Aidan Nichols
Encyclopedia
John Christopher "Aidan" Nichols OP (born 17 September 1948) is an academic and Catholic priest.
Nichols served as the first John Paul II Memorial Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford
for 2006 to 2008, the first lectureship of Catholic theology at that university since the Reformation. He is a member of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) and was formerly the Prior
of St Michael and All Angels in Cambridge
.
, Lancashire on 17 September 1948. He graduated from Christ Church, Oxford
with a first in modern history and entered the Dominican
order the same year. He spent the next seven years at Blackfriars, Oxford
, during which time he was ordained to the priesthood. He then moved to Edinburgh, where he was a Catholic chaplain at the University of Edinburgh
. It was at Edinburgh in 1986 that he received his PhD. Between 1983 and 1991 he was Lecturer in Dogmatics and Ecumenics at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome
. In 1990 he was awarded the degree of Licentiate of Sacred Theology
from the Angelicum. From Rome he moved back to England and to Cambridge
, where he began as Assistant Catholic Chaplain, then as an Affiliated University Lecturer (1998) and finally as Prior
of St Michael's (1998-2004). He still lives at the priory in Cambridge.
. However he is best known for his work on Hans Urs von Balthasar
, publishing three analytic volumes on von Balthasar's famous trilogy: The Word Has Been Abroad: A Guide Through Balthasar's Aesthetics (1998), No Bloodless Myth: A Guide Through Balthasar’s Dramatics (2000) and Say It Is Pentecost: A Guide Through Balthasar’s Logic (2001). He was also one of the contributors to the Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar (2004), along with Fergus Kerr OP and Rowan Williams
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
. He has also written The Theology of Joseph Ratzinger (1988), a book on the theological history of Anglicanism
in The Panther and the Hind (1992) and a more general work on religion in the modern world, Christendom Awake (1993).
Paperback, Liturgical Pr (February 1991)
Nichols served as the first John Paul II Memorial Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
for 2006 to 2008, the first lectureship of Catholic theology at that university since the Reformation. He is a member of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) and was formerly the Prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
of St Michael and All Angels in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
.
Priesthood
Nichols was born in Lytham St AnnesLytham St Annes
Lytham St Annes is a conurbation in the Fylde district of Lancashire, England. The neighbouring towns of Lytham and St-Anne's-on-the-Sea have grown together and now form a seaside resort...
, Lancashire on 17 September 1948. He graduated from Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
with a first in modern history and entered the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
order the same year. He spent the next seven years at Blackfriars, Oxford
Blackfriars, Oxford
Blackfriars, Oxford houses three distinct institutions: the Priory of the Holy Spirit, the religious house of the friars, whose current prior is John O'Connor OP; Blackfriars Studium, the centre of Theological studies of the English Province of the Dominican Friars ; and Blackfriars...
, during which time he was ordained to the priesthood. He then moved to Edinburgh, where he was a Catholic chaplain at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. It was at Edinburgh in 1986 that he received his PhD. Between 1983 and 1991 he was Lecturer in Dogmatics and Ecumenics at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. In 1990 he was awarded the degree of Licentiate of Sacred Theology
Licentiate of Sacred Theology
Licentiate of Sacred Theology is the title of the second cycle of studies of a Faculty of Theology offered by a pontifical universities or ecclesiastical faculties of sacred theology. An Ecclesiastical Faculty offers three cycles of study: Baccalaureate or fundamentals, Licentiate or specialized,...
from the Angelicum. From Rome he moved back to England and to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, where he began as Assistant Catholic Chaplain, then as an Affiliated University Lecturer (1998) and finally as Prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
of St Michael's (1998-2004). He still lives at the priory in Cambridge.
Academic work
Nichols began his academic work in the Russian theological tradition and has written on many figures including Sergei BulgakovSergei Bulgakov
Fr. Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov was a Russian Orthodox Christian theologian, philosopher and economist. Until 1922 he worked in Russia; afterwards in Paris.-Early life:...
. However he is best known for his work on Hans Urs von Balthasar
Hans Urs von Balthasar
Hans Urs von Balthasar was a Swiss theologian and priest who was nominated to be a cardinal of the Catholic Church...
