Oliver was born on 2 October 1971. He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Mansfield College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1993; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree in 1998.^[7][8] In 1995, he matriculated into Westcott House, Cambridge, an Anglican theological college in the Liberal Catholic tradition, to train for Holy Orders.^[8] During this time, he also studied theology at Peterhouse, Cambridge, graduating with a further BA degree in 1997;^[7][8] as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Cantab) degree in 2000.^[8]

Having left theological college in 1998, Oliver continued his studies, undertaking postgraduate studies at Peterhouse.^[8] His doctoral supervisor was Catherine Pickstock,^[4][2] and his doctoral thesis was titled The God of Motion: Theological Physics from Plato to Newton with a Particular Emphasis on the Work of St. Thomas Aquinas.^[9] He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2003.^[8]

Oliver was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1998 and as a priest in 1999 for the Diocese of Ely.^[5][8] From 1998 to 2001, he served his curacy as a non-stipendiary minister at All Saints, Teversham and St Andrew's Church, Cherry Hinton.^[8] From 2001 to 2004, he was the chaplain of Hertford College, Oxford.^[7][8] In 2005, he joined the University of Wales, Lampeter, as a lecturer in theology.^[8] He was promoted to senior lecturer in 2006.^[8]

In 2009, Oliver moved to the University of Nottingham, where he had been appointed associate professor of philosophical theology.^[5][10] In November 2010, it was announced that he had been additionally appointed Canon Theologian of Southwell Minster; he was installed during a service at the minster on 13 February 2011.^[11] He became head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Nottingham in 2013.^[7]

In February 2015, it was announced that Oliver would be the next Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at the University of Durham.^[5] He moved to Durham to take up the appointment in September 2015.^[7] As such, he also became a residentiary canon of Durham Cathedral,^[12][13] and was installed during Evensong on 20 September 2015.^[14] He gave the 2017 Stanton Lectures at the University of Cambridge; the series was titled "Creation's Ends: Teleology, Ethics and the Natural".^[15]

Views edit

Oliver is a notable member of the theological sensibility known as radical orthodoxy.^[16] He organised the 2013 Centre for Theology and Philosophy conference: The Soul, held at St Anne's College, Oxford.^[17]

Oliver is married and has two sons.^[13]

• Oliver, Simon (2005). Philosophy, God and Motion. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415360456.
• Oliver, Simon; Warrier, Maya, eds. (2008). Theology and Religious Studies: An Exploration of Disciplinary Boundaries. London: T & T Clark. ISBN 978-0567032362.
• Milbank, John; Oliver, Simon, eds. (2008). The Radical Orthodoxy Reader. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415425124.
• Oliver, Simon; Kilby, Karen; O'Loughlin, Tom, eds. (2012). Faithful Reading: New Essays in Theology in Honour of Fergus Kerr, OP. London: T & T Clark. ISBN 978-0567644039.