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Susan E. Gillingham (born 1951) is a British theologian, academic, and Anglican deacon. She specialises in the Hebrew Bible, the Psalms, and Jewish history from the Israelites to the Second Temple. She has been Fellow and Tutor in theology at Worcester College, Oxford since 1995, and was Professor of the Hebrew Bible at the University of Oxford from 2014 to 2019. She is the first British woman to have been awarded a Doctor of Divinity (DD) degree by the University of Oxford.

Early life and education

Gillingham was born in 1951. She studied theology at St John's College, Nottingham, an Anglican theological college, where she was its first female student. The college's degree are validated by the University of Nottingham, and so she graduated with a Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree from Nottingham in 1973. She undertook postgraduate study at the University of Exeter and graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1980. She then undertook postgraduate research at Keble College, Oxford, and graduated from the University of Oxford with a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1987. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Personal piety in the study of the psalms: A reassessment".

Academic career

Gillingham specialises in the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Psalms, and Jewish history from the Israelites to the Second Temple. She has written a number of books about the Psalms and also two books about biblical studies.

In 1995, Gillingham was elected a Fellow and Tutor in theology at Worcester College, Oxford. On 1 October 1999, she was appointed a lecturer in theology at the University of Oxford. She was later promoted to Reader in Old Testament. In November 2014, she was awarded a Title of Distinction as Professor of the Hebrew Bible in the Faculty of Theology and Religion. She retired in 2019 and was granted the title of professor emeritus in the Faculty of Theology and Religion and became a senior research fellow at Worcester College.

Christian ministry

Gillingham is an active member of the Church of England. She began her ministry as a Licensed Lay Minister (also known as a reader). She was ordained to the permanent diaconate on 30 June 2018. She is attached to St Barnabas Church, Oxford, and Worcester College Chapel. Since October 2018, she has also served as canon theologian of Exeter Cathedral.

Honours

On 1 August 2015, Gillingham was awarded a Doctor of Divinity (DD) degree by the University of Oxford. The DD is Oxford's highest degree and she is the first British woman to have been awarded it. The work submitted for the degree has to "constitute an original contribution to the advancement of theological knowledge of such substance and distinction as to give the candidate an authoritative status in this branch of learning".

Private life

Sue Gillingham is married to Dick Smethurst, a retired Oxford economist, and former provost of Worcester College, Oxford.

Selected works

• Gillingham, Susan (1994). The poems and psalms of the Hebrew Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192132420.
• Gillingham, Susan (1998). One Bible, many voices: different approaches to biblical studies. London: SPCK. ISBN 978-0281048861.
• Gillingham, Susan (2002). The image, the depths and the surface: multivalent approaches to biblical study. London: Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-1841272979.
• Gillingham, Susan (2008). Psalms through the centuries: Volume One. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publisher. ISBN 978-0631218555.
• Gillingham, Susan, ed. (2013). Jewish and Christian approaches to the Psalms: conflict and convergence. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199699544.
• Gillingham, Susan (2013). A journey of two psalms: the reception of Psalms 1 and 2 in Jewish and Christian tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199652419.

References

1. "Susan Gillingham". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
2. ^ "Shipley parishioner becomes first British women to achieve highest Oxford Honour". Diocese of Leeds. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
3. ^ "Professot Susan E Gillingham". Verbum et Ecclesia. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
4. Gillingham, S. E. (1987). Personal piety in the study of the psalms (DPhil). Oxford University Research Archive (Thesis). University of Oxford. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
5. "Professor Susan Gillingham BTh, MA, DPhil, DD". Worcester College, Oxford. University of Oxford. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
6. "GENERAL BOARD OF THE FACULTIES". Oxford University Gazette. 20 May 1999. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
7. Day, John, ed. (2010). Prophecy and the Prophets in Ancient Israel. London: T & T Clark. p. xi.
8. "Revd Canon Professor Susan Gillingham". Faculty of Theology and Religion. University of Oxford. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
9. "Recognition of Distinction". Oxford University Gazette. 145 (5076). 6 November 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
10. "Revd Canon Professor Susan Gillingham". Faculty of Theology and Religion. University of Oxford. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
11. ^ "New clergy for Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire". Diocese of Oxford. 6 July 2018. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
12. ^ "Susan Gillingham". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
13. "Pastoral Contacts". St Barnabas Church, Jericho. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
14. "Things Temporal and Things Eternal – Dr Susan Gillingham". Worcester College Chapel. University of Oxford. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
15. "Appointments". Church Times. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
16. "Professor Susan Gillingham awarded Doctor of Divinity". Worcester College, Oxford. University of Oxford. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
17. "Doctor of Divinity". Faculty of Theology and Religion. University of Oxford. Retrieved 20 October 2015.

• Living people
• English Anglican theologians
• British biblical scholars
• Old Testament scholars
• Fellows of Worcester College, Oxford
• Academics of the University of Oxford
• Alumni of the University of Nottingham
• Alumni of the University of Exeter
• Alumni of St John's College, Nottingham
• Lay theologians
• Anglican biblical scholars
• Anglican lay readers
• Female biblical scholars
• 1951 births
• Presidents of the Society for Old Testament Study