Daniel W. Hardy
Encyclopedia
Daniel Wayne Hardy was an ordained Anglican Theologian. He died from a Glioblastoma.
, pastor on behalf of Abrahamic communions and to human communities more generally.... all of whom he sees lit up by (the) divine attractiveness itself.... the great cosmic and ecclesial and divine communion of lights which draws him to it and to us and draws us to be near him.” (Peter Ochs)
His vocation has been primarily about the seeking of God’s wisdom. It has been prophetic insofar as it has attempted to engage more deeply with life in all its particularity. It has been priestly in tracing that prophetic wisdom to its source in the divine intensity of love and in seeking to mediate that love through the church for the whole world, concentratedly in the Eucharist: light and love together.
Secondly his vocation is a tribute to the thinker who has perhaps more than any other been his teacher and inspiration over many decades, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
. He recognized that Coleridge engaged deeply with God and most aspects of God’s creation – intellectually, imaginatively, practically, spiritually, emotionally and through much personal suffering. Above all Coleridge responded in all those ways to the attraction of the divine. He discerned the Word and the Spirit endlessly present, active and innovative lifting the world from within, raising it into its future - giving us a huge hope in God and God’s future, and inviting us intensively and unremittingly to participate in that, as we are drawn through divine love into levels of existence of which we can hardly begin to imagine or dare to dream.
and in the finding of himself before God that was encouraged and enabled by participation in its regular Quaker worship. The rhythm and pattern of worship of General Theological Seminary
, then built on this and was the most formative thing during his time as a student there. It was a daily invitation to go deeper into the intensity of God, an attraction that has perhaps been the most fundamental dynamic of his life.
His title post (served in Christ Episcopal Church, Greenwich, Connecticut
) added a second key dynamic. This is exemplified best through his engagement with a group of young people - beginning with what really mattered and was significant for them, and then trusting, discerning and helping them to recognise the source and energy of life (God's Spirit) already at work within their lives - (and) making the deep connections with the truth of the Gospel. They were hungry for this and the group began to thrive in just a short space of time. The curacy culminated in helping to design the new daughter church of St Barnabas, strengthening an interest in architecture that in later years has proved fruitful again and again both with actual buildings and with the architectonics of theology and institutions.
He returned to General Theological Seminary
as a fellow and tutor for two years, accompanied by his wife Perrin, who, together with their growing family, grew to be the cantus firmus of his life. The experience of teaching and a sense of the crying need for theological thinking led to further study in Oxford University. Yet that was in many ways a painful disappointment, finding a theology that was too influenced by positivist philosophy and rarely confident enough to explore the depths and wonders of God and God’s ways with the world.
The twenty-one years that followed were spent teaching in the University of Birmingham
. The 'golden thread' of those rich and varied years was the pursuit of a theology that might give dedicated attention both to the intensity of God and to the way the world is, especially as described, interpreted and explained by theologians, philosophers and scientists since the sixteenth century. Exploring and testing their thought was a slow and often lonely task, but for several hours each week there was intensive conversation with the colleague who became his son-in-law, David F. Ford
.
Moving to the Van Mildert Professor of Divinity
in Durham University
and a canon in Durham Cathedral
brought him back to a combination of daily worship with academic work. If he were to choose just one key element in those years it would be the fresh, multifaceted involvement in ecclesiology that this has remained at the forefront of his thinking ever since.
He recrossed the Atlantic to be Director of the Princeton Center of Theological Inquiry for five years. Much of his time there was spent in rethinking the Center (along lines now happily being pursued by the current Director) and in working closely with individual members from many disciplines and many countries. But judged in terms of long term results it is probably the relationship with one member, the Jewish philosopher Peter Ochs of the University of Virginia
, that was the most fruitful. Peter, David F. Ford
(of University of Cambridge
) and he have spent much time over many years since the early 1990s working together with others developing the practice of Scriptural Reasoning
, the shared study of our scriptures by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
His involvement in the 1998 Lambeth Conferences
and participation in some of the Primates' meetings during the years that followed made him long for a reconciliatory imagination and practice centred on scripture and nurturing a deeper and richer sociality, touching healingly the depths of each person.
In October 2007, he received an honorary doctorate recognizing him for his life work from the General Theological Seminary
.
His contributions
One of his closest friends describes him as “a pastor's pastor – seeing light in the other, light as attractiveness in and with the other. He is a pastor of others within the Eucharist; within the Anglican CommunionAnglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, pastor on behalf of Abrahamic communions and to human communities more generally.... all of whom he sees lit up by (the) divine attractiveness itself.... the great cosmic and ecclesial and divine communion of lights which draws him to it and to us and draws us to be near him.” (Peter Ochs)
His vocation has been primarily about the seeking of God’s wisdom. It has been prophetic insofar as it has attempted to engage more deeply with life in all its particularity. It has been priestly in tracing that prophetic wisdom to its source in the divine intensity of love and in seeking to mediate that love through the church for the whole world, concentratedly in the Eucharist: light and love together.
Secondly his vocation is a tribute to the thinker who has perhaps more than any other been his teacher and inspiration over many decades, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
. He recognized that Coleridge engaged deeply with God and most aspects of God’s creation – intellectually, imaginatively, practically, spiritually, emotionally and through much personal suffering. Above all Coleridge responded in all those ways to the attraction of the divine. He discerned the Word and the Spirit endlessly present, active and innovative lifting the world from within, raising it into its future - giving us a huge hope in God and God’s future, and inviting us intensively and unremittingly to participate in that, as we are drawn through divine love into levels of existence of which we can hardly begin to imagine or dare to dream.
