Home  ::  Faculty  ::  James R. Payton, Jr.  


Professor & Chair of History
Phone: 905.648.2139 Ext 4287
Fax: 905.648.2134
Office: 208D
Email: jpayton@redeemer.ca


Courses taught 2010/2011:
HIS107  The History of Eastern Europe
HIS262  Islam in Europe
HIS316  Church History II
HIS365  A History of Eastern Orthodoxy
HIS367  Ukraine: History and Culture
HIS411  Church History Reading Seminar


EDUCATION

Ph.D. (1982), History, University of Waterloo
Dissertation: "Sola scriptura and Church History: The Views of Bucer and Melanchthon on Religious Authority in 1539."

Th.M. (1975), Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary
Dissertation: "The Influence of Martin Bucer Upon the Development of Puritan Postmillennialism."

M.Div. (1975), Westminster Theological Seminary

M.A. (1971), Theology, Bob Jones University

B.A. (1969), Religion, Bob Jones University



RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • History of Eastern Europe
  • Patristics
  • Church History
  • Eastern Orthodoxy


RECENT PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS AUTHORED
Light from the Christian East: An Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2007; 2nd printing, 2009.

  • Asian edition, for sale in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait (India: Authentic Media, 2009).
  • Romanian language edition – Bucharest: Associated League for Education and Philanthropy (forthcoming, 2012).

Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2010.

Irenaeus on the Christian Faith – a manuscript of 270 pages offering a condensation and revised English version of Against Heresies, with an introduction. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications: forthcoming, 2010.

Light from the Christian East: An Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2007.

BOOK MANUSCRIPTS COMPLETED, seeking publisher
A Patristic Treasury – an introduction to and a selection of readings in the thought and spirituality of the Church Fathers, from the 1st through the mid-8th century (352 pages).

How It Got That Way: Events that Shaped the History of Eastern Europe – a treatment of Eastern European history (247 pages).

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS
"Religion, Nationalism, and National Identities," in Ines Murzaku, ed., Quo Vadis Eastern Europe? Religion, State and Society after Communism (Bologna: University of Bologna Press, 2009).

"Toward a Russian Orthodox Worldview for Post-Soviet Society," in Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Europe, ed. Jonathan Sutton and Wil van den Bercken, Eastern Christian Studies 3 (Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2003), 299-318.

"Drawn Eastward: The Attraction of Eastern Orthodoxy for Western Christians," in The Practical Calvinist: An Introduction to the Presbyterian and Reformed Heritage, ed. Peter Lillback (Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 2002), 53-67.

"Toward an Orthodox Approach to Higher Education in 21st-Century Russia," (in Russian [pp. 53-57] and in English [pp. 57-66], in Higher Education in XXI Century Russian Culture: A Christian Perspective (St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg School of Religion and Philosophy, 2000).

"Toward an Orthodox Worldview for the Third Millennium" (in Russian), in Man and the Christian Worldview: Conceptualizing the Normal and Abnormal in Medicine, Science and Society (in Russian). (Simferopol, Ukraine, 1999), 95-106.

JOURNAL ARTICLES
"Ottoman Millet, Religious Nationalism, and Civil Society: Focus on Kosovo," Religion in Eastern Europe 26, No. 1 (2006):11-23.

"Advice from St. Maximos Confessor for Contemporary Macedonians," Religion in Eastern Europe 24 (2004, No. 5):1-14. (Also published in Albanian and in Macedonian versions as chapters in volumes published by Ecumenical Press [Philadelphia] in 2004.)

"The Influence of the Reformation on the History of Ukraine," Journal of Ukrainian Studies 28 (2003):105-117.

"Recent Developments in the Balkans: Summary and Comment," Religion in Eastern Europe 22 (2002, No. 2):37-46.

"Religion and the Historiography of Eastern Europe," Religion in Eastern Europe 21 (2001, No. 2):1-16.

"Bypassing the History of Eastern Europe: A Failure of Twentieth Century Christian Scholarship," Christian Scholar's Review 29 (2000):713-730.

"Revisioning the Historiography of Eastern Europe," Fides & Historia 31 (1999):77-89.


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Guest Professor in Ecumenics – Evangelical Theological Seminary, Osijek, Croatia, 2009, 2007.
Guest Professor in Patristics – Matthias Flacius Illyricus Faculty of Theology, Zagreb, Croatia, 2008.
Adjunct Professor of History of Christianity – McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario, 2000-2006.
Adjunct Professor of Orthodox Doctrine and Spirituality – St. Stephen's College, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, 2000-2002.


COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Appointed ARIHE Lecturer for 2009-2010, to give invited lectures in honor of the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin (ARIHE = Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education)
Member, Advisory Board, Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies (produced through Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania), 2009-present.
President, CAREE (Christians Associated for Relationships with Eastern Europe), 2006-present. (Executive Secretary, 1998-2006.)
Christian Co-Chair (2008- ), National Muslim/Christian Liaison Committee.

 
 
Redeemer University College
777 Garner Road East | Ancaster, ON | L9K 1J4
905.648.2131 | 877.779.0913 © 2010