Dr Morwenna Ludlow
Senior Lecturer
Extension: 3278
Telephone: 01392 723278
Morwenna teaches and researches in the field of patristics – the history and theology of the early Christian church (100-500 ad ). She specialises in the study of the fourth-century Cappadocian theologian, Gregory of Nyssa. She is interested in the relation of early Christian thought to modern theology and her most recent research has focussed on the reception, use and abuse of patristic theology by modern writers. Another interest is the history of Christian eschatological ideas (the concepts of death, heaven, hell and purgatory) and she has written on the development of the idea of universal salvation.
Morwenna teaches modules on salvation in the Church fathers, Christian life and practice in the 4th and 5th centuries, and the history of heaven and hell. At Masters level she teaches modules on Origen and Augustine.
Morwenna is currently supervising three PhD students, whose interests span the early church and the reception of earcly Christian theology. Two of these students are doing research on Mariology (John Paul II's use of patristic Mariology; a response to feminist critiques of Tertullian's concept of women through analysing his Mariology). A third is working on the evidence for fourth-century non-monastic liturgies in the writings of the Cappadocian fathers. Morwenna welcomes enquiries from prospective research students on any topic of early church theology, particularly those who are interested in the Cappadocians or in modern responses to the church fathers.
In her spare time, Morwenna likes exploring new places with her family, pruning shrubs in the garden, listening to Jacques Brel and wearing nice hats (but not normally all at once).
Summary of research interests:-
- literature, theology and rhetoric in the early Church
- the church fathers' interpretation of Scripture
- Gregory of Nyssa and Cappadocian theology; Origen; Augustine
- modern reception of the Church fathers
- the development of Christian doctrine
- Christian eschatology, especially the ideas of hell and universal salvation
Information about and some recordings made as a result of Morwenna's Higher Education Academy funded project "The use of audio recordings of key texts in the teaching of early Christian history and theology" can be accessed here.
Summary of the project’s aims:
The project aims to promote a deeper student involvement in their learning, through presenting them with audio recordings of key texts by selected church fathers. These key texts are also available in printed form in the module course-pack and some are available electronically via links from the module virtual learning environment (ELE = the Exeter Learning Environment).
