Andrew Klager, Ph.D.

Sessional Assistant Professor of History

Andrew Klager holds a PhD in Religious Studies / History from the University of Glasgow (2011). He has made several presentations at conferences, symposiums, and interfaith dialogues across North America and is widely published in a number of peer-reviewed journals and books in such research fields as early modern European history, peace and conflict studies, Anabaptist-Mennonite studies, interreligious peacebuilding especially in Egypt and the Middle East, peace theology, history of Christianity, 16th-century Reformation and Humanism, the Church fathers (especially St. Gregory of Nyssa), and Eastern Orthodox theology/asceticism. In 2015, Andrew has three forthcoming books on the historical conditions that cultivated Mennonite peacebuilding approaches, Anabaptism and the Church fathers, and Gregory of Nyssa’s understanding of the function of the Creeds. Andrew also currently writes regularly for the Huffington Post and serves as co-editor of Clarion Journal of Spirituality and Justice.

Ph.D. Religious Studies and History (University of Glasgow); M.A. Hrs Christian Studies/History (McMaster Divinity College); B.A. Biblical Studies (Columbia Bible College) 

Expertise

History of Christianity, Anabaptist-Mennonite History and Theology, Early Modern Europe, Peace and Conflict Studies

  • 16th-c. Anabaptist origins
  • Anabaptist theology
  • Mennonite history
  • Mennonite approaches to peacebuilding
  • The Protestant and Catholic reformations
  • History of Christianity
  • Eastern Orthodoxy
  • The Eastern Orthodox ascetic tradition (hesychasm and nepsis)
  • Gregory of Nyssa
  • Interreligious peacebuilding between Muslims and Christians
  • Religion, conflict, and peace
  • Uses of history in conflict transformation

Awards & Honors

  • Research Fellowship: Religion and Peacebuilding in Egypt, Centre for Studies in Religion and Society – University of Victoria, Victoria, BC (2014)
  • Research-Travel Grant (Cairo, Egypt): Interreligious Peacebuilding between Coptic Christians and Sunni Muslims – Mennonite Central Committee / Orthodox Peace Fellowship (2012)
  • Visiting Scholar Fellowship: Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies – Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA (2010) 
  • William Lee Prize in Church History, PhD – University of Glasgow (2008)
  • William Barclay Memorial Scholarship, PhD – University of Glasgow (2008)
  • Andrew Millar Scholarship, PhD – University of Glasgow (2008)
  • TWT Gebbie Memorial Scholarship, PhD – University of Glasgow (2007)
  • Andrew Millar Scholarship, PhD – University of Glasgow (2007)
  • Mosspark Scholarship, PhD – University of Glasgow (2006)

Recent Publications

From Suffering to Solidarity: The Historical Seeds of Mennonite Interreligious, Interethnic, and International Peacebuilding. ed. Andrew P. Klager. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock [Pickwick Imprint], 2015.

“Authentic Grassroots Conflict Transformation in Egypt: Interreligious Hospitality and the Gift of Pessimism in Mennonite Approaches to Peacebuilding.” In Suffering to Solidarity: The Historical Seeds of Mennonite Interreligious, Interethnic, and International Peacebuilding. ed. Andrew P. Klager, 231–250. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock [Pickwick Imprint], 2015.

“Abandoning Apocalyptic Determinism in Favour of Compassion for Palestinians.” In Canadian Christian Zionism, Canadian Foreign Policy and the Palestinians: A Tangled Tale, Ron Dart, 81–92. Dewdney, BC: Synaxis Press, 2015. 

“From Victimization to Empathetic Solidarity: The Historical Seeds of Interreligious Peacebuilding and Human Rights Advocacy in Anabaptist-Mennonite Origins.” Journal of Mennonite Studies 32 (Summer 2014): 119–132.

“Ingestion and Gestation: Peacemaking, the Lord's Supper, and the Theotokos in the Anabaptist-Mennonite and Eastern Orthodox Traditions.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 47, no. 3 (Summer 2012): 436–456.

“Orthodox Eschatology and St. Gregory of Nyssa's De vita Moysis: Transfiguration, Cosmic Unity, and Compassion.” In Compassionate Eschatology: The Future as Friend, eds. Ted Grimsrud and Michael Hardin, 230–252. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011.

“Mennonite Religious Values as a Resource for Peacebuilding between Orthodox Christians and Muslims.” Peace Research: The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies 43, no. 2 (2011): 127–155. Published summer 2013.

“Free Will and Vicinal Culpability in St. Gregory of Nyssa's De vita Moysis.” Greek Orthodox Theological Review 55, no. 1–4 (2010): 149–179.

“Balthasar Hubmaier's Use of the Church Fathers: Availability, Access, and Interaction.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 84, no. 1 (January 2010): 5–65.

“St. Gregory of Nyssa, Anabaptism, and the Creeds.” Conrad Grebel Review 26, no. 3 (Fall 2008): 42–71.

“Balthasar Hubmaier and the Authority of the Church Fathers.” Historical Papers 2008: Canadian Society of Church History: Annual Conference, University of British Columbia, 1–3 June 2008 18 (2008), 133–152.

“Retaining and Reclaiming the Divine: Identification and the Recapitulation of Peace in St. Irenaeus of Lyons' Atonement Narrative.” In Stricken by God? Nonviolent Identification and the Victory of Christ, eds. Brad Jersak and Michael Hardin, 422–480. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007.

“Passive Sacramentalism and Ontological Soteriology in Hans Denck and Gregory of Nyssa.” Direction Journal 35, no. 2 (Fall 2006): 268–278.

One-hundred-and-four articles outlining the histories of the congregations of Mennonite Church British Columbia and British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopaedia Online. http://www.gameo.org. 

Several articles for Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice: http://www.clarion-journal.com/clarion_journal_of_spirit/author-andrew-klager/

Several articles for the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-p-klager-phd/

  • RELS/HIST 361 – History of Christianity I 
  • RELS/HIST 362 – History of Christianity II
  • HIST 262 – History of Christianity (distance education)
  • HIST 111 – History of Western Civilization (distance education)
  • HIST 107 – World History to 1750: Ancient to Early Modern