Education
B.A. University of Washington, M.Div. Princeton Theological Seminary, Ph.D. Fordham University
steven.chase@westernsem.edu
Courses
TF100 The Church's Life and Witness (150-1536)
TF549 Christian Prayer: Theology and Practice
TF563 History of Christian Mysticism
TF565 Spiritual Theology
CM102 Seminar in Spiritual Formation
CM580 Group Spiritual Direction
MT220 Research Design
Christian spirituality in the seminary setting is a field-encompassing-field. As such it finds itself in close and intimate relation with other disciplines such as theology, biblical exegesis, preaching, church history, pastoral care, worship, church leadership, ethics and spiritual formation and discipleship. Formation in Christian living is a life-long process. Habits and disciplines acquired during seminary years serve as guides and markers for our spiritual journey as we move out from the seminary to become compelling witnesses to the transforming message of Jesus Christ. My vocation as a teacher of Christian spirituality is to aid students in discerning God's presence in all of God's good creation
Background
Steven has a varied background in both academic and practical aspects of Christian spirituality. He served as full-time adjunct professor of Christian spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and as a Core Doctoral Faculty Member of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. He taught Christian spirituality, Christian mysticism, historical theology, and theology in a variety of Roman Catholic and Reformed seminaries throughout the US, in Canada, and in Korea. He has twice been a member-in-residence at the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, NJ. He is the founder and current Co-Chair of the Christian Spirituality Group of the American Academy of Religion and a member of the Governing Board of the Society for the study of Christian Spirituality.
Dr. Chase served as Director of Prayer Formation at the Institute of Spirituality at the Dominican Center, Grand Rapids, MI and as a spiritual director on staff and in private practice.
He is the author of Angelic Wisdom: The Cherubim and the Grace of Contemplation in Richard of St. Victor, Contemplation and Compassion: The Victorine Spiritual Tradition, The Tree of Life: Models of Christian Prayer; the editor and translator of Angelic Spirituality: Medieval Perspectives on the Ways of Angels; and editor of Doors of Understanding: Conversations in Global Spirituality.