Dr. Brian A. Gerrish

Dr. Gerrish is presently John Nuveen Professor Emeritus in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago and Distinguished Service Professor of Theology Seminary. Some of the highlights of in illustrious career include his work as a Fulbright Gellow and Mills Felow at Union Theological Seminary, New York from which he received the S.T.M. (Summa cum laude), the subject of his thesis being "Luther's Conception of Justifying Faith and its Significance for Theology Today". Dr. Gerrish received his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion in 1958 and wrote his dissertation, "The Place of Reason ni the Theology of Martin Luther: A Study in the History of Ideas", under the direction of Professor Wilhelm Pauck. Later, Dr. Gerrish did post-doctoral research at Heidelberg University and Goettigen where he researched the topic "The Doctrine of the Eucharist in Luther and Calvin: A Comparative Study". Among the schools in which our lecturer has held various academic appointments are Union Theological Seminary, New York, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, and the University of Chicago where he taught for over thirty years.

Dr. Gerrish's books include Grace and Reason, Tradition and the Modern World: Reformed theolgoy in the Nineteenth Century, The Old Protestantism and the New: Essays on the Reformation Heritage, A Prince of the Church: Schleiermacher and the Beginnings of Modern Theology, Continuing the Reformation: Essays on Modern Relgious Thought. Dr. Gerrish has also made a substantial contribution to theological thought through many essays, articles, book notes, book reviews and review articles as well as contributions to symposia, encyclopedias, and journals.

Born in London, England, Dr. Gerrish is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He is married to Dawn Ann DeVries and is the father of three children. Our lecturer is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), wsa received into the Presbytery of Chicago in 1958 and retired in 1996. He has served both as an assistant pastor as well as University Preacher. For a number of years, he served as delegate of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. to the Theology Section of the Roman Catholic-Reformed Consultation. He has served as ecumenical delegate to the Augustana Consultation in St. Louis in 1979 and later as a member of the Special Committee on a Brief Statement of Faith, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).