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

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in the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

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. He previously held the posts of lecturer in dogmatic theology at St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw (1980–1992), Professor of Systematic Theology at St Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

(1992–1998), Professor of Dogmatic

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in the International Theological Institute, Gaming,

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, and Visiting Professor in Systematic Theology and Christology in the same institute. Saward completed a BA in (

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

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) ( St John's College) and a postgraduate diploma in theology ( St Stephen's House) 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 is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

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 ...

at Lincoln College, Oxford. He was received into the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 an important Catholic theologian of the 20th century. He was announced as his choice to become a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, b ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

and Cardinal

Christoph Schönborn Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Graf von Schönborn, O.P. (; born 22 January 1945) is a Bohemian-born Austrian Dominican friar and theologian, who is a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Vienna and ...

. 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 Ca ...

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 Alyssa is a feminine given name with multiple origins. Alysa is an alternative spelling. As used in Western countries, the name is usually derived from the name of the flower alyssum. The name of the flower derives from the Greek ἀ- ''a-'' ( ...

, 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 school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...

Sacred art Religious art is artistic imagery using religious inspiration and motifs and is often intended to uplift the mind to the spiritual. Sacred art involves the ritual and cultic practices and practical and operative aspects of the path of the spiritu ...

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