Rev. Professor Hector Scerri, is Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Theology (since 2015). He has been lecturing in the Department of Fundamental and Dogmatic Theology since 1998. He was Head of this Department from 2001 to 2016. After his university studies in Malta (1984-93), he defended his doctoral thesis, summa cum laude, at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome in 1998. He has published articles in Melita Theologica, Seminarium, Studia Ephemeridis Augustinianum, Studia Patristica, Nicolaus, Irish Theological Quarterly, ET Studies, Journal of Ecumenical Studies and other peer-reviewed journals. He has delivered papers at academic institutions in Rome, Oxford, Leuven, Helsinki, Durham and Strasbourg.
His main areas of interest are christology, sacraments and sacramental orthopraxis, eschatology, patristics, ecumenism and the history of theology. He is the founder-president of the Maltese Patristics Society.
He was Vice-Rector of the Malta Major Seminary from August 1998 to August 2008. Between 2008 and 2015, he was a visiting lecturer at the Sacred Heart Seminary, Gozo. In September 2008, he was appointed President of the Malta Theological Commission and President of the Diocesan Ecumenical Commission. Since 2000, he has occupied the post of censor theologus of the Archdiocese of Malta. Since 2014, he has been the Chairperson of the Malta Ecumenical Council. In July 2014, Pope Francis appointed him Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
Professor Hector Scerri is a member of Societa` Italiana per la Ricerca Teologica (SIRT), Association Internationale Cardinal Henri de Lubac, the European Society of Catholic Theology (ESCT), Societas Oecumenica and the Association Internationale d'Etudes Patristiques.
He has authored, co-authored and co-edited fourteen books, and published over 400 articles in various academic journals and non-academic venues in Malta and internationally.
Christology
Sacramental Orthopraxis
Eschatology
Ecumenism
Patristics
History of Theology
Scerri, H. 2016, ""'Discard your gods and Worship mine or I will destroy both your gods and you!' The Lasting Relevance of Dignitatis Humanae"", Cultural and Religious Studies, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 60-65.
Scerri, H. 2015, ""The Eucharist and Freedom in Contemporary Theologians and in the Magisterium of Pope John Paul II"" in The Quest for Authenticity and Human Dignity. A Festschrift in Honour of Professor George Grima on his 70th Birthday, eds. E. Agius & H. Scerri, Foundation for Theological Studies and Faculty of Theology, University of Malta, Malta, pp. 395-417.
Scerri, H. 2014, ""Pilgrims and Wayfarers to, at and from Ecumenical Gatherings and Encounters. Reading the Theme of the Journey to, at and from Ecumenical Events in the Light of Porta Fidei and Lumen Fidei", Roczniki Teologiczne, vol. 61, no. 7, pp. 43-60.
Scerri, H. 2014, ""Teilhard de Chardin on Insects in The Phenomenon of Man", Melita Theologica, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 51-62.
Scerri, H. 2013, ""Life as a Journey in the Letters of Gregory the Great"", Studia Patristica, vol. 69, pp. 305-310.
Scerri, H. 2012, "The Christian Agape Meal: A Manifestation of Koinonia and Diakonia. The Contribution of Adalbert-Gautier Hamman", Melita Theologica, vol. 62, pp. 55-71.
Scerri, H. 2012, "The Eucharist and Freedom: Recalling the Impact of the Magisterium of Pope John Paul II at the International Eucharistic Congress of Wroclaw (1997)", The Person and the Challenges, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 193-206.
Scerri, H. 2012, "The Revival of Scholastic Sacramental Theology after the Publication of Aeterni Patris", Irish Theological Quarterly, vol. 77, pp. 265-285.
Scerri, H. 2012, "Table Fellowship: A Religious Experience? Some Reflections on the Maltese Context" in Religious Experience, North and South, ed. Renè Gothoni, Peter Lang, Oxford, pp. 25-49.
THL3161 - Synoptic Study-Unit Paper 3 - Fundamental and Dogmatic Theology
Currently working on a five-volume work, Cor ad Cor Loquitur. The first volume was published in May 2018. Vol. 2 is due in the first half of 2019.
Collaboration with the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
Member of the following international theological associations: European Society of Catholic Theology Societas Oecumenica Association Internationale d'Etudes Patristiques Association Internationale Cardinal Henri de Lubac Societa` Italian per la Ricerca teologica Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain
Recent participation in International Conferences: European Society of Catholic Theology, "Philadelphia. The Challenge of Fraternity", University of Strasbourg, 30 August - 2 September 2017. Paper delivered: 'The Experience of Fraternity in Patristic and Other Early Christian texts',
Leuven Encounters on Systematic Theology, "Ecclesia semper reformanda: Renewal and Reform Beyond Polemics", catholic University of Leuven, 11-14 October 2017. Paper delivered: 'The pact of the Catacombs: An Early Harbinger of Pope Francis' Vision of the Church'.
Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, "Luther and the Sacraments. A Catholic re-reading in an ecumenical perspective", 26 February - 1 March 2017.
