Dr. Paul L. Gavrilyuk

 Associate Professor of Historical Theology

Theology Department

University of St. Thomas
2115 Summit Ave./ JRC 153

 St. Paul, MN 55105

Office: John Roach Center 140

Office phone: 651-962-5326

Fax: 651-962-5310

E-mail

Paul Gavrilyuk came to the University of St. Thomas in 2001. He is presently Associate Professor of Historical Theology, specializing in patristics. His training also includes the fields of philosophy of religion,  systematic theology, history of western philosophy, Eastern Orthodox theology, Russian religious thought, and ritual studies. His research explores various dimensions of early Christian thought and practice. Gavrilyuk's historical survey of conversion and initiation in the early Church was published as a monograph in Russia in 2001. The substantially revised French edition of the book was published by Éditions du Cerf in 2007 as Histoire du catéchuménat dans l’église ancienne [A History of the Catechumenate in the Early Church].

Gavrilyuk addressed a controversial and widely discussed question whether and how God is involved in human suffering in his recent monograph The Suffering of the Impassible God: The Dialectics of Patristic Thought (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004/ 2006).  In Spring 2007 he taught as Visiting Professor of Historical Theology at Harvard Divinity School. A fluent speaker of several European languages, he lectured in Italy, France, Belgium, Russia, and Kazakhstan. He also enjoys returning to his native Ukraine, where he periodically has speaking engagements. To alleviate his émigré nostalgia, he writes articles on Russian religious thinkers, particularly on Sergius Bulgakov, which appeared in The Journal of Theological Studies and The Scottish Journal of Theology. He also contributed a survey article on Orthodox philosophical theology to Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion (2007).

At the University of St. Thomas, he has taught a wide range of courses in history of Christianity, historical and systematic theology. Gavrilyuk is a recipient of a three-year University Scholars Grant (2008-2010). He is presently working on a book on the patristic doctrine of the spiritual senses.

 For the list of publications see Curriculum Vitae.