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St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary - Faculty

Rev. John Behr

Bio

Fr John Behr teaches courses in patristics, dogmatics and scriptural exegesis at the seminary. After completing a degree in Philosophy in London in 1987, he spent a year studying in Greece. He finished an M.Phil. in Eastern Christian Studies at Oxford University, under Bishop Kallistos (Ware), who subsequently supervised his doctoral work, which was examined by Andrew Louth and Rowan Williams, now Archbishop of Canterbury. While finishing his studies, he was invited to be a Visiting Lecturer at St Vladimir’s Seminary in 1993, where he has been a permanent faculty member since 1995, tenured in 2000, and ordained in 2001. He is the currently the editor of St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly and the Popular Patristics Series, the faculty supervisor for the Inter-Seminary Dialogue, and, as “resident alien,” the advisor for foreign students at the Seminary. His particular interests lie in the early church, especially the development of theological reflection, asceticism and anthropology, areas in which he has published a number of books. His other passion is cycling: the Tour de France dominates the Behr family life during July, dictating annual upgrades in cable subscription and the scheduling of important family events. Fr John’s wife, also a Tour de France enthusiast, teaches English at a nearby college, and their two sons are being taught to appreciate the finer points of French culture: cycle racing and cheese.

Books & Publications
Articles
Popular Patristics volumes
Papers & Presentations
Professional Experience
Church Activities

Professor of Patristics

Editor, St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly

jbehr@svots.edu

  • B.A. in Philosophy, Thames Polytechnic, London, 1987
    B.A. dissertation: "Of God, Man, and Creation: A Comparative Study of the Anthropology of the Greek Fathers and Emmanual Levinas"

  • M.Phil. in Eastern Christian Studies, Oxford University, 1991
    M.Phil. Thesis: "Sexuality, Marriage, and Asceticism in Second-Century Christian Writings"

  • D.Phil. in Theology, Oxford University, 1995
    D.Phil. Thesis: "Godly Lives: Asceticism and Anthropology, with Special Reference to Sexuality, in the Writings of St Irenaeus of Lyons and St Clement of Alexandria"

  • M.Th., St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1997
    M.Th. Thesis: "Translation of Irenaeus' Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching with Introduction and Notes"

Books & Publications

  • The Nicene Faith,vol. 2 of The Formation of Christian Theology (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 2004). 2 vols in paper; single hardcover volume 580 pp.
  • (ed. with A. Louth and D. Conomos), Abba: The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West: Festschrift for Bishop Kallistos Ware (New York: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2003). 376 pp.
  • The Way to Nicaea, vol. 1 of The Formation of Christian Theology (Crestwood: SVS Press, 2001). 261 pp.
    Romanian translation (Bucharest: Sophia, 2004).
  • Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). 261 pp.
  • St Irenaeus of Lyons: On the Apostolic Preaching (Crestwood: SVS Press, 1997). 121 pp.

