Theologians win international honour

Thursday 21 June 2007

Two theologians at the University of St Andrews have been awarded a prestigious international honour for outstanding work in their field.

The winners of the 2007 Templeton Award
Drs Julie Canlis and Nathan MacDonald (pictured above eighth from left and fifth from left repsectively) of the University’s School of Divinity (St Mary’s College) have been named winners of the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise 2007.   The pair are among twelve international scholars awarded for outstanding dissertations and first books relating to the broad topic of God and Spirituality.

Dr Canlis completed her doctorate at St Andrews on the subject of John Calvin’s understanding of the Holy Spirit and participation in the life of God.  Dr MacDonald completed his doctorate on the significance of monotheism in the biblical book of Deuteronomy while at the University of Durham, and is now a lecturer in the Old Testament at St Andrews.

Professor Alan Torrance, who supervised the dissertation of Dr Canlis, said, “I’m delighted, but not surprised, that the work of Drs Canlis and MacDonald have been recognised in this way. Four of the twelve prize winners this year come from the UK; that two are associated with St Mary’s College underlines the fact that it is a leading centre for innovative theological research.”

He added, “Dr MacDonald is an outstanding, and extremely popular, lecturer. This prize constitutes international endorsement that the quality of his academic research is no less impressive.”

The awards were presented recently at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and include a $10,000 stipend for delivering public lectures at institutions of Higher Education over the next two years.

Further details about the Templeton Award can be found at www.fiit.uni-heidelberg.de/award/

ENDS

NOTE TO PICTURE EDITORS:

 

 

IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE PRESS OFFICE – CONTACTS BELOW.

Caption: The winners of the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise 2007. Dr MacDonald is fifth from left, Dr Canlis is eighth from left.

Issued by Press Office, University of St Andrews
Contact Gayle Cook, Press Officer on 01334 467227 / 462529, mobile 07900 050 103, or email [email protected]
Ref:  Templeton award 210607

View the latest University press releases at www.st-andrews.ac.uk


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