Meet This Year's Speaker
The Rev. Dr. Gerald McDermott
Gerald McDermott teaches at Jerusalem Seminary and the Reformed Episcopal Seminary (ACNA) in Philadelphia. He retired from the Anglican Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, AL in 2020. Before that, he was the Jordan-Trexler Professor of Religion at Roanoke College, where he taught courses for 26 years in the history of Christianity and Christian theology of world religions. He has written, co-written or edited 25 books and hundreds of articles. His academic research focus has been three-fold: Jonathan Edwards, Christian understandings of other religions, and the meaning of Israel. One of the leading authorities on “America’s theologian,” McDermott has produced eight books on Edwards. His Theology of Jonathan Edwards (with Michael McClymond; Oxford University Press, 2012) won Christianity Today’s 2013 award for Top Book in Theology/Ethics
His most recent book is A New History of Redemption: The Work of the Jewish Messiah Through the Millennia (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, March 2024). This is a history of redemption for the Church--with Israel at the center, incorporating liturgical and sacramental history plus the rise of the world religions. He has written or co-written seven books in the theology of religions. Two recent books of interest are edited volumes: Race and Covenant: Recovering the Religious Roots for American Reconciliation (Acton Books) and Understanding the Jewish Roots of Christianity (Lexham). Three previous books on Israel have been Israel Matters: Why Christians Must Think Differently about the People and the Land (Brazos) and The New Christian Zionism: Fresh Perspectives on Israel and the Land (InterVarsity), and Understanding Jewish Roots of Christianity (Lexham). In 2020 he brought out The Future of Orthodox Anglicanism (Crossway) and in 2024 Deep Anglicanism: A Brief Guide (Nashotah Press). McDermott and his wife Jean attend Holy Cross Anglican in Crozet, VA where he serves as priest-in-residence. He lectures and podcasts frequently. He and Jean have three grown sons and fourteen grandchildren.
