Nashotah House has appointed Hans Boersma to the Order of St. Benedict Servants of Christ Endowed Professorship in Ascetical Theology.
Boersma currently holds the J.I. Packer Chair of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver. Boersma will assume his new duties with Nashotah House in the summer of 2019 after fulfilling a final year of responsibilities at Regent College.
Before joining Regent College in 2005, Boersma taught for six years at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia, after serving as a pastor. Along the way, Boersma has emerged as a leading voice among Protestant and evangelical theologians exploring and appropriating the riches of the Catholic tradition.
Boersma is the author, coauthor or editor of 13 academic books and numerous scholarly articles, focusing especially on the intersection of sacramental and ascetical theology. His recent titles include Scripture as Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Church (Baker, 2017), Embodiment and Virtue in Gregory of Nyssa: An Anagogical Approach (Oxford University Press, 2013), Heavenly Participation: The Weaving of a Sacramental Tapestry (Eerdmans, 2011); Nouvelle Théologie and Sacramental Ontology: A Return to Mystery (Oxford University Press, 2009). His next book is a treatment of the beatific vision, the transforming joy of Christian hope.
“In the way that Hans’s own spiritual and theological journey mirrors and informs that of many in our community, we find him a natural fit for us, and our institution a fitting destination for him,” said Garwood Anderson, Nashoah’s interim dean and president. “We’re like old friends meeting for the first time. The addition of Dr. Boersma distinguishes our institution and will bear fruit for years to come.”
“I am deeply humbled that Nashotah House would regard me as a good fit for the Servants of Christ Chair,” Boersma said. “It is a great joy and privilege to join the faculty and students here, and it is my prayer that the Lord would see fit to use my work at Nashotah House for the building up of his Church and his kingdom.”
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