Articles

  • "The Motherhood of the Church" and "Mary as a Type of the Church" in  Vierge Marie - Église Vierge: Acts du quatrième colloque de théologie  orthodoxe de l’Université de Sherbrooke, (Sherbrooke: Université de Sherbrooke,  Éditions G.G.C, 2005), 13-29, 83-95.
  • "Gaul," The Varieties of Christianity to 250 C.E. in The Cambridge History of Christianity,vol. 4, ed. Margaret Mitchell and Frances Young (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).
  • "Early Christian Apologists," "Docetism," and "Irenaeus" in The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History, ed. Roberto Benedetto (Westminster John Knox Press, forthcoming).
  • "Nicene Orthodoxy," in opening address to the Byzantine Studies Conference, Durham, Spring 2002. To be published in Varieties of Byzantine Orthodoxy (title?) (Ashgate, forthcoming).
  • "Virgin Mother - Virgin Church," forthcoming in St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly. Russian translation, Bogoslovskii Vestnik 2004, no.4, 123-149.
  • "Theology and Exegesis," forthcoming in Collected Papers of the Orthodox Theological Research Forum, UK.
  • "The Trinitarian Being of the Church," St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 48:1 (2004), 67-88. Russian translation in Tserkov i Vremya 3 (28), 2004, 164-185.
  • "Social and Historical Setting (2nd Century)," for The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature, ed. F. Young, A. Louth, L. Ayers (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 55-70 .
  • "Midwife of the Christian Bible," forthcoming in Christian History 80 (XXII.4).
  • "Tradition" in St Vladimir's Seminary 2003 Education Day book.
  •  "Faithfulness and Creativity," in Abba (see above), 159-178.
  • "Interpreting the Incarnation," Sourozh 89 (August 2002), 15-29.
  •  "Irenaeus on the Word of God," Studia Patristica 36 (Leuven: Peeters, 2001), 163-7.
  • "The Paschal Foundations of Christian Theology," St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 45:2 (2001), 115-36.
  • "The Word of God in the Second Century," Pro Ecclesia 9:1 (2000) 85-107 .
  • "Scripture, the Gospel, and Orthodoxy," St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 43 (1999) 223-48 .
  • "The Rational Animal: A Rereading of Gregory of Nyssa's De hominis opificio," Journal of Early Christian Studies 7:2 (1999) 219-247 .
  • "The Trinity," The Living Pulpit (April, 1999).
  • "Severus of Antioch: Eastern and Oriental Perspectives," St Nersess Theological Review 3:1-2 (1998) 23-35.
  • "A Note on the Ontology of Gender," St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 42:3-4 (1998) 363-72 .
  • "Adam" and "Anthropologie" in Dictionnaire de Théologie (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997).
  • "Colossians 1:13-20: A Chiastic Reading," St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 40:4 (1996) 247-65 .
  • "Translating theology," St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 38:2 (1994) 235-40 .
  • "Irenaeus and the Ascetic Ideal," St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 37:4 (1993) 305-13.
  • "Shifting Sands: Foucault, Brown and the Framework of Christian Asceticism," Heythrop Journal 34:1 (1993) 1-22.
  • "Reflections on the Question of Episcopal Celibacy," St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 36:1-2 (1992) 141-9.

SVS Press "Popular Patristics" volumes edited

  • St Basil the Great, On the Human Condition (2005). Translation and Introduction by Nonna (Verna) Harrison
  • St Macarius the Spirit-Bearer: Coptic Texts relating to St Macarius the Great (2004). Translation and Introduction by Tim Vivian
  • Four Desert Fathers: Pambo, Evagrius, Macarius of Egypt and Macarius of Alexandria (2004). Translation and Introduction by Tim Vivian
  • Three Treatises on Prayer: Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen (2004). Translation and Introduction by Alistair Stweart-Sykes
  • Barsanuphius and John, Letters from the Desert: A Selection of Questions and Responses (2003). Translation and Introduction by John Chryssavgis
  • St John of Damascus, Three Treatises on the Divine Images (2003). Translation and Introduction by Andrew Louth
  • St Maximus the Confessor, On the Cosmic Mystery of Christ (2003). Translation and Introduction by Paul M. Blowers and Robert Louis Wilken
  • On God and Christ: St Gregory of Nazianzus, The Five Theological Orations and Two Letters to Cledonius (2002). Translation by Frederick Williams and Lionel Wickham, Introduction by Lionel Wickham
  • On God and Man: The Theological Poetry of St Gregory of Nazianzus (2001). Translation and Introduction by Peter Gilbert
  • Hippolytus, On the Apostolic Tradition (2001). Translation and Introduction by Alistair Stewart-Sykes
  • Melito of Sardis, On Pascha (2001). Translation and Introduction by Alistair Stewart-Sykes

