtained a Master of Studies degree in Church History and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Theology, with a thesis concerning doctrinal development in the work of Blessèd John Henry Newman. I am a Permanent Deacon of the Diocese of Portsmouth.

    Research

    I am currently engaged in editing the letters and journals from the Second Vatican Council of Abbot Christopher Butler, an English theologian who served on the Council’s doctrinal commission and was instrumental in the form and content both of the Constitutions on Divine Revelation and the Church. I am concurrently working on the concept of “glory” as a theological category bound upwith theosis in the Liturgy.

    I am currently supervising a doctoral candidate, who is working on Aristotle’s Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Early Modern Liturgical Music, and a second candidate as secondary promoter who is working on Newman, Congar and the Holy Spirit.

    Publications (selected)

    Books

    • A Monk at the Council: the Conciliar letters and diaries of Abbot Christopher Butler, Downside Abbey Press, forthcoming 2020
    • The search for continuity in the face of change: John Henry Newman and the Hermeneutic of Reform in Continuity, CUA, forthcoming 2019

    Edited Chapters

    • 'John Henry Newman and the New Evangelisation', in Kim and Grogan, (eds.), The New Evangelization: Faith, People, Context and Practice, (T&T Clark, 2015)
    • ‘The State and the Christian Voluntary Sector’, in Chappell and Davis, (eds.), Catholic Social Conscience, (Gracewing, 2011).

    Articles

    • ‘Holy and secular: Vatican II and the Theology of the Laity’, Downside Review, forthcoming
    • ‘Butler and Ecumenism as a theological category in the implementation of Vatican II’, Downside Review, May 2016

    Book Reviews

    • Mezzaros, ‘The Prophetic Church: History and Doctrinal Development in John Henry Newman and Yves Congar’, (OUP, 2016), in Irish Theological Quarterly, forthcoming Winter 2017
    • Marchetto, ‘The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council: A Counterpoint for the History of the Council’, (Scranton UP, 2010), in Nova et Vetera, vol.15:1, 2017

    Biography

    Andrew has spent forty years working in Catholic education in a variety of teaching, leadership, administrative and governance roles, and has four degrees, including a PhD and an honorary BA.

    He is a former secondary school Headteacher and Deputy Director of Schools for the Archdiocese of Birmingham. He has worked with the Catholic Education Service and the Office for Standards in Education to publish a number of papers on the academic standards and attainment in Catholic schools in England.

    He was seconded to Liverpool Hope University in 2007 to work as Director of its Centre for Christian Education and subsequently was appointed Director of Postgraduate Research at the Maryvale Institute from 2013-15. He remains an Associate of the Institute, of the National Centre for Christian Education and is also an Associate Member of the National Institute for Christian Education Research at Canterbury Christ Church University.

    Andrew is an established author and reviewer. He has prepared employment and other quasi-legal documentation for the CES, Catholic dioceses and local authorities, and has been the lead liaison officer for the Catholic sector in three Local Authority reorganisation schemes, Coventry, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.

    Research

    My academic specialism is in the field of faith-based education and school leadership.

    My current research is primarily historical, looking at the changing patterns of headteacher recruitment in the Catholic sector since 1946.

    I have supervised nineteen doctoral students at Liverpool Hope University and eleven at Maryvale (plus one M.Phil student) in the field of education, and of aspects of theology.

    I have been an external and internal examiner at Liverpool Hope University and an internal examiner at Maryvale.

    Publications (selected)

    Book Contributor:

    • 'Laudato Si: What does it all mean?', in Reflections on Pope Francis’s Encyclical, Laudato Si, Newcastle upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2017).

    Books:

    • Catholic Studies: Aspects of Doctoral Research at the Maryvale Institute, Volume 2 , (forthcoming).
    • Catholic Studies: Aspects of Doctoral Research at the Maryvale Institute, Volume 1 , (forthcoming).
    • Faith, Hope and Educational Research Volume Two, Liverpool Hope University Press (2017).
    • Faith, Hope and Educational Research Volume One, Liverpool Hope University Press (2016).

