The Rev. E. Ross Kane will become director of Virginia Theological Seminary’s doctoral programs July 1. Kane currently serves as senior associate rector of St. Paul’s Church in Alexandria, Virginia.
“Ross is an exceptional appointment,” said the Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, dean and president of VTS. “He has already proven himself a good colleague, having served as an adjunct for both master’s and doctoral courses here at VTS over the last several years.”
Kane inherits the programs from the Rev. David T. Gortner, the director since 2008. Last year Gortner was appointed associate dean of church and community engagement.
Before receiving his MDiv from Duke Divinity School, Kane received a BA in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. He returned to the University of Virginia for his PhD in religious studies, concentrating in theology, ethics, and culture, while serving full-time parish duties. A Virginia native, he was ordained in 2009 in the Diocese of Virginia.
His scholarship and publications explore the lived experience of faith communities, particularly the incorporation of new and unfamiliar expressions of belief and practice into the Christian tradition. Kane also brings an international perspective to his scholarship and priestly vocation, after serving in East Africa before entering parish ministry. His writing appears in The Christian Century, Journal of Religion in Africa, and Anglican Theological Review.
Kane and his wife, Liz Doughty Kane, have two sons, Stephen and Philip.
Adapted from VTS
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.
