| College: | University of St. Michael's College, Faculty of Theology |
| Degrees: | SThD in Patristic Theology (Pontifical Patristic Institute, Rome) |
| Email: | andrew.summerson@utoronto.ca |
| Phone: | 416-926-7133 |
| Teaching Category: |
Regular Tenure Stream
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| Appointment Status: |
Basic Degree
GCTS Full
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| Research Interests: |
Systematic / Philosophical / Contextual Theology
History / Historiography / Methodology
Liturgy / Ritual / Spirituality / Art
Ethics / Pastoral Care / Counselling
|
Bio
Andrew Summerson is Associate Professor Greek Patristics and Eastern Christian Theology at the University of St. Michael's College and Director of the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, the only university-level research and teaching institution of the Eastern Catholic Churches in North America.
He received his doctorate from the Pontifical Patristic Institute, “Augustinianum” in 2018. He also holds degrees from the Gregorian University and John Carroll University. He is a scholar fellow with the Lumen Christi Institute and holds a status appointment at the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto.
His research engages theological traditions of the first millennium. His current research project focuses on seventh century Maximus the Confessor as an interpreter of Gregory of Nazianzus and Dionysius the Areopagite by adapting the Platonic commentary tradition. More broadly, he is interested in Christian interaction with ancient philosophy throughout Late Antiquity.
A Byzantine Catholic priest, he is also concerned about how this patristic theological heritage is preserved in Christian worship and how this tradition can inform contemporary preaching and pastoral ministry.
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Specializations
- Patristics
- Christology and Trinitarian Theology
- Philosophy and Early Christianity
- Biblical Exegesis
- Eastern Christianity
- Liturgy
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Publications
Books:
- Divine Scripture and Human Emotion in Maximus the Confessor: Exegesis of the Human Heart, The Bible in Early Christianity Series 15. Leiden: Brill, 2021.
Edited Volumes:
- (with Lewis Ayres) Newman and Nicaea. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2026.
- (with Andrew Hofer, OP and Austin Litke, OP) The Pastoral Theology of the Early Church. Catholic University of America Press, 2026.
- (with Cyril Kennedy) Eastern Catholic Theology in Action: Essays in Liturgy, Ecclesiology, and Ecumenism. Catholic University of America Press, 2025.
Articles:
- “An Infallible Theologian?: Understanding Gregory Nazianzen’s Authority in Maximus the Confessor’s Ambigua” Journal of Early Christian Studies, vol. 33, no. 2 (2025): 275-303.
- “The Prophet Jonah as a Liturgical Theologian” in The Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies, vol. 7, no. 1-2 (2024): 43-60.
- “Baptism, Social Ethics, and Sanctification according to Maximus the Confessor’s Commentary on the Our Father” in Antiphon: A Journal of Liturgical Renewal, vol. 28, no. 1 (2024): 41-62.
- “Deification through the Cross: Reflections from an Implied Ideal Worshipper” Nova et Vetera: English Edition, Vol. 21, no. 3 (2023): 1089-1096.
Book Chapters:
- “Maximus the Confessor: Ministry as Mystagogy” in The Pastoral Theology of the Early Church, eds. Summerson, Hofer, and Litke. Catholic University of America Press, 2026, 279-298.
- “Jonah the Crowd Surfer: Becoming an Exegete of the Byzantine Tradition.” In By Strange Ways: Theologians and their Paths to the Catholic Church. Edited by Daniel Strudwick and Jonathan Fuqua. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2022, 193-211.