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Clare Amos, of the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff, is the recipient of a Lambeth Doctorate in Divinity, awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The title was recently conferred in recognition of Amos’ long-term contributions to ecumenical engagement, inter-religious relations and theological education.
Amos serves as programme executive and coordinator for the WCC’s inter-religious dialogue and cooperation programme, and was previously director for Theological Studies in the Anglican Communion Office in the United Kingdom.
The ceremony took place on 16 October at Lambeth Palace, London.
“In recognition of her significant contribution on behalf of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion to interfaith and ecumenical engagement, to theological education and learning and to the dissemination of biblical studies,” read the summary citation.
The following week, on 24 October in the United States, Amos also received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Berkeley Divinity School, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. This honour was in acknowledgement of Amos’ international and inter-religious interests and her commitment to theological studies.
“To be a theologian is to be exposed to the vision of heaven and the tragedy of (hu)mankind.” These challenging words by a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, are described by Amos as the precept she has taken seriously during her years of working for the churches in the fields of theological education and inter-religious concerns.
In line with Archbishop Ramsey’s words, in Amos’ view, “theology is not simply an academic pursuit which can be neatly boxed away from the rest of life and from the challenges facing the Church. To be a theologian must involve all our mind, and soul, and heart and strength. And grappling with holding together ‘the vision of heaven’ and the ‘tragedy of (hu)mankind’ is surely a task for which all Christian people – not simply the religious professionals need to be equipped.”
In the next few years, during the time that Amos is working at the WCC, she hopes to enable people to reflect seriously on what it means to be Christian in a world in which the multi-religious dimension needs to be taken more seriously.
Amos’ own theological roots are firmly in biblical studies, and she believes that the Bible, “both Old and New Testaments, is a vital resource helping to equip us all for our ministry in today’s world.” She is also committed to work with colleagues at the WCC to help the churches strengthen theological education for future clergy, enabling them to minister more confidently in a variety of multi-religious settings.