    Journal Articles - Peer Reviewed:

    • A model for evaluating spiritual recollections, International Journal of Children’s Spirituality (2018).
    • Investigating the CEO of a MAT: Examining the Practices and Positions of’ the Street’, Education Management, Administration & Leadership (2018).

    Biography

    John Murray graduated from Mater Dei Institute in 1985 and taught Religion and English in two secondary schools: Presentation College, Carlow [1985-6] and St. David's Holy Faith Secondary School, Greystones [1986-2002]. He did a Masters degree in Mater Dei [1998-2001] and began lecturing in Mater Dei Institute in 2002. His main teaching is in the area of moral theology (Christian Ethics), but he also supervises Teaching Practice, conduct Religious Studies tutorials, moderates theses, and so on. Dr Murray finished his doctoral degree in theology [St. Patrick's College, Maynooth] in 2009. His doctorate is entitled: "The Role of Religion as a Basic Human Good in the Moral Theory of Germain Grisez".

    John Murray currently teaches Moral Theology modules on Maryvale's MA in Catholic Applied Theology programme and also supervises MA dissertations.

    In relation to his link to the Iona Institute [see below], Dr Murray has been frequently involved in public debate in the media, including short pieces in newspapers, and radio and TV appearances. These debates concerned the place of denominational schools in a pluralist Ireland; marriage; sexual ethics; abortion; euthanasia and assisted suicide; and even Christmas.

    Affiliations

    • Member of the Theology Committee of the Irish Episcopal Conference.
    • Member of Association of Teachers of Moral Theology.
    • Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Iona Institute, Dublin.

    Research

    The fundamental moral theology of Germain Grisez and his collaborators [esp. John Finnis, Joseph Boyle, and Robert P. George]. New natural law. # Fundamental Moral Theory in general [especially the issue of moral truth]. # Moral theories. # Catholic Sexual Ethics and its relationship to sexual ethics more generally.

    The nature and value of faith-based education/schooling, with reference to liberal values such as freedom of religion, as well reference to the place of parents in education, as well as the wider context of the relationship between Christian faith and human reason.

    Publications (selected)

    Books:

    • John J. Murray, Issues of Justice and Peace (2005): Veritas

    Book Chapters:

    • ‘A De Fide Argument Against “Faith Development”?’ – in Sean Whittle (ed.), Irish and British Reflections on Catholic Education: Foundations, Identity, Leadership Issues and Religious Education in Catholic Schools (Springer, forthcoming).
    • ‘Mercy in St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae’ in Mary McCaughey (ed.), Merciful Like the Father, (Dublin: Veritas, 2017), pp. 35-42.
    • ‘Review of Conscience and Catholicism: rights, responsibilities, institutional responses’ in British Journal of Religious Education, Vol. 39, Issue 1, 2017, online at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01416200.2016.1250470.
    • Faith, Hope and Educational Research Volume One, Liverpool Hope University Press (2016).
    • 'Chaplain and Guidance Counselor as Professional: Some Theological Reflections' in Education Matters: Readings in Pastoral Care for School Chaplains, Guidance Counsellors and Teachers, (Dublin: Veritas, 2014).
    • 'John Paul II's Theology of the Body' in The Heritage of Pope John Paul II, (Dublin: Veritas, 2011)

    Biography

    Louise Nelstrop is a College Lecturer and Full Member of the Theology and Religion Faculty, Oxford University and a Lecturer in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics, York St John University. Her research focuses on medieval theology and mysticism, particularly the English Mystics. She has edited a number of essay collections that explore the taxonomy of mysticism for Routledge (Contemporary Theological Explorations in Christian Mysticism series). Most recently, Art and mysticism: interfaces in the medieval and modern periods (Routledge, 2018). She has also written an introduction to Christian Mysticism, Christian Mysticism: An Introduction to Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives with K. Magill and B.B. Onishi (Routledge, 2009) and published a number of articles on the English Mystics. She is co-convenor of the Mystical Theology Network.

