Oliver Michael Timothy O'Donovan (born 28 June 1945) is a British

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 and academic, known for his work in the field of

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...

. He has also made contributions to

political theology Political theology is a term which has been used in discussion of the ways in which theological concepts or ways of thinking relate to politics. The term ''political theology'' is often used to denote religious thought about political principled qu ...

, both contemporary and historical. He was

Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology The Regius Professorship of Moral and Pastoral Theology, together with the Regius Professorship of Ecclesiastical History, was founded at the University of Oxford by act of Parliament in 1840, and first filled in 1842. The act attached the chair to ...

at 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 ...

from 1982 to 2006, and Professor of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

from 2006 to 2013.

Early life and education

O'Donovan was born on 28 June 1945. He is the son of Joan Knape and Michael Francis O'Donovan (1906–1966), better known as Frank O'Connor, eminent Irish writer of short stories and memoirs. His doctoral thesis on the problem of

self-love Self-love, defined as "love of self" or "regard for one's own happiness or advantage", has been conceptualized both as a basic human necessity and as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness, synonymous with amour-propre, conceitedness, eg ...

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

was completed under both Henry Chadwick at Oxford and Paul Ramsey at Princeton.

Career

Ordained ministry

O'Donovan was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

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 churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1972 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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1973. A scholar-priest, he has never undertaken parish ministry. He was a

Canon Residentiary A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. This dual r ...

, from 1982 to 2006. He served on the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

from 2005 to 2006. Since November 2015, he has been a Canon Provincial (of the

Province of York The Province of York, or less formally the Northern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England and consists of 12 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to ...

) and the Provincial Theologian at

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

. He has also held

permission to officiate A permission to officiate (PTO), also known as a licence to officiate, is a concessionary ministry licence granted by an Anglicanism, Anglican bishop. It is most commonly issued to a retired Deacon#Anglicanism, deacon, Priest#Anglican or Episcopal ...

in the

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the A ...

since 2015. O'Donovan has been active in

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

dialogue. He was part of the Anglican–Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Discussions from 1982 to 1984, and a member of the

Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission The Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) is an organization created in 1969 which seeks to make ecumenical progress between the Anglican–Catholic dialogue. The sponsors are the Anglican Consultative Council and the Pontifica ...

(ARCIC) from 1985 to 1990.

Academic career

O'Donovan taught at

Wycliffe Hall Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was master of Balliol College, Oxfo ...

, Oxford (1972–1977), and at

Wycliffe College Wycliffe College () is an evangelical graduate school of theology at the University of Toronto. Founded in 1877 as an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition, Wycliffe College today attracts students from many Christian denominations from ...

, Toronto (1977–1982). He was

and Canon of Christ Church at 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 ...

(1982–2006). He then held the post of Professor of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at the School of Divinity,

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Student ...

(2006–2013), and was an associate director of the

Centre for Theology and Public Issues The Centre for Theology and Public Issues (CTPI) is a research centre based in New College, the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. Founded in 1984 by Duncan B. Forrester, CTPI promotes Christian theological reflection and research ...

. He is a past President of the

Society for the Study of Christian Ethics The Society for the Study of Christian Ethics (SSCE) is an academic society in the United Kingdom for scholars and practitioners whose work relates to theological ethics and the fields of ethics, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and publ ...

. In 2001 he delivered the Stob Lectures at

Calvin Theological Seminary Calvin Theological Seminary is a private Christian Reformed Church seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is closely tied to Calvin University, though each institution has its own board. History The seminary was founded in 1876 with the purpos ...

. In 2007 he delivered the New College Lectures at New College, University of New South Wales. O'Donovan cites these New College Lectures as his first opportunity to explore the ideas that would become his "Ethics as Theology" trilogy of books. In 2008 he delivered a lecture at

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...

upon receiving the Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life. O'Donovan has held distinguished visiting lectureships in the universities of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, the

Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in Rome,

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in Hamilton, Ontario, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

, and

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compri ...

, Pasadena, California.

Personal life

In 1978 he married Joan Lockwood O'Donovan. They have jointly authored two books on the history of Christian political thought, and have two sons, Matthew and Paul.

Honours

He has been a Fellow of the British Academy since 2000 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh since 2009.

Publications

Books *''Entering into Rest: Volume 3: Ethics as Theology'' (Eerdmans 2017) *''Finding and Seeking: Volume 2: Ethics as Theology'' (Eerdmans 2014) *''Self, World, and Time: Volume 1: Ethics as Theology: An Induction'' (Eerdmans 2013) *''The Word in Small Boats: Sermons from Oxford'' (Eerdmans 2010) *''A Conversation Waiting to Begin: The Churches and the Gay Controversy'' (SCM 2009) *''Church in crisis: The gay controversy and the Anglican Communion.'' (Eugene, Or: Cascade Books. 2008) *''The Ways of Judgment'' (Eerdmans 2005) *''The Just War Revisited'' (CUP 2003) *''Common Objects of Love'' (Eerdmans 2002) *''The Desire of the Nations'' (CUP 1996) *''New Dictionary of Christian Ethics & Pastoral Theology '' (co-edited) (IVP Academic, 1995) *''Peace and Certainty'' (Eerdmans 1989) *''Resurrection and Moral Order'' (IVP 1986, 2nd ed IVP/Eerdmans 1994) *''On the

Thirty-Nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...

'' (Paternoster 1986 and SCM 2011) *''Begotten or Made?'' (OUP 1984) *''Principles in the Public Realm: The Dilemma of Christian Moral Witness''. (Oxford 1984) xfordshire: Clarendon Press. *''The Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine'' (Yale 1979)

References

External links

University of Edinburgh, Faculty PageCentre for Theology and Public Issues, Edinburgh University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonovan, Oliver 1945 births 20th-century Anglican theologians 20th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English theologians Academics of the University of Edinburgh Christian ethicists English Anglican theologians Evangelical Anglican clergy Evangelical Anglican theologians Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Living people Regius Professors of Moral and Pastoral Theology Political theologians