D.Phil. (Oxon), D.D. (Melbourne)
Regius Chair In Humanity
- About
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- Email Address
- john.behr@abdn.ac.uk
- School/Department
- School of Divinity, History, Philosophy & Art History
Biography
I was appointed to the Regius Chair in Humanity at the University of Aberdeen in the summer of 2020, having taught at St Vladimir’s Seminary since 1995, serving there as Dean from 2007–17. My early work was on asceticism and anthropology, focusing on St Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria (OUP 2000). I am writing a series of books on “The Formation of Christian Theology”, two volumes of which have already appeared: vol. 1, The Way to Nicaea (SVS Press 2001) and vol. 2 The Nicene Faith (SVS Press 2003). On the basis of these two volumes, I published a synthetic work, The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death (SVS 2006). This was followed by an edition and translation of the fragments of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, setting them in their historical and theological context (OUP 2011). More recently I have published a more poetic and meditative work entitled Becoming Human: Theological Anthropology in Word and Image (SVS Press, 2013) and a full study of St Irenaeus: St Irenaeus of Lyons: Identifying Christianity (OUP, 2013). Most recently I have completed a new critical edition and translation of Origen’s On First Principles, together with an extensive introduction, for OUP (2017), and John the Theologian and His Paschal Gospel: A Prologue to Theology (OUP 2019).
- Research
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Research Overview
My research interests cover the wide range of Early Christianity (Patristics), especially scriptural interpretation and anthropology, questions of life and death, and the hermeneutics of reading texts, together with the intersection of issues arising from this field with contemporary hermeneutics and phenomenology (especially that of Michel Henry), as well as modern Eastern Orthodox theology.
Current Research
I am currently working on a new edition and translation of On the Making of the Human Being by Gregory of Nyssa and a new edition and translation of the works of Irenaeus; I am also preparing a study on the intersection of Christology, ecclesiology, and anthropology.
- Publications
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Colossians 1:13-20: A Chiastic Reading
St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 247-65Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTranslating Theology
St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Quarterly, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 235-40Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIrenaeus AH 3.23.5. and the Ascetic Ideal
St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 305-13Contributions to Journals: ArticlesShifting Sands: Foucault, Brown, and the Framework of Christian Asceticism
The Heythrop Journal, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 1-22Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2265.1993.tb00902.x
Reflections on the Question of Episcopal Celibacy
St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 1-2, pp. 141-149Contributions to Journals: Articles