    Starting in summer 2019, Louise will undertake a Jubilee Fellowship at the Margaret Beaufort Institute, Cambridge, sponsored by the English Province of the Congregation of Jesus. She will produce an article on deification and union in the Middle English translation of Marguerite Porete’s Mirror of Simple Souls. She will compare the annotation by the anonymous, possibly female translator M.N. found in St John’s College, Cambridge MS 71 with those of Richard Methley in his Latin translation of the Middle England text, found in Pembroke College, Cambridge, MS 221. This is part of a larger project which Dr Nelstrop is carrying out, involving the close analysis of translated texts both by and about female mystics, to reveal whether, and if so, how, the English translators brought the central concepts of this new mysticism, such as ‘union with God’ and ‘deification’, into line with the English Anchoritic tradition.

    Research

    Research interests:

    • Mystical Theology
    • The Middle English Mystics
    • Victorine and Cisterican Spirituality
    • Ecclesiology and Practical Theology
    • Emerging Church and Fresh Expression Initiative in the UK and Thailand

    Publications (selected)

    Books

    • Art and mysticism : interfaces in the medieval and modern periods, edited by Louise Nelstrop, Helen Appleton. London: Routledge, 2018
    • Exploring lost dimensions in Christian mysticism : opening to the mystical by Louise Nelstrop and Simon D. Podmore. London: Routledge, 2016
    • Christian mysticism : an introduction to contemporary theoretical approaches Louise Nelstrop; with Kevin Magill, Bradley B. Onishi. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016

    Book Reviews

    • Apophatic Elements in the Theory and Practice of Psychoanalysis: Pseudo-Dionysius and C.G. Jung. Jan 2017
    • The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Christian Mysticism,Jun 2016

    Articles

    • Louise Nelstrop (2016) Nakedness and Anthropology in Julian of Norwich and Maurice Merleau-Ponty: Conversation Partners or Dangerous Liaisons? Medieval Mystical Theology, 25:1, 69-85

    Biography

    Fr Guy is a priest of the Birmingham Oratory. He holds a Masters degree in Classics from Cambridge University; an STL from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome; and a D.Phil in Theology from Oxford University. Fr Guy is lecturer for the module God and Salvation in Jesus Christ and tutor for the module Liturgy and Sacraments on the MA in Catholic Applied Theology programme.

    Research

    Fr Guy’s research interests include the theology of Blessed John Henry Newman, Patristics, dogmatics, liturgy and Church music.

    Publications)

    • 2007. Newman and Education (Continuum Press) with Professor James Arthur of the University of Birmingham.

    Biography

    I am Sr. Mary Priscilla Ohawuchi,IHM, a Roman Catholic Nun of the Religious Institute of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of Christ. I obtained my Msc.Ed in 2014 from the Walden University Minneapolis Minnesota U.S.A. After my Bsc.Ed, I taught at Immaculate Heart Juniorate High School in Edorate Kenya East Africa. I also served as an Associate Director of Pastoral care at Provena Health service, Rockford Illinois U.S.A. Further to this, I taught Christian Morality in Religious Education at Bishop Grimes High School Syracuse New York U.S.A.

    I later served with the Diocesan Caritas office in the Pastoral care of immigrants, as well Parish secretary at Sacro Cuore Rimini Italy. I worked at St. John’s school Antigua Caribbean Island as a Vice Head teacher and a Religious Education teacher. For the last six years, I have been engaged in the leadership of my Religious Institute as the Sub-Regional Superior of my Institute in Italy. Within this period, I have also been engaged with several part-time and voluntary activities. I taught in the program of Trinity College preparatory course of English language at Benedetto XV School, served as a voluntary staff of African University Students’ Service, Rome, as well as serving as a member of academic staff at Maryvale Institute.

    As a Religious, I am a finally professed member of my Institute. I am also a distinguished member of the American International Society of Poets.

    Research

    I am interested in the area of holistic and inclusive education and their positive effects in the integral formation of the human person for greater efficiency in the society.

    Publications

    • Looking at Mary and Learning from her. In both English and Italian languages.
    • Grow wise series for young people. Grow wise in Faith, Hope and Love..
    • Several religious poems.

