Morwenna Ann Ludlow (born 1970) is a British historian, theologian, and

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, specialising in

historical theology Historical theology is the study of the history of Christian doctrine. Alister McGrath defines historical theology as 'the branch of theological inquiry which aims to explore the historical development of Christian doctrines, and identify the fa ...

. She is

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

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

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

. She is known in particular for her work on Gregory of Nyssa.

Early life and education

Ludlow studied '' literae humaniores'' 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 ...

and remained there to study for a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree in

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 ...

with a dissertation about universal salvation in Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner. Ludlow began work on her doctorate at Trinity College but moved to Queen's College on receipt of a Holwell Studentship, and moved again to St John's College to take up a junior research fellowship. Her doctoral thesis was titled ''Restoration and Consummation: The Interpretation of Universalistic Eschatology by Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner''.

Academic career

Ludlow worked at Wolfson College, Oxford, and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

, before moving to the

. In 2006 Ludlow was appointed as lecturer in patristics in the Department of Theology and Religion,

. She was appointed

of Christian History and Theology in 2016. She delivered her inaugural lecture on the 3 November 2016 on ''The Workshop: Experiments in History and Theology''. She was President of the Ecclesiastical History Society (2017–2018). Ludlow works primarily on patristics, in particular the work of the fourth-century Cappadocian theologian, Gregory of Nyssa. Ludlow uses her research into early Christian thought to examine modern theology by analysing the reception of patristic theology by modern writers. She also works on the history of

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrah ...

in Christianity, with a focus on the idea of universal salvation. Ludlow is currently working on the aesthetic qualities and doctrinal content of fourth-century Greek Christian texts through a project, ''Art, Craft and Rhetoric.'' In this work, Ludlow uses

arts and crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

theorists from

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

up to the present-day in order to re-examine early Christian texts. Ludlow appeared on BBC Radio 4's '' In Our Time'' on 4 March 2018 to discuss the conversion of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

to Christianity in a programme with Kate Cooper and Martin Palmer.

Ordained ministry

Ludlow was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 2015 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 2016. She is a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The presen ...

. Since October 2018, she has also served as canon theologian of the cathedral.

Selected publications

* ''Gregory of Nyssa, Ancient and (Post)modern'' (Oxford University Press, 2013) * ed. with Scot Douglass ''Reading the Church Fathers'' (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011) * ''Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner'' (Clarendon Press, 2000)

References

External links

The Rhetoric of Landscape in Gregory of Nyssa's Homilies on the Song of Songs: Logos, Beauty, and the "Middle Style"
presented at the XIII International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa Rome, 17–20 September 2014
Lecture on Origen
for St John's College, Nottingham, June 13, 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludlow, Morwenna 1970 births Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford 21st-century Church of England clergy Women Anglican clergy 21st-century British Christian theologians Academics of the University of Exeter British Anglican theologians British classical scholars British women academics Presidents of the Ecclesiastical History Society Women classical scholars Women theologians