His career
The genesis of his vocation to ordination lay in his years as a student in Haverford CollegeHaverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
and in the finding of himself before God that was encouraged and enabled by participation in its regular Quaker worship. The rhythm and pattern of worship of General Theological Seminary
General Theological Seminary
The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church is a seminary of the Episcopal Church in the United States and is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York....
, then built on this and was the most formative thing during his time as a student there. It was a daily invitation to go deeper into the intensity of God, an attraction that has perhaps been the most fundamental dynamic of his life.
His title post (served in Christ Episcopal Church, Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
) added a second key dynamic. This is exemplified best through his engagement with a group of young people - beginning with what really mattered and was significant for them, and then trusting, discerning and helping them to recognise the source and energy of life (God's Spirit) already at work within their lives - (and) making the deep connections with the truth of the Gospel. They were hungry for this and the group began to thrive in just a short space of time. The curacy culminated in helping to design the new daughter church of St Barnabas, strengthening an interest in architecture that in later years has proved fruitful again and again both with actual buildings and with the architectonics of theology and institutions.
He returned to General Theological Seminary
General Theological Seminary
The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church is a seminary of the Episcopal Church in the United States and is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York....
as a fellow and tutor for two years, accompanied by his wife Perrin, who, together with their growing family, grew to be the cantus firmus of his life. The experience of teaching and a sense of the crying need for theological thinking led to further study in Oxford University. Yet that was in many ways a painful disappointment, finding a theology that was too influenced by positivist philosophy and rarely confident enough to explore the depths and wonders of God and God’s ways with the world.
The twenty-one years that followed were spent teaching in the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
. The 'golden thread' of those rich and varied years was the pursuit of a theology that might give dedicated attention both to the intensity of God and to the way the world is, especially as described, interpreted and explained by theologians, philosophers and scientists since the sixteenth century. Exploring and testing their thought was a slow and often lonely task, but for several hours each week there was intensive conversation with the colleague who became his son-in-law, David F. Ford
David F. Ford
David Frank Ford is an academic and public theologian. He has been the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge since 1991...
.
Moving to the Van Mildert Professor of Divinity
Van Mildert Professor of Divinity
The Van Mildert Professor of Divinity is one of the oldest chairs at Durham University. The chair is named in honour of Bishop William Van Mildert, one of the founders of the University...
in Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
and a canon in Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
brought him back to a combination of daily worship with academic work. If he were to choose just one key element in those years it would be the fresh, multifaceted involvement in ecclesiology that this has remained at the forefront of his thinking ever since.
He recrossed the Atlantic to be Director of the Princeton Center of Theological Inquiry for five years. Much of his time there was spent in rethinking the Center (along lines now happily being pursued by the current Director) and in working closely with individual members from many disciplines and many countries. But judged in terms of long term results it is probably the relationship with one member, the Jewish philosopher Peter Ochs of the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, that was the most fruitful. Peter, David F. Ford
David F. Ford
David Frank Ford is an academic and public theologian. He has been the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge since 1991...
(of University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
) and he have spent much time over many years since the early 1990s working together with others developing the practice of Scriptural Reasoning
Scriptural reasoning
Scriptural Reasoning is one type of interdisciplinary, interfaith scriptural reading. It is an evolving practice in which Christians, Jews, Muslims, and sometimes members of other Abrahamic faiths, meet to study their sacred scriptures together, and to explore the ways in which such study can help...
, the shared study of our scriptures by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
His involvement in the 1998 Lambeth Conferences
Lambeth Conferences
The Lambeth Conferences are decennial assemblies of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place in 1867....
and participation in some of the Primates' meetings during the years that followed made him long for a reconciliatory imagination and practice centred on scripture and nurturing a deeper and richer sociality, touching healingly the depths of each person.
In October 2007, he received an honorary doctorate recognizing him for his life work from the General Theological Seminary
General Theological Seminary
The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church is a seminary of the Episcopal Church in the United States and is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York....
.
Recent Works
- Living in Praise: Worshipping and Knowing God (with David F. FordDavid F. FordDavid Frank Ford is an academic and public theologian. He has been the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge since 1991...
) (Nov. 2005) - God's Ways With the World (Academic Paperback) (Mar. 2005)
- Finding the Church: The Dynamic Truth of Anglicanism (Feb. 2002)
- God's Ways With the World: Thinking and Practicing Christian Faith (Sep. 1996)
- On Being the Church: Essays on the Christian Community (with Colin GuntonColin GuntonColin Ewart Gunton was a British systematic theologian. As a theologian he made contributions to the doctrine of Creation and the doctrine of the trinity. He was Professor of Christian Doctrine at King's College London from 1984 and co-founder with Christoph Schwoebel of the Research Institute for...
)(Feb. 1989) - Praising and Knowing God by Daniel W. Hardy (with David F. FordDavid F. FordDavid Frank Ford is an academic and public theologian. He has been the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge since 1991...
) (May 1985) - Jubilate: Theology in Praise (with David F. FordDavid F. FordDavid Frank Ford is an academic and public theologian. He has been the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge since 1991...
) (Paperback - Sep 1984)