    Biography

    Dr Phillips wrote the coursebook and teaches for the module Evangelising Culture, and also teaches on Cultural Horizons of Faith. He completed his BA (Hons) in Theology at Heythrop College, and his MA in Systematic Theology and PhD at King's College London. He has published various papers on Catholic theology, systematic theology (particularly in the German tradition), the intersection of faith and culture, and interreligious relations in Catholic theology. He also teaches at Allen Hall Seminary, St Mary's Twickenham and the University of Roehampton. A more complete academic profile can be found at: https://kcl.academia.edu/JacobPhillips.

    Research

    My research interests involve investigating different modes of human self-understanding in relation to systematic theology, particularly regarding the interrelation of human subjectivity and obedience.

    I recently completed my PhD at King's College London, working on human subjectivity and obedience in the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and I work also on the thought of John Henry Cardinal Newman, particularly regarding his more philosophically-orientated work, and his attempts to establish an empirically-orientated epistemics of belief, or 'assent'.

    Publications

    • “Interreligious Reading after Vatican II with John Henry Newman's Two Habits of Mind”, Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, November 2019.
    • “My Enemy's Enemy is my Friend: Martin Luther and Joseph Ratzinger on the Bi-Dimensionality of Conscience”, Heythrop Journal, 2017.
    • “The Cup of Suffering: Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship and German Expressionism. Modernism, Christianity, and Apocalypse”, Brill Publications, Nov 2014.
    • "'Being Scorned by One's Own is Perfect Joy': The Strange Case of Dorothy Day", Journal of Religious History, Jan 2014
    • "Dispossessed Science, Dispossessed Self: Wilhelm Dilthey and Bonhoeffer’s Christology Lectures of 1933" in Ontology and Ethics: New Conversations in Bonhoeffer Scholarship. Pickwick. 2013

    Biography

    Following undergraduate studies at Oriel College, Oxford, and an MA at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (UCL) I spent some years in secondary education before being awarded an AHRC scholarship for a doctorate at the University of Bristol, focusing on the doctrine of deification in the Russian tradition. This doctoral work forms the basis for my 2018 monograph on Vladimir Solov’ev and also led to a research fellowship in the Centre for Eastern Christianity at Heythrop College.

    At Maryvale I teaching the MA module on Ecclesiology and also mark and moderate essays across a number of modules on the MA programme. In addition to my involvement with Maryvale, I am also a theology lecturer at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. I lecture across a range of topics, including Systematic theology at MA and BA levels; Orthodox mystical theology for the MA in Christian Spirituality; Theological Anthropology, Christian Ethics, Ecclesiology, Eastern Christianity, for the BA programme. I am also the Programme Director for the BA In Theology, Religion, and Ethics.

    I am a board member of Mater Ecclesia College, established in 2019, which provides seminarian formation for Allen Hall and Wonersh seminarians, as well as ecclesiastical degrees. My membership of the St John Chrysostom Society reflects a strong personal commitment to Catholic-Orthodox reunion. I am also contributor and theological advisor for Radio Maria England.

    Research

    Current research includes work on the parallels between Catholic Mariology and emergence Sophiology in the Christian East, ongoing research on the doctrine of deification, the immediate reception of Rerum Novarum, the relationship between Church and State. As well as supervising MA theses at St Mary’s, I am involved in the supervision of a doctoral thesis looking developments in the liturgical reform between Sacrosanctum Concilium and the introduction of the Novus Ordo Mass.

    Publications

    Monograph:

    • ‘Breathing the Spirit with Both Lungs’: Deification in the Work of Vladimir Solov’ev , (Leuven: Peeters, 2018).

    Book Chapters:

    • ‘Evgenii Trubetskoi and Vladimir Solov’ev: A Survey of an Intellectual Relationship about Theocracy, Freedom and Divine-Humanity’, in Evgenii Trubetskoi: Icon and Philosophy, (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2020 [in press]), ed. by Teresa Obolevitch and Randall Poole.
    • ‘The Slavophiles from Khomiakov to Solov’ev’ for A History of the Desire for Christian Unity: Ecumenism in the Churches, 19th-21st Century, 3 vols., (Leiden: Brill, 2020 in press]), ed. by Alberto Melloni and Luca Ferracci.

