A theology professor at The University of Nottingham hopes to encourage public discussion and engagement with the Christian faith in his new role for the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham.

The Revd Dr Simon Oliver, has been appointed as Canon Theologian of Southwell Minster by the Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham and will offer his expertise to the diocese and the Bishop. He will be installed at a service of Evensong in Southwell Minster on Sunday 13th February 2011, at 3.30pm and will be placed in the Cathedral’s Kelham stall.

Simon said: “I am delighted and honoured to become Canon Theologian of Southwell Minster. A Canon Theologian is a teacher of the Christian faith who encourages others to discuss and learn about our profound and crucial religious heritage. The role of religion in public life is much discussed today. I look forward to enabling a lively debate on these issues while making a clear contribution to that debate from the perspective of Christian faith.”

Simon, who is an Associate Professor of Theology at The University of Nottingham, was born in Nottingham while his father, Stephen Oliver, was curate in the Clifton Team Ministry. The family then moved to Newark and later to Plumtree where his father, who has recently retired as Bishop of Stepney in London, was Rector of St. Mary’s and producer of religious programmes on Radio Nottingham. Simon said: “I attended Crossdale Drive Primary School in Keyworth (where my eldest son is now a pupil) and, for three years, Nottingham High School before our family moved to Northamptonshire.”

Simon went on to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University followed by a year working as a teacher in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). He returned to the UK to work for a property company in Leeds before going to Cambridge to study Theology and train for the priesthood. He explained: “I’d been considering a vocation to the priesthood from the age of sixteen. My parents were, of course, very influential. I was ordained in 1998 and worked as a curate in two parishes on the outskirts of Cambridge while pursuing further academic work at the University.”

In 2001 he became Chaplain of Hertford College, Oxford and, in 2003, also became Chaplain to Douglas House, a new hospice and respite centre in east Oxford for young people with life-limiting illness. Douglas House was founded by Sister Frances Dominica, an Anglican nun, who established Helen House in 1982, the world’s first hospice specifically for children.

In 2005 he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Theology at the University of Wales and, having been away for nearly 25 years, returned home to Nottingham in 2009 as Associate Professor of Theology at The University. His academic and teaching interests include systematic theology - the study of the method, meaning and implications of the 'system' of Christian doctrine -  and the relationship between faith and reason. He has produced a number of publications on a range of areas including creation, environmental ethics, the nature of wisdom and the relationship between Christian theology and science.

Simon is very active within the Church and is Assistant Priest at All Saints’, Cotgrave. He also sits on various Church of England and Anglican Communion commissions and committees.

He is married to Jayne, a paediatric speech and language therapist working with children with learning difficulties. They have two sons, Benedict (7) and Samuel (4). Simon said: “I am, and have always been, a fanatical Nottingham Forest fan. Now that we’ve returned to Nottingham I’m able to go to plenty of games. As a young boy I remember listening to the radio commentary of the European Cup Final in 1979 as Trevor Francis scored the winning goal against Malmo. In fact, I took my first communion in the City Ground during a big open air service! There would be nothing better than to see Forest back in the Premiership and I wish Billy and the team every success this season.”

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