John Saward (born in 1947) is a Roman Catholic priest. He is a Senior Research Fellow at Blackfriars at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He previously held the posts of lecturer in

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Chu ...

at St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw (1980–1992), Professor of Systematic Theology at St

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in 156 ...

Seminary in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

(1992–1998), Professor of Dogmatic

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

International Theological Institute ITI Catholic University (German: ''Katholische Hochschule ITI'') is a Catholic theological school in Austria. The school was founded in 1996 as the International Theological Institute at the request of Pope John Paul II.Zenit.org"Theological Insti ...

, Gaming,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and visiting professor in Systematic Theology and

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

in the same institute. Saward completed a BA in (

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

) ( St John's College) and a postgraduate diploma in theology (

St Stephen's House St Stephen's House is an external theological college with observer status at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Church of England. From 2003 to 2023 it was a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. The college typicall ...

) at the University of Oxford in 1969. In 1973, he completed MA and M.Litt. degrees, also at Oxford, the latter for a thesis on "The Theology of Death". Ordained an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest in 1972, he was chaplain and a

Junior Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Flemin ...

. He was received into 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 1979. He was later ordained in the Roman Catholic Church under papal dispensation which accepted his marriage to his wife Christine (they have three daughters). He is parish priest of SS. Gregory & Augustine's, Oxford, and is prior of the Priestly Fraternity of St Dominic (Dominican Tertiaries) in England. Saward's published works include ''The Mysteries of March: Hans Urs von Balthasar on the Incarnation and Easter'' (1990), ''Redeemer in the Womb: Jesus Living in Mary'' (1993), ''Christ is the Answer: The Christ-centred teaching of Pope John Paul II'' (1995), ''The Beauty of Holiness'' (1996), ''The Way of the Lamb: The Spirit of Childhood and the End of Age'' (1999), ''Cradle of Redeeming Love: The Theology of the Christmas Mystery'' (2002) and ''Sweet and Blessed Country: The Christian Hope for Heaven'' (2005). He has been responsible for the English translations of works by

Hans Urs von Balthasar Hans Urs von Balthasar (; 12 August 1905 – 26 June 1988) was a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest who is considered one of the most important Catholic theologians of the 20th century. With Joseph Ratzinger and Henri de Lubac, he founded the th ...

Pope Benedict XVI 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 p ...

and Cardinal

Christoph Schönborn Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Schönborn, OP (; born 22 January 1945) is a Bohemian-born Austrian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1995 until 2025. He was chairman of the Austrian Bishops' Conferen ...

. Saward has been described by Father

Aidan Nichols John Christopher "Aidan" Nichols (born 17 September 1948) is an English academic and Catholic priest. Nichols served as the first John Paul II Memorial Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford for 2006 to 2008, the first lectureship of C ...

as "the Balthasar of the English-speaking world". However, in recent years, Saward appears to have come to share the growing unease among some Catholics about the nature and origin of Balthasar's theology. In his 2005 work, ''The Sweet and Blessed Country'', he describes Balthasar's theory of universal hope as “a kind of blasphemy”.''The Sweet and Blessed Country'' p. 100. Page 99 attributes the "blasphemous" view described by Saward to Balthasar, whose book on hell, ''Dare We Hope: That All Men Be Saved'' is footnoted on page 179 Alyssa Pitstick, one of the Swiss theologian's critics, studied under Saward at the International Theological Institute. Saward's work has been evolving not only in content but also in method and style towards a form which combines " ressourcement" with the rigour of

scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and Ca ...

Sacred art Religious art is a visual representation of religious ideologies and their relationship with humans. Sacred art directly relates to religious art in the sense that its purpose is for worship and religious practices. According to one set of definit ...

also plays a prominent role in this method.

Bibliography

Books

* ''The Mysteries of March: Hans Urs von Balthasar on the Incarnation and Easter'' (1990) * ''Redeemer in the Womb: Jesus Living in Mary'' (1993) * ''Christ is the Answer: The Christ-centred teaching of Pope John Paul II'' (1995) * ''The Beauty of Holiness'' (1996) * ''The Way of the Lamb: The Spirit of Childhood and the End of Age'' (1999) * ''Cradle of Redeeming Love: The Theology of the Christmas Mystery'' (2002) * ''Sweet and Blessed Country: The Christian Hope for Heaven'' (2005)

Book reviews

References

External links

John Saward's homepage on the ''Christendom Awake'' website

Excerpt from ''The Beauty of Holiness and the Holiness of Beauty''

Two excerpts from ''Cradle of Redeeming Love''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saward, John 1947 births Living people 20th-century English Anglican priests Academics of Durham University Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Alumni of St Stephen's House, Oxford Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism English Roman Catholic theologians Fellows of Blackfriars, Oxford Fellows of Greyfriars, Oxford Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford New Blackfriars people