    Articles:

    • ‘The Ecclesiology of Divine-Humanity and Church Unity: Solov’ev, Berdyaev and Bulgakov’, for One in Christ, Vol. 52 (2018), 187-205.
    • ‘Vladimir Solov’ev and the 19th-Century Pioneers of Catholic-Orthodox reunion’ in The Downside Review, January 2017, Vol. 135(1), 35-54

    Biography

    FR ANDREW PINSENT MA DPhil PhD STB PhL is a lecturer at Maryvale, principally for the MA programme on the Apologetics pathway. He is also a Research Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford University, Research Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, and a member of the Theology and Religion Faculty, where he supervises dissertations on theological issues in relation to contemporary science. He was formerly a high energy physicist on the DELPHI experiment at CERN, has degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a second doctorate, in philosophy, from St Louis University. He is widely published and is a regular contributor to public debate in the media, including for the BBC and EWTN, and is also the co-author, with Fr Marcus Holden, of several catechetical projects published by the Catholic Truth Society, such as the Evangelium and Why? courses.

    Research

    Research interests include: philosophy of science, virtue ethics, metaphysical issues in contemporary science and theology, philosophy of persons, second-person relatedness and insight & understanding.

    A fuller academic profile is available on the Ian Ramsay Centre website.

    Publications

    • The History of Evil in the Medieval Age 450-1450CE (edited). Routledge, 2018.
    • “Eyesight with Insight: Cosmology and Second-Person Inspiration.” In Creatio ex nihilo, edited by Gary Anderson and Markus Bockmuehl, pp. 347-365. Notre Dame, Indiana: Notre Dame University Press, 2018
    • “Augustine, Original Sin and the Naked Ape.” In Finding Ourselves after Dawin: Conversations on the Image of God, Original Sin, and the Problem of Evil, edited by Stanley P. Rosenberg with Michael Burdett, Michael Lloyd and Benno van den Toren. Ada, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2018.
    • “Who’s Afraid of the Infused Virtues? Dispositional Infusion, Human and Divine,” In The Virtuous Life: Thomas Aquinas on the Theological Nature of Moral Virtues, edited by Harm Goris and Henk Schoot. Leuven, Paris, Bristol – CT: Peeters, 2017.
    • The Second-Person Perspective in Aquinas’s Ethics: Virtues and Gifts. Routledge, 2012.

    Biography

    I obtained my PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2007, and have taught there and at the University of Glasgow. Since 2010, I have been a research supervisor at Maryvale.

    Research

    My PhD focussed on the religious and cultural exchanges between England and the Continent at the end of the Middle Ages.

    Most of my research is multi-disciplinary, incorporating history, history of art, literature, theology and anthropology. I am particularly interested in structures, cultural transmission and encounters and in the narratives that flow from these.

    My fields of research are as follows:

    • Medieval (Church) history
    • The history of women and religion (including female religious communities)
    • Nationalism, national and Catholic identity
    • The Catholic Imagination
    • Church history of Central and Eastern Europe, with a special interest in the Byzantine/Latin encounter
    • Church history in Africa
    • The history of Catholicism and its relation to the natural world

    Publications & Professional Memberships

    I have just completed a book on the role of the Catholic Duchesses of Perth in the Jacobite period and am currently working on the life of St Elizabeth Hesselblad, who re-invigorated the Bridgettine Order.

    Books

    • H. Schnitker, Meditations on Mary: Twelve Essays on the Mother of God in the Catholic Imagination, Gracewing, 2019.
    • H. Schnitker, Jacobite Duchesses: the Women of the House of Drummond, 1688-1745, Birlinn, 2019.
    • S. Orr, M. Ajmal, B. Taylor and H. Schnitker, Chaplaincy in the Scottish Prison Service, SPS, 2018.

