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Very Rev. Dr. John Behr

Dean, Professor of Patristics
Email: 
jbehr@svots.edu

Fr. John Behr is the Dean of St Vladimir’s Seminary and Professor of Patristics, teaching courses in patristics, dogmatics and scriptural exegesis at the seminary, and also at Fordham University, where he is the Distinguished Lecturer in Patristics.

Fr. John hails from England, though his family background is Russian and German - and clerical on both sides. From the Russian side, his great-grandfather was sent to London by Metropolian Evlogy to serve there as a priest in 1926; his father was also a priest, ordained by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom), as are his brother (at St Paul’s Monastery on Mt Athos) and his brother-in-law (Sts Cyril and Methodius, Terryville, CT). His maternal grandparents met at Karl Barth’s graduate seminar in Basel, and served in the Lutheran Church in Germany, where his grandfather was a Lutheran pastor.

After completing his first degree in Philosophy in London in 1987, Fr. John 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 Fr. Andrew Louth and Rowan Williams, now Archbishop of Canterbury. While working on his doctorate, 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. Before becoming Dean in 2007, he served as the editor of St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, and he still edits the Popular Patristics Series for SVS Press.

His early work was on issues of asceticism and anthropology, focusing on St. Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria. After spending almost a decade in the second century, Fr John began the publication of a series on the Formation of Christian Theology, and has now reached the fifth and sixth centuries. He has recently completed an edition and translation of, and introduction to, the remaining texts of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia. He has also published a synthetic presentation of the theology of the early centuries, focused on the mystery of Christ.

His other passion is cycling, especially restoring and riding vintage bicycles (see some pictures) including a historic Hetchins. The Tour de France dominates the Behr family life during July, dictating the scheduling of important family events. Fr. John’s wife, a Tour de France enthusiast and armchair cyclist, teaches English at a nearby college, and their two sons and daughter are being taught to appreciate the finer points of French culture: the great “constructeurs” of the last century, Le Grande Boucle, and ... cheese.

Education: 

  • 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"

Publications: 

Books and Publications

  • The Glory of God: A Living Human Being (Crestwood, NY, SVS Press, forthcoming, 2011)
  • St Athanasius: On the Incarnation, translation and introduction, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY, SVS Press, 2011 November)
  • The Case Against Diodore and Theodore: Texts and Their Contexts, Oxford Early Christian Texts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 526pp.
  • The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 2006). 186 pp.
  • 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

  • "Marriage and Asceticism," Sobornost 29:2 (2007), 24-50. Available in PDF format in English (1.22 Mb) and Russian (274.72 Kb)
  • "Taught by the Apostles," Christian History, Fall 2007
  • "One in Christ: An Historical Look," AGAIN, summer 2006
  • "For the Welfare of the Churches of God," AGAIN, summer 2006 (forthcoming).
  • "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).
  • "The Question of Nicene Orthodoxy," in Byzantine Orthodoxies: Papers from the Thirty-Sixth Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, University of Durham, 23-25 March, 2002, ed. A. Louth and A. Casiday (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), 15-27.
  • "Virgin Mother - Virgin Church," forthcoming in St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly. Russian translation, "Virgin Mother - Virgin Church," 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

 

Presentations: 
  • "Person and Freedom: The Grounding of Both in Ascesis", Conference of the Theological Commission, Moscow Patriarchate, November 2010.
  • "Orthodox Christianity as Paideia: Faith, Reason, and Culture in the Early Church", October 2010 Trinity Western University, BC Canada (listen here);Eastern University, PA.
  • "Male and Female Created He Them", Parish Ministries Conference, Cleveland, June 2010.
  • "Passing Beyond the Neo-Patristic Synthesis", Volos, Greece, June 2010.
  • "The Promise of the Image", Gordon College MA, May 2010 (watch on YouTube) 
  • "With Boldness and Without Condemnation", installation speech delivered at the inaguration of St Vladimir's new leadership, September 14, 2007.
  • "The Eschatological Dimensions of the Church", paper presented to the Orthodoxy-Wesleyan Consultation, SVS December 2005; to appear in print.
  • "The Question of Trinitarian Theology" Paper presented to Round Table on Lewis Ayres' Nicaea and Its Legacy, Harvard Divinity School, May 2005; to appear in print.
  • "The Church in Via", Paper delivered at the Plenary Session of the Conference on Eschatology held by the Theological Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate, Danielovsky Monastery, Nov. 14-17, 2005. To appear in Russian; in Georgian in Archevani January 2006.
  • "Eucharistic Ecclesiology Revisited", Paper delivered at the 2005 Summer Conference of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius, UK.
  • "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.
Teaching Experience: 
  • Distinguished Lecturer in Patristics, Fordham University 2005-
  • Visiting Professor, Harvard Divinity School, 2004-5.
  • Professor of Patristics, St Vladimir's Seminary, 2004-.
  • Associate Professor of Patristics, St Vladimir's Seminary, 2000-2004.
  • Assistant Professor of Patristics, St Vladimir's Seminary, 1997-2000
  • 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 & Professional Activities: 
Boards
  • Board of Advisors, Templeton Foundation, 2010-
Editorial Work
  • Advisory Board, Theology and Religious Studies, Versita and De Gruyter
  • Editorial Board, Radical Orthodoxy: A Journal of Theology, Philosophy and Politics
  • Editorial Board, Biblicum Jassyense: Romanian Journal for Biblical Philology and Hermeneutics
  • Editorial Board, International Journal of Orthodox Theology (www.orthodox-theology.com).
  • Editorial Board, Pro Ecclesia
  • Editorial Board, Patristics Monograph Series, North American Patristics Society, Catholic University of America Press.
  • Editor, St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, 2002-2007
  • Editor, Popular Patristics Series, SVS Press, 1999-present
  • Book Reviews Editor, St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, 1996-2002
Doctoral Committees
  • Doctoral Committee, Fordham University, Michael Azar, "Exegeting the Jews: The Reception of the Johannine Ioudaioi in Early Christianity"
  • Doctoral Committee, Fordham University, Matthew Lootens, "Gregory of Nyssa's Contra Eunomium: A Study of its Context, Method and Theology"
  • Doctoral Committee, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Claude O’Shedrick Persons Jr.: "The Deified Citizens of The City of God: How Augustine Applies the Patristic Doctrine of Theosis to the Citizens of The City of God." (2010)
  • Doctoral Committee, University of California, for Stephen Lloyd-Moffett, "St Basil, asceticism and society" (2005).
  • Chair, Doctoral Committee, Drew University, for Sergius Halvorsen: "Encountering the Word An Examination of Twentieth-Century Liturgical Theology and Homiletics" (2002)

Societies

  • President, Orthodox Theological Society in America, 2005-2007
  • Vice-President, Orthodox Theological Society in America, 2003-2005
  • Secretary, Orthodox Theological Society in America, 1999-2003

Ecclesial

  • Made Archpriest in the Orthodox Church in America, 2008
  • Ordained priest in the Orthodox Church in America, 2001
  • Trustee, Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, Bristol, UK 1989-95