31
March
2020
|
09:07
Europe/London

Peter Oakes appointed to Rylands Chair

The Centre for Biblical Studies extends its congratulations to Peter Oakes, currently Professor of New Testament, who has just been appointed to the Rylands Chair of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis.Peter Oakes

This prestigious Chair was established in 1904 at the same time as the establishment of the Faculty of Theology in what was then the Victoria University of Manchester. Enriqueta Rylands established the John Rylands Library in her husband’s name, and she also endowed the Rylands Chair which was to combine higher and lower criticism. The holder of the chair has normally been involved in the oversight of teaching and research in Biblical Studies in the Department.

There have been seven distinguished holders of the Chair to date, all scholars in fields related to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the New Testament, or both: AS Peake, CH Dodd, TW Manson, FF Bruce, B Lindars SSF, CM Tuckett, and GJ Brooke. The chair has remained vacant since Professor Brooke’s retirement in 2016.

“I feel highly honoured to be appointed, and somewhat daunted by the list of wonderful scholars who have held the Chair before," said Peter. "I’m very grateful for colleagues in the Department and in the Ehrhardt Seminar, past and present, who have taught, advised and supported me over the years in ways that have helped bring this about. I’m also delighted that the Chair has now been filled again, ending the gap there has been since George Brooke retired at the end of his outstanding tenure of the position. I am particularly appreciative of the way in which he built the collegiality of the scholarly community here and kept it at the forefront of academic research. I hope to help us continue developing in both these ways."

This appointment reflects the global reputation of Peter's research, which contextualises the New Testament through new insights on historical economics and the archaeological evidence of social structures.

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