Peter C. Phan (Vietnamese: Phêrô Phan Đình Cho; born January 5, 1943) is a Vietnamese-born American Catholic theologian and the inaugural holder of the Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University.
Presently the Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University, Phan has previously taught at the Catholic University of America and Union Theological Seminary.[1] His many writings have been translated into Italian, German, French, Spanish, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese. His writings have received many awards from professional societies.
Controversy
Phan has been under investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Committee of Doctrine of the USCCB, for his 2004 book, Being Religious Interreligiously.[2] He published in 2017 a response to the queries raised by the two church bodies, through the book The Joy of Religious Pluralism.[3]
Honors
Phan is the first non-Anglo to be elected President of the Catholic Theological Society of America. In 2010 Phan was given the John Courtney Murray Award, the highest honor of the Catholic Theological Society of America, in recognition for outstanding and distinguished achievement in theology.[4]
A festschrift was published in 2016 in his honor, focusing on the theme of world Christianity.[5] On March 30–31, 2017, Georgetown University hosted an international symposium to discuss Phan's influence and legacy entitled "Theology without Borders: Celebrating the Legacy of Peter C. Phan." This meeting addressed Phan's scholarly work on aspects of theology, including patristics, ecclesiology, eschatology, mission, inculturation, interreligious dialogue, religious pluralism, and World Christianity.[6] He was the Cunningham Lecturer at New College, Edinburgh, in October 2018, with the topic "Migration of Christianity, Christianity of Migration."[7][8]
Works
Books authored
Social Thought. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1984.
Culture and Eschatology: The Iconographical Vision of Paul Edokimov. New York: Peter Lang, 1985.
Grace and the Human Condition. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1988.
The Mission of God: Its Challenges and Demands in Today’s World. Quezon City, Philippines: East Asian Pastoral Institute, 2002. Memperjuangkan: Misi Allah Di Tengah Dunia Dewasa Ini (Indonesian translation).
Transcontinental Links, Emerging Maps, and Polycentric Structures: A Special Issue on the “Munich School of World Christianity.” Co-editors Adrian Hermann and Ciprian Burlacioiu. University Park, PA: Penn State Press, 2016.
^Phan, Peter C. (2014). Living into Death, Dying into Life: Death and the Afterlife. Hobe Sound, FL: Lectio Publishing. ISBN978-0989839778.
^Tan, Jonathan Y.; Tran, Anh Q., eds. (2016). World Christianity: Perspectives and Insights: Essays in Honor of Peter C. Phan. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. ISBN978-1626981690.
Tan, Jonathan Y.; Tran, Anh Q., eds. (2016). World Christianity: Perspectives and Insights: Essays in Honor of Peter C. Phan. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. ISBN978-1626981690.