Geoffrey Wainwright (1939 – 17 March 2020) was an English

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. He spent much of his career in the United States and taught at Duke Divinity School. Wainwright made major contributions to modern

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

theology and Christian liturgy, and played a significant role on producing the text '' Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry'', as a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

(WCC).

Biography

Born in

Monk Bretton Monk Bretton is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately two miles north-east from Barnsley town centre. Until 1974 it was in the West Riding of Yorkshire. History Monk Bretton has bee ...

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England, in 1939, Geoffrey Wainwright was an ordained minister of the

Methodist Church of Great Britain The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestantism, Protestant List of Christian denominations, Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodism, Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council. M ...

. He received his university education in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He held the ''Dr. Théol.'' degree from

and the

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

degree from

. He served as a circuit minister in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

(1964–1966) and then as a missionary teacher and pastor in

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, West Africa (1967–1973). Returning to England, he taught scripture and theology at the Queen's College, Birmingham (1973–1979). In 1979 he moved to Union Theological Seminary,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where he became the Roosevelt Professor of Systematic Theology. He taught at Duke Divinity School from 1983 to his retirement in 2012, a part of

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, where he occupied the Robert Earl Cushman chair of

Christian Theology Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...

. Wainwright held visiting professorships at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, the Gregorian and Angelicum universities in

and the United Faculty of Theology in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. From 1976 to 1991, Wainwright was a member of the WCC Faith and Order and chaired the final redaction of the Lima text on ''Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry'' (1982). From 1986 to 2020 he was co-chairman of the Joint Commission between the

World Methodist Council The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body that represents churches within Methodism and facilitates cooperation among its member denominations. It comprises 80 denominations in 138 countries which together repres ...

and the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 2004 he gave the opening address on behalf of "the ecclesial communities of the West" at the Roman symposium to mark the 40th anniversary of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

’s decree on

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

. Among Wainwright's books the most influential remains ''

Doxology A doxology (Ancient Greek: ''doxologia'', from , ''doxa'' 'glory' and -, -''logia'' 'saying') is a short hymn of praises to God in various forms of Christian worship, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derives ...

: The Praise of God in Worship, Doctrine and Life''. His more recent books include ''For Our Salvation: Two Approaches to the Work of Christ'' (1997), ''Worship with One Accord: Where Liturgy and Ecumenism Embrace'' (1997), ''Is the Reformation Over? Catholics and Protestants at the Turn of the Millennia'' (which was the Père Marquette Lecture for 2000), an intellectual and spiritual biography of a father of the 20th century ecumenical church, '' Lesslie Newbigin: A Theological Life,'' and ''Embracing Purpose: Essays on God, the World and the Church (2007)''. His ''Eucharist and Eschatology'' (1971) and ''Christian Initiation'' (1969) were re-issued in 2002 and 2003 respectively. With Karen B. Westerfield Tucker he edited '' The Oxford History of Christian Worship'' (2006). His latest book is ''Faith, Hope and Love: The Ecumenical Trios of Virtues'' (2014). Wainwright served as president of the international '' Societas Liturgica'' (1983–1985) as well as of the American Theological Society (1996–1997). He was honoured by the publication of ''Ecumenical Theology in Worship, Doctrine, and Life: Essays Presented to Geoffrey Wainwright on his Sixtieth Birthday'' (1999). He was awarded the 2005 Johannes Quasten Medal by the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

for "excellence in theological scholarship". In 2005, Wainwright said that he was delighted at the election of Cardinal

Joseph Ratzinger Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as po ...

bishop of Rome The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

. He called the new Pope a first-rate theologian with a subtle and penetrating mind. He retired from Duke in 2012 and continued to make scholarly contributions in his retirement. He delivered a paper on "The Second Vatican Council: The Legacy from a Methodist Perspective" at the annual conference of the

North American Academy of Ecumenists North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

in Halifax in September 2012.North American Academy of Ecumenists
"2012 Annual Conference Schedule"
,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wainwright, Geoffrey 1939 births 2020 deaths 20th-century English theologians 20th-century Methodist ministers 20th-century Protestant theologians 21st-century English theologians 21st-century English Methodist ministers 21st-century Protestant theologians Alumni of the University of Cambridge British expatriates in Cameroon Duke Divinity School faculty English Methodist missionaries Methodist ministers Methodist missionaries in Cameroon Methodist theologians Union Theological Seminary faculty University of Geneva alumni University of Notre Dame faculty