Metropolitan Kallistos (born Timothy Richard Ware, 11 September 1934 – 24 August 2022) was an English bishop and theologian of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

. From 1982, he held the

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of Diokleia in Phrygia (), later made a titular metropolitan bishopric in 2007, under the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

. He was one of the best-known modern Eastern Orthodox hierarchs and theologians. From 1966 to 2001, he was Spalding Lecturer of Eastern Orthodox Studies at the University of Oxford.

Early life and ordination

Born Timothy Richard Ware on 11 September 1934 to 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 ...

family in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England, he was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

in London (to which he had won a King's Scholarship) and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, where he took a double first in classics as well as reading theology. On 14 April 1958, at the age of 24, he converted to the

. He described his first contacts with Orthodoxy and the growing attraction of the Eastern Orthodox Church in an autobiographical text entitled "My Journey to the Orthodox Church". While still a layman, he spent six months in Canada at a monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. Thoroughly conversant in modern

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, Ware became an Eastern Orthodox

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in

Patmos Patmos (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where, according to Christian belief, John of Patmos received the vision found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. ...

, Greece. He also frequented other major centres of Orthodoxy, such as

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

. In 1966, he 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 ...

to the priesthood within the

Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen Autocephaly, autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

and was

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

d as a monk, receiving the name "Kallistos".

Professional and ecclesiastical life

In 1966, Ware became Spalding Lecturer at the University of Oxford in Eastern Orthodox studies, a position he held for 35 years until his retirement. In 1970, he was appointed to a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

ship at

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

. In 1982, he was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

with the title Bishop of Diokleia (in Phrygia) in the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain of the

. Following his consecration, Ware continued to teach at the University of Oxford and served in the Greek Orthodox parish in Oxford. From his retirement in 2001, Ware had continued to publish and to give lectures on

Orthodox Christianity Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

. He served as chairman of the board of directors of the

Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies The Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (IOCS) is a theological college in Cambridge, England. It works in collaboration with the University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, ...

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 ...

, and was chairman of the Friends of Orthodoxy on Iona (Scotland) and of the

Friends of Mount Athos The Friends of Mount Athos (FoMA) is a society formed in 1990 by people who shared a common interest for the monasteries of Mount Athos. It is a registered charity in the United Kingdom (Registered Charity No. 1047287). People Timothy Ware, Me ...

. On 30 March 2007, the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated the Diocese of Diokleia in Phrygia to a titular

metropolitan diocese A metropolis, metropolitanate or metropolitan diocese is an episcopal see whose bishop is the metropolitan bishop or archbishop of an ecclesiastical province. Metropolises, historically, have been important cities in their provinces. Eastern Ortho ...

and Ware to the rank of metropolitan. In 2017, Ware was awarded the

Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism The Lambeth Awards are awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In addition to the Lambeth degrees, there are a number of non-academic awards. Before 2016, these awards consisted of the Lambeth Cross, the Canterbury Cross, and the Cross of St Augus ...

by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

"for his outstanding contribution to Anglican–Orthodox theological dialogue".

Death

In August 2022, Ware's caregivers reported he was in critical condition and "approaching the end of his life". He died at home in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in the early hours of 24 August 2022 at age 87.

Publications

Ware was a prolific author and lecturer. He authored or edited over a dozen books, numerous articles in a wide range of periodicals, and essays in books on many subjects, as well as providing prefaces, forewords, or introductions to many other books. He is perhaps best known as the author of ''The Orthodox Church'', published when he was a layman in 1963 and subsequently revised several times. In 1979, he produced a companion volume, ''The Orthodox Way''. He collaborated in the translation and publication of major Orthodox ascetic and liturgical texts. Together with G. E. H. Palmer and

Philip Sherrard Philip Owen Arnould Sherrard (23 September 1922 – 30 May 1995) was a British author and translator. His work includes translations of Modern Greek poets, and books on Modern Greek literature and culture, metaphysics, theology, art and aesthe ...

, he translated the ''

Philokalia The ''Philokalia'' (, from ''philia'' "love" and ''kallos'' "beauty") is "a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters" of the mystical hesychast tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. They were or ...

''; and with Mother Mary, he produced the '' Lenten Triodion'' and '' Festal Menaion''.

St Vladimir's Seminary Press St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Ort ...

published a Festschrift in his honour in 2003: ''Abba, The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West, Festschrift for Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia'', eds. John Behr, Andrew Louth, Dimitri Conomos (New York: SVS Press, 2003). In 2025, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press released the second of two volumes of Ware's collected works, ''In the Image of the Father''. Volume 1, ''The Inner Kingdom'', had been published by SVS Press in 2000.

Academic honors

For his outstanding contributions to Orthodox theology, Metropolitan Kallistos was awarded honorary doctorates from Lawrence University of Wisconsin (2001),

St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and ...

(2011), Cluj-Napoca University, the Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute (2014), the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

, the

St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute The St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute ( French: ''Institut de théologie orthodoxe Saint-Serge'') in Paris, France, is a private university of higher education in Orthodox theology. Founded in 1925 by a group led by Metropolitan Eulogiu ...