, publishing three analytic volumes on von Balthasar's famous trilogy: The Word Has Been Abroad: A Guide Through Balthasar's Aesthetics (1998), No Bloodless Myth: A Guide Through Balthasar’s Dramatics (2000) and Say It Is Pentecost: A Guide Through Balthasar’s Logic (2001). He was also one of the contributors to the Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar (2004), along with Fergus Kerr OP and Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. He has also written The Theology of Joseph Ratzinger (1988), a book on the theological history of Anglicanism
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
in The Panther and the Hind (1992) and a more general work on religion in the modern world, Christendom Awake (1993).
Selected books
- (2012) Chalice of God. A Systematic Theology in Outline
- (2011) The Latin Clerk. The Life, Work, and Travels of Adrian Fortescue
- (2011) Lost in Wonder. Essays on Liturgy and the Arts
- (2011) The Poet as Believer. A Theological Study of Paul Claudel
- (2011) A Key to Balthasar. Hans Urs von Balthasar on Beauty, Goodness, and Truth
- (2010) Criticising the Critics. Catholic Apologias for Today
- (2010) Romance and System. The Theological Synthesis of Matthias Joseph Scheeben
- (2009) From Hermes to Benedict XVI. Faith and Reason in Modern Catholic Thought
- (2009) G.K. Chesterton, Theologian
- (2008) The Realm. An Unfashionable Essay on the Conversion of England
- (2008) Reason with Piety. Garrigou-Lagrange in the Service of Catholic Thought
- (2007) Redeeming Beauty. Essays on Sacral Aesthetics
- (2007) Lovely, like Jerusalem. The Fulfilment of the Old Testament in Christ and the Church
- (2007) Divine Fruitfulness: A Guide to Balthasar's Theology beyond the Trilogy
- (2007) Redeeming Beauty: Soundings in Sacral Aesthetics
- (2007) The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI: An Introduction to the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger
- (2006) Scattering the Seed: A Guide Through Balthasar's Early Writings on Philosophy And the Arts
- (2003) A Spirituality for the Twenty First Century
- (2002) Epiphany: A Theological Introduction to Catholicism
- (2002) Discovering Aquinas: An Introduction to His Life, Work and Influence
- (2002) Beyond the Blue Glass: Catholic Essays on Faith and Culture
- (2002) A Pope and a Council on the Sacred Liturgy: Pope Pius Xii's Mediator Dei and the Second Vatican Council's Sacrosanctum Concilium With a Comparative Study a Tale of Two Documents
- (2001) Pentecost: A Guide Through Balthasar's Logic
- (2000) No Bloodless Myth: A Guide Through Balthasar's Dramatics
- (2000) Christendom Awake: On Re-Energising the Church in Culture
- (1998) The Word Has Been Abroad: A Guide Through Balthasar's Aesthetics
- (1997) The Service of Glory: The Catechism of the Catholic Church on Worship, Ethics, Spirituality
- (1996) Looking at the Liturgy: A Critical View of Its Contemporary Form
- (1995) The Splendour of Doctrine: The Catechism of the Catholic Church on Christian Believing
- (1994) Byzantine Gospel: Maximus the Confessor in Modern Scholarship
- (1992) Rome and the Eastern Churches: A Study in Schism
- (1992) The Panther and the Hind: A Theological History of Anglicanism
- (1991) Holy Order: The Apostolic Ministry from the New Testament to the Second Vatican Council
- (1991) The Shape of Catholic Theology: An Introduction to Its Sources, Principles, and History
- (1991) The Holy Eucharist: From the New Testament to Pope John Paul II
- (1991) A Grammar of Consent: The Existence of God in Christian Tradition
- (1990) From Newman to Congar: The Idea of Doctrinal Development from the Victorians to the Second Vatican Council
- (1990) Theology in the Russian Diaspora: Church, Fathers, Eucharist in Nikolai Afanas'ev (1893-1966)
- (1989) Yves Congar
- (1988) The Theology of Joseph Ratzinger: An Introductory Study
- (1980) The Art of God Incarnate: Theology and Image in Christian Tradition
Paperback, Liturgical Pr (February 1991)