    Articles

    • 'Evidence for Late Medieval "Permanent" Deacons', New Diaconal Review, (forthcoming).
    • 'The Historical Ideas of Laudato Si’', in M. Mills, H. Schnitker, and J. Orr (eds), Maryvale Miscellanea I: Context and Ideas in Laudato Si’, Cambridge Scholars, 2017.

    Professional Memberships

    • Centre européen d’études bourguignonnes
    • The Richard III Society
    • The History of Women Religious of Britain and Ireland (H-WRBI) Network
    • St Andrew’s Foundation, University of Glasgow (Associate Member)

    Biography

    My first degree was a PhB with Heythrop College (the original one near Oxford). Many years later I studied with the very first cohort for a theology degree at Maryvale (validated by Maynooth: a B A Divinity, first class honours. At my bishop’s request I set up a diocesan cathechetical centre called the Ogilvie Institute that worked in alliance with Maryvale. For some years I served on the Academic Board at Maryvale whilst working as the Director of Studies for the national programme of formation for the permanent diaconate since 2002. I still fulfill that role on behalf of the Diaconate Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland. Before that I swerved as chairman of the Board of Governors of Aberdeen College for fourteen years. I have published on Medical Ethics and Human Life, the Foyers of Charity as pioneers in the New Evangelisation, and Healing of Memories Ministry. I was a co-founder of the journal, New Diaconal Review, now called the Josephinum Diaconal Review. I chair the Council and Board of Trustees of a new community called NEW SPRING.

    Research

    The history and theology of the ministry of the diaconate and healing ministry as part of New Evangelisation.

    Publications (selected)

    Books

    • 2011, 'Deacons in the Diocese and the Parish', in Deacons: Ministers of Christ and of God’s Mysteries, edited by Gearóid Dullea
    • 2002, Editor of Festschrift for Bishop Mario Conti: A Silver Garland

    Papers

    • 2016, The Deacon as an Image of Mercy for the promotion of the New Evangelisation in Pastoral Work (presentation in Rome)
    • 2012, The Foyers of Charity: Pioneers of the New Evangelisation, The Sower, July 2012
    • 2012, The Permanent Diaconate: International Eucharistic Congress, Dublin

    Work in Progress

    • 2011 – , Enchiridion on Diaconate

    Biography

    Canon John Udris acquired his STL in Spiritual Theology from the Angelicum, Rome. He is Spiritual Director at St Mary’s College, Oscott and teaches on Christian Spirituality and Homiletics. Fr John is the lecturer for the module Prayer and the Spiritual Life on the MA in Catholic Applied Theology Programme.

    Research

    Research interest in the spirituality of Therese of Liseux. Currently investigating the potential for opening of the Cause for Beatification of G K Chesterton on behalf of the Bishop of Northampton.

    Publications (selected)

    • The Gift of St Therese of Lisieux (Gracewing 2008)
    • Holy Daring: the Fearless Trust of St Therese of Lisieux (Gracewing 1997)

    Biography

    I obtained my PhD in May 2018. The PhD is an empirical study specifically exploring a disconnect in faith and praxis amidst Catholics. It examines the sexual moral teaching of the Catholic Church in light of those electing to marry in the Catholic Tradition.

    Research

    My research interests pertain to Catholic Sexual Morals and the teaching of the Magisterium.

    Biography

    I studied at Maryvale as a part-time distance-learning student from 1992 to 2011, obtaining B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. During this time I also worked as a parish catechist for confirmation candidates and adults, as well as producing and leading parish bible studies.

    Since 2008 I have lectured on the BPhil programme at Maryvale in: Metaphysics and Epistemology, Christian Anthropology, The Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, Philosophy of God and Latin for Philosophy. From 2013, I have lectured on the BDiv programme at Maryvale in: Systematic Philosophy, Introduction to Philosophy and History of Philosophy.

    During 2012-13 I lectured on Metaphysics and Christology at the Maryvale Summer Schools at Buckfast Abbey. I also lectured on Epistemology to Catholic seminarians at Redemptoris Mater seminary, Kitwe, Zambia, April-May 2012 (Gregorian University syllabus).