, and New Georgian University (2018).

Books

* ''The Orthodox Church'' (1st ed. Pelican, 1963; 2nd ed. Penguin, 1993 ; 3rd. ed., Penguin, 2015 ). * ''Eustratios Argenti: A Study of the Greek Church under Turkish Rule'' (Clarendon, 1964, ; reprint with a new Introduction, Wipf and Stock, 2013 ). * ''The Festal Menaion'' (translated with Mother Mary) (Faber & Faber, 1977 ). * (Editor with Colin Davey), ''Anglican–Orthodox Dialogue: The Moscow Statement Agreed by the Anglican–Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Commission 1976'' (London: SPCK, 1977 ). * ''The Lenten Triodion'' (translated with Mother Mary) (Faber and Faber 1978; St. Tikhon's Seminary Press, 2002 ). * ''The Philokalia: The Complete Text'' (translated with G. E. H. Palmer and Philip Sherrard. London: Faber and Faber. Vol. 1, 1979 ; Vol. 2, 1982 ; Vol. 3, 1986 ; Vol. 4, 1999 ; Vol. 5, 2023 ). * ''The Orthodox Way'' (Mowbray, 1979 ). * ''Communion and Intercommunion: A Study of Communion and Intercommunion Based on the Theology and Practice of the Orthodox Church'' (Light & Life, 1980; rev.ed. 2002 ). * ''The Power of the Name – The Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spirituality'' (SLG Press, 1982 ). * ''Praying with Orthodox Tradition'' (Abingdon, 1990 ). * ''How Are We Saved?: The Understanding of Salvation in the Orthodox Tradition'' (Light & Life, 1996 ). * ''The Ordination of Women in the Orthodox Church'' (with Elisabeth Behr-Sigel) (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2000 ). * ''The Inner Kingdom: Collected Works, Vol. 1'' (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2000 ). * ''Orthodox Theology in the Twenty-First Century'' (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 2012 ). * ''In the Image of the Father: Collected Works, Vol. 2'' (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2025 ISBN 978-0-88141-774-6)

Selected articles

* "Review of Panagiotis N. Trembelas, ''Dogmatique de l'Église orthodoxe,''" ''Eastern Churches Review'' 3, 4 (1971), 477–480. *"God Hidden and Revealed: The Apophatic Way and the Essence-Energies Distinction", ''Eastern Churches Review'' 7 (1975). *"The Debate about Palamism", ''Eastern Churches Review'' 9 (1977). *"Wolves and Monks: Life on the Holy Mountain Today", ''Sobornost'' 5, 2 (1983). *"Athos after Ten Years: The Good News and the Bad", ''Sobornost'' 15, 1 (1993). *"Through Creation to the Creator", Third Marco Pallis Memorial Lecture, ''Ecotheology'', 2 (London: Friends of the centre, 1996) (12.03.2011). *"Dare We Hope for the Salvation of All?" ''Theology Digest'', 45.4 (1998). Reprinted in ''The Inner Kingdom'' (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2001). *"Man, Woman and the Priesthood of Christ", in Thomas Hopko, ed., ''Women and the Priesthood'' (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, revised edition, 1999). *"God Immanent yet Transcendent: The Divine Energies according to Saint Gregory Palamas" in Philip Clayton and Arthur Peacocke, eds., ''In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being: Panentheistic Reflections on God's Presence in a Scientific World'' (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004) (). *"Sobornost and Eucharistic Ecclesiology: Aleksei Khomiakov and His Successors", ''International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church'' 11, 2-3 (2011). *"Orthodox Theology Today: Trends and Tasks", ''International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church'' 12, 2 (2012).

Selected lectures

* "The Present and Future of Orthodox Theology" (New York, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary, 8 September 2011) * "Churches of the Christian East" (Fairfax, VA, Orientale Lumen Foundation) * "Mystical Theology of the Eastern Fathers" (Fairfax, VA, Orientale Lumen Foundation)

References

External links

Timothy Ware: ''Strange Yet Familiar: My Journey to the Orthodox Church''
, Autobiographic account of his conversion from Anglicanism to Orthodoxy
Interview with Bishop Kallistos (Real Video)

''How to Build the Local Church''
, a talk given at a conference of the Archdiocese of Orthodox parishes of Russian tradition in Western Europe, Institut St-Serge, Paris, October 2005
Foreword to issue 13/14 of ''The Wheel'' journal, entitled "Being Human"Interview given for Patristic Nectar Publications: A conversation on the Philokalia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Kallistos 1934 births 2022 deaths Clergy from Bath, Somerset People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Eastern Orthodox bishops in Europe Eastern Orthodox theologians 20th-century Christian mystics 20th-century Eastern Orthodox clergy English Eastern Orthodox Christians English theologians 20th-century English philosophers 21st-century English philosophers English religious writers English non-fiction writers Scholars in Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodox mystics Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Anglicanism Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Greek–English translators 20th-century English translators English male non-fiction writers Corresponding Members of the Academy of Athens (modern) Hesychasts People associated with Mount Athos Translators of the Philokalia