Geoffrey Wainwright facts for kids

Geoffrey Wainwright (born 1939 – died March 17, 2020) was an English theologian. A theologian is someone who studies religion and God. He spent much of his career in the United States. He taught at Duke Divinity School, which is a university department for studying religion. Wainwright helped shape modern Methodist theology and Christian worship practices. He also played a big part in creating an important document called Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. This document was made as part of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

About Geoffrey Wainwright

Geoffrey Wainwright was born in 1939 in Monk Bretton, England. He became an ordained minister in the Methodist Church of Great Britain. He studied at universities in Cambridge, Geneva, and Rome. He earned advanced degrees from Geneva and Cambridge.

Early Career and Teaching

From 1964 to 1966, he worked as a minister in Liverpool, England. After that, he served as a missionary teacher and pastor in Cameroon, West Africa, from 1967 to 1973. Missionaries are people who travel to different places to share their religious beliefs.

When he returned to England, he taught scripture and theology at the Queen's College, Birmingham from 1973 to 1979. In 1979, he moved to Union Theological Seminary in New York City. There, he became the Roosevelt Professor of Systematic Theology.

From 1983 until his retirement in 2012, he taught at Duke Divinity School. This school is part of Duke University in North Carolina. He held the Robert Earl Cushman chair of Christian Theology there. Wainwright also taught as a visiting professor at other universities. These included the University of Notre Dame and universities in Rome and Melbourne, Australia.

Work with Churches Worldwide

From 1976 to 1991, Wainwright was a member of the WCC Faith and Order Commission. He led the final writing of the Lima text on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry in 1982. This text is an important agreement among different Christian churches about baptism, communion (Eucharist), and ministry.

From 1986 to 2020, he was a co-chairman of a special group. This group worked to build understanding between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church. In 2004, he gave an important speech in Rome. This speech was for the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s decree on ecumenism. Ecumenism is about promoting unity among Christian churches.

His Books and Writings

One of Wainwright's most important books is Doxology: The Praise of God in Worship, Doctrine and Life. Doxology means an expression of praise to God.

He wrote several other books, including:

• For Our Salvation: Two Approaches to the Work of Christ (1997)
• Worship with One Accord: Where Liturgy and Ecumenism Embrace (1997)
• Is the Reformation Over? Catholics and Protestants at the Turn of the Millennia (2000)
• Lesslie Newbigin: A Theological Life (a biography of a church leader)
• Embracing Purpose: Essays on God, the World and the Church (2007)

His earlier books, Eucharist and Eschatology (1971) and Christian Initiation (1969), were re-released in 2002 and 2003. He also helped edit The Oxford History of Christian Worship (2006). His last book was Faith, Hope and Love: The Ecumenical Trios of Virtues (2014).

Awards and Recognition

Wainwright was the president of the international Societas Liturgica from 1983 to 1985. He also led the American Theological Society from 1996 to 1997.

In 1999, a book called Ecumenical Theology in Worship, Doctrine, and Life was published in his honor. In 2005, he received the Johannes Quasten Medal from the Catholic University of America. This award was for his excellent work in theological scholarship.

In 2005, Wainwright shared his happiness about the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new bishop of Rome. He described the new Pope as a very smart theologian.

He retired from Duke University in 2012. Even after retiring, he continued to contribute to scholarly work. For example, he gave a paper in 2012 about the Second Vatican Council from a Methodist point of view.