George Christopher Stead


Rev. George Christopher Stead was the last Ely Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. He is best known for his work on the philosophy of the Church Fathers, his 1977 book Divine Substance being widely cited among Patristic scholars. He studied under G.E. Moore and Ludwig Wittgenstein while an undergraduate at Cambridge. He was a Priest and Canon of the Diocese of Ely in the Church of England, having also served briefly as Curate of St. John's, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1939.
Stead was particularly interested in the application of the Aristotelian concept of substance to Christian theology and in the use of the term 'homoousios' initially in a context deemed heretical by the Council of Antioch, subsequently more authoritatively by the Council of Nicaea but in turn giving rise to over half a century of heated discussion. Stead's interest extended to Augustine and John Philoponus' use of the concept.

Academic career