Richard A. Burridge

The Revd
Professor Richard A. Burridge has been Dean of King’s College London
since 1993; and was appointed to a personal Chair in Biblical
Interpretation in 2008. Before coming to King’s he was Lazenby Chaplain
at the University of Exeter, where he also taught New Testament and
Ethics. He was originally a classicist and schoolmaster before being
ordained in 1985. (For more details on the Dean’s work as Professor of
Biblical Interpretation and in the Department of Theology &
Religious Studies, please visit the Dean’s Theology & Religious Studies staff page.)

He has written several books on Jesus and the Gospels (notably What are the Gospels? A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography, 1992, new revised edition, 2004; Four Gospels, One Jesus? 1994 and new revised edition 2005; and a commentary on John, 1998, reissued for the Lambeth Conference in 2008) as well as writings
on ethics, the purposes of universities and higher education, and
Christian responses to contemporary film and fiction (Faith Odyssey, 2001, revised edition 2003). His most recent book, Imitating Jesus: An Inclusive Approach to New Testament Ethics (2007), looks at how New Testament ethics should be interpreted in the
light of his argument that the Gospels are essentially biographies of
Jesus, using South African apartheid as a case study. Imitating Jesus was shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize, an initiative of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, at the Hay-on-Wye Festival in May 2009.  Richard Burridge is a member of the Church of England’s General Synod and
chaired their Validation Panel for ordination training and theological
education (1996-2004); he is currently serving as a representative of
the Church Commisioners on the Ethical Investment Advisory Group. He also takes study days regularly for clergy and lay people across
England. He has acted as a writer and Consultant to the Millennium Dome
at Greenwich and for the National Gallery, London and appears regularly
on national TV and radio.  He enjoys skiing, sailing, music and golf (he is chaplain to his local golf club!).