Dr. James Merrick

Ph.D., (King’s College, University of Aberdeen, 2013)

Dr. James Merrick is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theology at Benedictine College and the Manager of Academic Content for the Pontifical College Josephinum’s Diaconate Institute. Before entering the Catholic Church, he served as an Anglican priest in the US and Scotland for over a decade. His Ph.D. in dogmatics was completed at King’s College, University of Aberdeen in Scotland with a dissertation on the hiddenness of God and the visibility of the Church in Karl Barth’s early thought. Before teaching theology at Benedictine, Dr. Merrick was an Assistant Professor of Theology at Grand Canyon University, Director of Emmaus Academic Press, and a Lecturer in Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He was for several years the Reviews Editor of Nova et Vetera and with Bishop Robert Barron and Scott Hahn, he co-edited Engaging Catholic Doctrine (Emmaus Academic, 2023). His essays have appeared in the New Dictionary of Theology (IVP 2016), Scottish Journal of Theology, Trinity Journal, Catholic World Report, Ascension Presents, and the National Catholic Register. He has been a guest on Relevant Radio and the Kresta in the Afternoon show. Dr. Merrick’s main theological interests are in the theology and history of the liturgy, the theology of grace and the sacraments, the theological interpretation of Scripture, the nature of Tradition, Benedictine spirituality, and the authority and structure of the Magisterium. His hobbies include hiking, live music, drumming, good cuisine, and non-industrial agriculture. He lives in Atchison with his wife and their seven children. 

Degrees:

M. A. in Biblical and Systematic Theology (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2006)

Th.M. in Church History (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2007)

Ph.D. in Dogmatic Theology (King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, 2013)