Douglas Van Steere (August 31, 1901 – February 6, 1995) was an American Quaker

ecumenist 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 ...

Biography

He served as a professor of philosophy at Haverford College from 1928 to 1964 and visiting professor of theology at Union Theological Seminary from 1961 to 1962. Steere organized Quaker post-war relief work in

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and

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, was invited to participate as an ecumenical observer in the

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and co-founded the Ecumenical Institute of Spirituality. He authored, edited, translated and wrote introductions for many books on Quakerism, as well as other religions and philosophy. Steere was an undergraduate at Michigan State University, received a Ph.D. from

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in 1931, and was a Rhodes scholar at

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, receiving degrees from Oxford in 1927 and 1954. He corresponded often with Thomas Merton, a popular

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monk. In 1987, he was awarded the Decoration of Knight 1st Class of the White Rose of Finland, in recognition of his post-war relief work in that country.

Bibliography

*''Prayer and worship'', 1938 *''On beginning from within'', 1943 *''Doors into life'', 1948 *''Purity of Heart'', by Søren Kierkegaard, transl., 1938, 1948 *''Time to spare'', 1949 *''On listening to another'', 1955 *''Work and contemplation'', 1957 *''Dimensions of prayer'', 1962 *''Spiritual Counsel and Letters of Baron Friedrich von Hugel'', Edited with an Introduction, 1964 *''God's irregular: Arthur Shearly Cripps: a Rhodesian epic'' 1973 *''Together in Solitude'', 1982 *''Quaker Spirituality: Selected Writings'', ed., preface by Elizabeth Gray Vining, 1983

Biography

Bibliography

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Further reading