Peter C. Phan

Peter C. Phan (born January 5, 1943) is a Vietnamese-born American Catholic theologian and the inaugural holder of the Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University.
Biography
Phan has earned three doctorates: Doctor of Theology from Salesian University in Rome (1978), Doctor of Philosophy from the University of London (1986), and Doctor of Divinity from the University of London (2000). Phan has also been awarded three honorary Doctorates: Doctor of Theology honoris causa, Catholic Theological Union (2001), Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa, Elms College (2007), and Doctor of Divinity, Virginia Theological Seminary (2017).
Presently the Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University, Phan has previously taught at the Catholic University of America and Union Theological Seminary. His many writings have been translated into Italian, German, French, Spanish, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese. His writings have received many awards from professional societies.
Controversy
Phan has been under investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Committee of Doctrine of the USCCB, for his 2004 book, Being Religious Interreligiously. He published in 2017 a response to the queries raised by the two church bodies, through the book The Joy of Religious Pluralism.
Honors
Phan is the first non-Anglo to be elected President of the Catholic Theological Society of America. In 2010 Phan was given the John Courtney Murray Award, the highest honor of the Catholic Theological Society of America, in recognition for outstanding and distinguished achievement in theology.
A festschrift was published in 2016 in his honor, focusing on the theme of world Christianity. On March 30–31, 2017, Georgetown University hosted an international symposium to discuss Phan's influence and legacy entitled "Theology without Borders: Celebrating the Legacy of Peter C. Phan." This meeting addressed Phan's scholarly work on aspects of theology, including patristics, ecclesiology, eschatology, mission, inculturation, interreligious dialogue, religious pluralism, and World Christianity. He was the Cunningham Lecturer at New College, Edinburgh, in October 2018, with the topic "Migration of Christianity, Christianity of Migration."
Works
Books authored
Social Thought. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1984.
Culture and Eschatology: The Iconographical Vision of Paul Edokimov. New York: Peter Lang, 1985.
Grace and the Human Condition. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1988.
Eternity in Time: A Study of Karl Rahner’s Eschatology. Selingsgrove, PA: Susquehanna University Press, 1988.
Responses to 101 Questions on Death and Eternal Life. New York: Paulist Press, 1997.
Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth- Century Vietnam. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998.
The Mission of God: Its Challenges and Demands in Today’s World. Quezon City, Philippines: East Asian Pastoral Institute, 2002. Memperjuangkan: Misi Allah Di Tengah Dunia Dewasa Ini (Indonesian translation).
In Our Own Tongues: Perspectives from Asia on Mission and Inculturation. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003.
Christianity with an Asian Face: Asian American Theology in the Making. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003.
Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue in Postmodernity. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004.
Vietnamese-American Catholics. New York: Paulist Press, 2005.
Living into Death, Dying into Life: Death and the Afterlife. Hobe Sound, FL: Lectio Publishing, 2014.
The Joy of Religious Pluralism: A Personal Journey. Mayknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2017.
Asian Christianities: History, Theology and Practice. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2018.
Books edited
Christianity and the Wider Ecumenism. New York: Paragon House, 1990.
Church and Theology: Essays in Memory of Carl Peter. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1994.
Ethnicity, Nationality and Religious Experience. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1994.
Journeys at the Margin: Toward an Autobiographical Theology in Asian-American Perspective. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1999.
The Gift of the Church: A Textbook on Ecclesiology in Honor of Patrick Granfield. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2000.
The Asian Synod: Texts and Commentaries. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2002.
The Future of the Asian Churches: The Asian Synod & Ecclesia in Asia. Manila: Claretian Press, 2002, with James Kroeger.
Many Faces, One Church: Cultural Diversity and the American Catholic Experience. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.
The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: A Commentary. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2005.
The Cambridge Companion to the Trinity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Christianities in Asia. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2011.
Contemporary Issues of Migration and Theology. Co-editor Elaine Padilla. New York: Palgrave/Macmillan. 2013.
Theologies of Migration in the Abrahamic Religions. Co-editor Elaine Padilla. New York: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2014.
Christianities in Migration. Co-editor Elaine Padilla. New York: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2016.
Transcontinental Links, Emerging Maps, and Polycentric Structures: A Special Issue on the “Munich School of World Christianity.” Co-editors Adrian Hermann and Ciprian Burlacioiu. University Park, PA: Penn State Press, 2016.
Learning from All the Faithful: A Contemporary Theology of the Sensus Fidei. Co-editor Bradford Hinze. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Press, 2016.
Violence, Religion, Peacemaking: Contributions of Interreligious Dialogue. Co-editor Douglas Irvin-Erikson. New York: Palgrave- Macmillan, 2016.
Christian Theology in the Age of Migration Implications for World Christianity. New York: Lexington Books, 2020.
See also
Christianity in Asia
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences
World Christianity
Catholic Theological Society of America
References
Further reading
1943 births
Living people
American people of Vietnamese descent
American theologians
20th-century American Roman Catholic theologians
21st-century American Roman Catholic theologians
20th-century Vietnamese Roman Catholic priests
World Christianity scholars
Salesian Pontifical University alumni
Catholic University of America faculty
Union Theological Seminary (New York City) faculty
Georgetown University faculty
Presidents of the Catholic Theological Society of America