Professor Dr. John Ritzema

Biography

John Ritzema is an Associate Faculty Member at the Pharos Foundation and a Marshall Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Faculty of Theology and Religion. His academic background includes a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy in Theology from Oxford, followed by a PhD in Theology with a focus on the Old Testament and Hebrew Bible from King’s College London. His primary research interest lies in the exploration of epiphanies within Old Testament and Hebrew Bible literature, as well as the relationships between symbolic ritual worlds and temple cults. Ritzema employs a comparativist approach, drawing extensively on Greek poetry to enrich his analyses. Additionally, he delves into Christian Hebraism within the context of Italian Renaissance Humanism and examines the intersection of Theology and Constitutional Law. His work contributes to a deeper understanding of the cultural and historical layers that shape religious texts and practices. He is committed to advancing scholarly inquiry in these fields, building on the rich tradition of theological study at Oxford.

Research Interests