    In October 2013 I lectured on Introduction to Philosophy through Fides et Ratio to Year 1 and on Plato & Aristotle to Year 2 seminarians at St. Malachy’s Seminary College, Belfast. The following year I returned to lecture on History of Philosophy and Metaphysics and on Aquinas and Late Medieval Philosophy.

    Marking essay and exam papers for Maryvale, and research as below, are ongoing.

    Research

    Thesis on comparisons and contrasts in the philosophical and theological anthropology of St Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, Bl. John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham (Supervisor: Professor David Luscombe, University of Sheffield; External examiner Dr. Fergus Kerr, O.P., Oxford University)

    Research into the historical and anthropological consequences of nominalism is ongoing, with particular focus on the spiritual and psychological element of ‘receptivity’.

    Biography

    Following initial studies in Theology, Music, Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology I acquired a BSc (Hons) in Physics, Mathematics & Engineering followed by a PGCE. I taught and undertook chaplaincy work in various secondary schools between 1975 and 1997 and was also a catechist for parish sacramental programmes and post-baptismal catechesis.

    In 2000 I attained an M.Ed. (Distinction) with a dissertation on lay participation in ministry, especially School Chaplaincy. As an executive member of the Association of Catholic Chaplains in Education, I helped research the training needs of school and college chaplains, collated the findings and worked on the 2nd draft of a document to be promulgated by the Bishops of England & Wales. During that time I was part of the team preparing for and leading the annual Conferences of the ACCE.

    I also assisted in developing a course for school chaplains as a pathway of the MA at Maryvale Institute. I took part in the course as a mentor and tutor until about 2002.

    From 2003 onwards I trained in and worked at marking coursework; initially BA Div. Pathway B and then with FE Certificated courses. I also lectured to FE students on Prayer, Church History and Christology.

    Research Interests

    Post-baptismal catechesis.

    Publications (selected)

    ‘Can Children learn Science?’ I was part of the team which took part in the 2nd Year of research (1986-7). A joint Glos. & Wilts. LEA venture on the constructivist approach to education. Research published in booklet form January 1988.

    In 1993 I was part of a working party in the ACCE seeking to form better guidelines for school and college chaplains. I was also working within my own diocesan chaplaincy team to do the same. The diocesan guidelines were progressing well but the national working party was struggling. I took the diocesan outline to the national group, now associated with the CES, and used the framework to help develop an ACCE document. My work was to define chapters and write up all the content we had prepared. At the 1995 Conference the draft was accepted. It was not yet in a form required for the Bishops’ Conference to adopt it. In 1996 the final version was launched by Cardinal Hume: Chaplaincy, the Change and the Challenge.

    Biography

    I am Programme Director for Maryvale's BA (Hons) Philosophy and the Catholic Tradition programme and also contribute as a lecturer on the MA in Catholic Applied Theology.

    After completing a PhD in Medieval Philosophical Theology at King's College London (2013), from 2013-2016 I was Research Associate at King's on a major AHRC-funded project on Meister Eckhart (c. 1250-1327) and the theological and philosophical debates at Paris in the early fourteenth century. For this, I worked on manuscripts at the Vatican Library, and across Germany—especially the University of Erfurt, where I was also a guest post-doctoral researcher at the Max Weber Center for Advanced Social and Cultural Studies. I have been an adjunct professor at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea (2016).

    I am a free research associate at KU Leuven, a member of the International Society for the Study of Medieval Theology (IGTM), the American Philosophical Association, and the Royal Institute Philosophy.

    Research

    Philosophical theology is my area of research, especially during the medieval period, and I specialise in the ontological, linguistic, and psychological implications of metaphysics. I am particularly interested in the ontology of language and the analogy of being, as well as the relationship between metaphysics and psychoanalysis.

    My book Meister Eckhart on the Principle (Leuven: Peeters, 2017) was on Eckhart's metaphysics of creation, and demonstrated that his conception of the relationship between God and man was one of mutual 'compenetration'. It shows how Eckhart's 'mystical' thought is expressed equally in his scholastic Latin works, and thereby suggests the dissolution of the strict taxonomic difference between his vernacular and Latin works.

