Matthew Fairhurst

I work on Christian theology and the Church Fathers. My doctoral research is concerned with Isaac of Nineveh's soteriology and eschatology, with specific focuses on how it might inform genealogies of Christian universalism and what it might contribute constructively to current debates about universal salvation.

I've previously researched resurrection and salvation in the thought of Maximus the Confessor, and written about theological method in Dumitru Staniloae, Rowan Williams, and Friedrich Schleiermacher. I'm also interested in theology's relationships with poetry and music.

Biography

2022 - present: PhD Theology, Robinson College, University of Cambridge

2021 - 2022: MPhil Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion, Robinson College, University of Cambridge

Distinction

Theological Studies Prize

Dissertation: 'The Risen Jesus in the Soteriology of Maximus the Confessor'

2017 - 2020: BA (Hons) Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion, Robinson College, University of Cambridge

First with Distinction

Theological Studies Prize

Dissertation: 'The Judgement of Theology – Two Modern Perspectives'

Research

Patristics
- Isaac of Nineveh
- Maximus the Confessor
Christian doctrine
- Soteriology and universal salvation
- Christology
- Theological methodology
Theology and the arts
- R. S. Thomas
- Theology and jazz

Publications

Other publications:

Papers delivered:

2nd Sep 2024: ‘Christology and Universal Salvation in Isaac of Nineveh’
League of European Research Universities Conference
Heidelberg University

7th Aug 2024: ‘The Gnomic Will and Universal Salvation in Maximus the Confessor’
Oxford Patristics Conference
University of Oxford

24th Jul 2024: ‘Isaac of Nineveh's Doctrine of Atonement’
Making Atonement: Summer Theology Seminar
University of St Andrews

10th Apr 2024: ‘John Coltrane and Kurt Elling play 'Resolution': Jazz as Verbal and Non-Verbal Prayer’
Society for the Study of Theology
University of Warwick

22nd Mar 2024: ‘Isaac of Nineveh and Modern Theology’
Syriac Studies in the UK: Past, Present, Future
Durham University

15th Feb 2024: ‘Divine Silence as a Creative Act in the Poetry of R. S. Thomas’
Cambridge-Toulouse Journée d'Étude: Metaphysics and Poetics
Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge

5th Sep 2023: ‘Universal Salvation: Aspiration or Inspiration? Isaac of Nineveh and Theological Priorities’
Society for the Study of Theology Graduate Conference
New College, University of Edinburgh