University Appoints First Orthodox Theologian to Senior Divinity Role in 613 Years

The University of St Andrews has recently appointed Professor Marcus Plested, an acclaimed Orthodox theologian and academic of the Byzantine world, as the new 1643 Chair of Divinity. This marks the first time in the University’s 613-year history that an Orthodox scholar has been appointed to a Senior Divinity Role. 

Professor Marcus Plested Meeting Pope Francis

Raised and educated in London, Professor Plested studied Modern History and Theology at Merton College, Oxford. He later taught at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies and the Faculty of Divinity in Cambridge. According to a news report released by the University, Professor Plested has “played a significant role in Orthodox-Catholic engagement, serving on the St Irenaeus Orthodox-Catholic Working Group and acting as the Orthodox consultant for the Vatican’s recent Bishop of Rome document.” Professor Plested’s current research focuses on the Christian East, particularly the patristic and Byzantine world, and on the relations between the Orthodox tradition and Western Christian thought. 

As the University news report recorded, Professor Plested believes his appointment to this position “offers the perfect platform” for him to “continue pushing forward the conversation between Orthodox and Western theologies, both Protestant and Catholic, and indeed the modern secular world.” 

Plested added, “The long history of St Andrews as a spiritual centre of and place of pilgrimage is also something that attracts me.” St Andrews emerged as this centre through the arrival of the relics of the Apostle Andrew, who was from the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Plested hopes that his appointment “will continue in some way this story of meeting and interaction between Greek East and Latin West.”  

Professor William Tooman, Head of the School of Divinity and Principal of St Mary’s College, described to The Saint the selection and application process for the prestigious 1643 Chair of Divinity position.

“The process is trickier than most. Divinity is not a single discipline; it includes everything from ancient languages and sacred texts to intersections between religion and philosophy, art, and modern political life. It is essential that the panel has experts who can assess all these disciplines and more.”

Tooman explained that this year’s appointment panel was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor and made up of three persons from the Principal’s Office, three from St Mary’s, and two external academics. “We had applicants from all over the world, nearly a hundred in total. It’s the panel’s job to review each candidate to determine who is the best fit for us.”

Regarding what the role of the 1643 Chair of Divinity involves, Tooman responded, “In some ways, the Chair of Divinity is like any other professor in the school, conducting research, teaching, supervising, and pitching in with school administration. In other ways, it is unique because it is the highest profile and only named Chair in the College. It is anticipated that the Chair of Divinity will show leadership in his subject area — systematic & historical theology and church history — [and] promote the College and University in the UK and internationally.”

University Chaplain Revd Donald MacEwan told The Saint that he is “delighted to welcome the appointment of Professor Plested.” Revd MacEwan recognises that “St Mary’s College, once principally a college for the education of Presbyterian ministers, has for long been a community of students and scholars from across the Christian world and beyond.” 

According to Revd MacEwan, “[t]here are many Orthodox Christians among our students and staff, and the Chaplaincy supports them through the appointment of an honorary Orthodox Chaplain, and provision of space in St Leonard’s Chapel for Orthodox liturgies all year round, usually two services a month.”

One such student is Collin Cooper, a second-year student studying Philosophy and Theology at the University, and a practising Orthodox Christian. Cooper described to The Saint what Professor Plested’s appointment means to him.

“Not only is this significant historically to the University, but it also has personal value to me, as my ancestor, the Reverend Samuel Rutherford, was Professor of Divinity from 1639 to 1661, becoming Rector of the University in 1643, the year for which the position is named.”

Cooper went on to describe his understanding of the journey Orthodox Christianity had taken before it “landed on the beaches of St Andrews in the appointment of Professor Marcus Plested.”

“The first Russian Christians made their way to the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the pre-eminent church in the world at the time, during the tenth century. The envoys reported back to Prince Vladimir the Great, ‘We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendour or beauty anywhere upon earth.’ Such is the overwhelming beauty, history, and pursuit for truth that the Orthodox Christian theological tradition brings to our beloved St Mary’s College.” 

Cooper added: “I am greatly looking forward to the uniquely blended perspectives of Professor Plested as Eastern Christendom meets West once again near the River Tay.”

Photos by Alisa Senses and University of St Andrews