    I have published on the connection between medieval thought and contemporary issues (both in Continental philosophy and psychoanalysis) and I am particularly interested in the work of Erich Przywara SJ (1889-1972) on Thomistic analogical thought, and his relation to the psychoanalytic work of Jacques Lacan. Much of my research focuses on questions of language (medieval grammatical theories on the relationship between grammar and being) and the body (the relationship between matter and form, and the eschatological orientation of matter).

    Publications (selected)

    Monographs & Authored Books:

    • Meister Eckhart on the Principle: An Analysis of the principium in his Latin Works, Eckhart: Texts and Studies, vol. 5 (Leuven: Peeters, 2017).

    Edited Books:

    • With Dietmar Mieth, Marie-Anne Vannier, and Markus Vinzent, Meister Eckhart in Paris and Strasbourg, Eckhart: Texts and Studies, vol. 4 (Leuven: Peeters, 2017).
    • With Jutta Vinzent, Performing Bodies. Time and Space in Meister Eckhart and Taery Kim, Eckhart: Texts and Studies, vol. 6 (Leuven: Peeters, 2016).

    Book Reviews:

    • Paul V. Axton. The Psychotheology of Sin and Salvation. An Analysis of the Meaning of the Death of Christ in Light of the Psychoanalytic Reading of Paul (London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015). In The Theological Book Review 27/2 (2016), 41-42.
    • Charles Bolyard and Rondo Keele. Later Medieval Metaphysics: Ontology, Language, and Logic (New York: Fordham, 2013). In Medieval Mystical Theology 24, no. 2 (2015), 180-183.

    Online Publications:

    Biography

    I am the Programme Director for Maryvale’s MA in Catholic Applied Theology. My academic background is in philosophy, education and theology. Prior becoming an academic I was employed as a primary school teacher, and a provider of Continuing Professional Development for teachers of Religious Education in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, UK.

    At Maryvale, I teach courses in Christian Anthropology, Prayer and Spirituality, and Research Methods. I have delivered courses in England, Ireland, and the United States of America, and as a Programme Director of a distance learning programme have had students from the UK, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the USA, Canada, the Baltic States, South America and Australia.

    I am a member of the Society of Christian Philosophers.

    Research

    My areas of research are Christian anthropology, eschatology and the Philosophy of Religion. I have particular interest in the following: the intermediate state and the anima separata, purgatory and prayers for the dead, philosophical accounts of identity through death and resurrection, Catholicism and evolution, the doctrine of hell, the cult of relics, miracles, and religious experience.

    I am currently pursuing research into competing models of purgatory, and the taxonomy of accounts of personal identity through death and resurrection.

    I am supervising and examining a number of doctorates on topics including The Philosophy of Edith Stein and Discipleship in the Writings of Gregory of Nyssa.

    Publications

    Books:

    • Between Death and Resurrection: A Critical Response to Recent Catholic Debate Concerning the Intermediate State. New York: Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2017.

    Journal Articles:

    • ‘Mary’s Bodily Transfer to Heaven: Examining Haldane’s Assumption’, The Heythrop Journal, Vol. 59, No.3 (May 2018): pp.561-72.

    Chapters:

    • ‘Does the New Testament Teach Resurrection in Death?’, in Morris, Andrew (ed). Catholic Studies: Aspects of Doctoral Research at the Maryvale International Institute of Higher Education and Catechesis, 2014-18. Cambridge Scholars Publishing (forthcoming).

    Reviews:

    • Marc Cortez, Embodied Souls, Ensouled Bodies: An Exercise in Christological Anthropology and its Significance for the Mind/Body Debate (T and T Clark, London, 2008) reviewed in New Blackfriars, Vol. 90, No.1029, September 2009, pp.619-622 4.1

    Conferences:

    • ‘The Identity of the Resurrection Body with the Pilgrim Body, and the Significance of the Cult of Relics: the Contribution of Sergius Bulgakov’: paper to be delivered at the inaugural conference of the International Orthodox Theological Association held in Iasi, Romania in January 2019.

     

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