Gerald Bray


Gerald Lewis Bray is a British theologian, ecclesiastical historian, and ordained priest in the Church of England.

Teaching

Born in Montreal, Quebec, on 16 November 1948, Bray holds a BA McGill University and a MLitt and DLitt University of Paris-Sorbonne. He was librarian of Tyndale House, Cambridge from 1975 to 1978, when he was ordained in the Church of England and served in the parish of St Cedd, Canning Town until 1980. From 1980 to 1992 he taught ecclesiastical history and doctrine at Oak Hill Theological College in London. From 1993 to 2006 he taught at Beeson Divinity School, where he is now a research professor. He is now also Distinguished Professor of Historical Theology at Knox Theological Seminary. He is the director of research at the Latimer Trust at Oak Hill Theological College in London.

Writing

Bray's book, Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present was one of Christianity Today's books of the year in 1997.
He has written extensively on the history of the canon law of the Church of England, publishing two major works on the subject, The Anglican Canons 1529-1947 and Tudor Church Reform, both of which were sponsored by the Church of England Record Society. He also edited the Convocation records of the Churches of England and Ireland from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. Bray is also the editor of the Churchman academic journal.
His most important recent books are God is Love, a Biblical and Systematic Theology, published by Crossway and "God has spoken. A history of Christian theology", also published by Crossway in 2014.
Since then he has published "Augustine and the Christian Life", "The Church. A theological and historical account" and an edition of the Books of Homilies of the Church of England. In 2017 he published a critical edition of the Procès-Verbal de l'Assemblée Générale du Clergé de France,an important witness to the French pre-revolution that had lain half-forgotten in the Archives Nationales in Paris.