Rob James

Rob comes to VST from Wells Cathedral in Somerset, in the southwest of the UK, where he has been the Canon Chancellor since 2019. Before going to Wells, Rob was the Vicar of a three-parish benefice in the Diocese of Gloucester. He was ordained Deacon in 2005 and Priest in 2006. As well as his Church of England career he spent some time working for the UK government on security matters, whilst undertaking unpaid duties for the Church. Alongside his work for Church and State, he has usually been involved in teaching theology to undergraduates and to those training for ordination.

Rob holds six degrees from five universities, including a Ph.D. from the University of London on the use of Scripture in Anglicanism. Unusually for a priest, he also holds an MLitt in Terrorism Studies from St. Andrews. He has broad academic interests, having published on biblical interpretation in Anglicanism, biblical interpretation in African Christianity, Islamist terrorism and, most recently, New Testament studies. His book The Spiral Gospel: Intratextuality in the Gospel of Luke is to be published soon by James Clarke Publishers. He is currently working on another article on the Gospel of Luke and on an article on religious authority in the work of William Prynne, a seventeenth-century Puritan.

Rob says that he has always enjoyed his experiences with the Canadian Church when he visited the country for holidays or for work, and that he is looking forward to getting to know it better. He is also looking forward to learning from Indigenous Anglicans and from other Indigenous people more widely. Rob has been an admirer of VST for some years and hopes to contribute as best he can to the thoughtful, engaged and generous theological explorations of the school.

Rob is married to Jean, a High School Mathematics teacher by profession, with a keen interest in conservation volunteering and youth and children’s work.