Professor Dr. Sophie Lunn Rockliffe

Biography

Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe is an Associate Professor of Patristics and a Fellow in Theology and Religious Studies at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge. She read History at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, receiving her undergraduate degree in 1998. She continued her studies earning an MPhil in Political Thought in 1999 and a PhD in Late Antique History in 2004. Her research focuses on the life and thought of the church in late antiquity, particularly from the sixth century CE onward, considering the Greco-Roman Mediterranean and the Syriac-speaking world. Her doctoral work examined political theology in the writings of Ambrosiaster, an anonymous Christian writer from the fourth century. Currently, she is engaged in a major project exploring late ancient ideas about the devil and demons, with a specific concentration on notions of diabolical agency. Her long-standing research interests include patristic biblical exegesis, political thought, the history of liturgy, inter-religious relations in late antiquity, and magical texts and objects.

Research Interests

Experience