Papers & Presentations

  • "Tradition and Creativity," paper presented at the Sixth International Congress of Orthodox Theological Schools, Sophia, Bulgaria, October 2004.
  • "Mary-Ann Donovan on St Irenaeus," paper presented to the North American Patristics Society, May 2004.
  • "Trinitarian Being of the Church," paper presented to the North American Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogue, May 2003.
  • "Virgin Mother - Virgin Church," paper to the annual meeting of the Fellowship of Sts Alban and Sergius, August 2003.
  • "Theology and Exegesis," lead paper to inaugural meeting of the Orthodox Theological Research Forum, Cuddeston, UK, August 2003.
  • "Athanasius' Contra Gentes and On the Incarnation as an apologia cruces," paper presented at the Fourteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies, Oxford, August 2003.
  • Eight appearances on "Come Receive the Light," speaking about the Seven Ecumenical Councils, Spring 2003 (www.receive.org).
  • "The Challenge of the Fathers," Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, March, 2003.
  • Lenten Retreat, St John's in the Village, NY, Spring 2003.
  • Lecture Series on Orthodoxy, St John's in the Village, NY, Spring, 2003.
  • "The Challenge of the Fathers," St Tikhon's Seminary, November, 2002.
  • "The Question of Nicene Orthodoxy," Opening paper for the Spring Session of Byzantine Studies, Durham, UK, Spring 2002.
  • "Interpreting the Incarnation," Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius Conference, England, August, 2001.
  • Lectures in Patristics and Dogmatics, Saskatoon Institute on Orthodox Theology, 1999.
  • "The Scholarly Dimensions of Christianity," Faculty Seminar, York University, Toronto, 1999 .
  • "The Christian Church as School," Yale University, Graduate Christian Fellowship, 1999.
  • "Orthodoxy," University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 1998.
  • Lectures on The Church in the Fathers, Catechesis, The Jesus Prayer, Tradition, Marriage at St Vladimir's Seminary Summer Institutes.

Professional Experience

  • Distinguished Lecturer in Patristics, Fordham University 2005-
  • Editorial Board, Pro Ecclesia, 2005-
  • Editorial Board, Patristics Monograph Series, North American Patristics Society, Catholic University of America Press.
  • Visiting Professor, Harvard Divinity School, 2004-5.
  • Professor of Patristics, St Vladimir's Seminary, 2004-.
  • Doctoral Committee, University of California, for Stephen Lloyd-Moffett. Dissertation topic: St Basil, asceticism and society, 2005.
  • Doctoral Committee, Catholic University of America, for Catherine Raithel. Dissertation topic: The Protoevanglium of James.
  • Vice-President, OTSA, 2003-present.
  • Chair, Doctoral Committee, Drew University, for Sergius Halvorsen, 2002. Dissertation topic: Encountering the Word, an examination of twentieth century liturgical theology and homiletics.
  • Editor, St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, 2002-present
  • Associate Professor of Patristics, St Vladimir's Seminary, 2000-2004.
  • Assistant Professor of Patristics, St Vladimir's Seminary, 1997-2000
  • Book Reviews Editor, St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, 1996-2002
  • Associate Editor, Popular Patristics Series, SVS Press, 1999-present
  • External Examiner, York University, Toronto, 1999
  • Resident Advisor for Foreign Students, St Vladimir's Seminary, 1997-present
  • Lecturer in Patristics, St Vladimir's Seminary, 1995-97
  • Visiting Professor of Patristics, St Vladimir's Seminary, 1993-94
  • Mansfield College, Oxford University: undergraduate lecture series delivered during Michaelmas 1992 term on "Eastern Orthodox Theology and Spirituality"

Church Activities

  • President, Orthodox Theological Society in America, 2005-
  • Vice-President, Orthodox Theological Society in America, 2003-2005
  • Ordained priest in the Orthodox Church in America, 2001
  • Member, Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogue, USA, 2000-present
  • Faculty Coordinator for SVS participation in NY Inter-Seminary Dialog, 2000-present
  • Secretary, Orthodox Theological Society in America, 1999-2003
  • Trustee, Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, Bristol, UK 1989-95