Daniela Augustine

My research and publications are in the fields of theological ethics and public theology, focusing through pneumatological, anthropological and ecclesiological lenses on the subjects of social transformation, theology of economics, religion and culture, and eco-theology. My work engages also Eastern Orthodox theology (with particular interest in Orthodox liturgical and sacramental theology), Pentecostal theology, and ecumenical studies in World Christianity, as well as continental philosophy (especially the thought of Jacques Derrida and Emmanuel Levinas).

My current projects include: an investigation of the liturgical pneumatology of Alexander Schmemann conducted in conjunction with my habilitation work at the University of Heidelberg; and a research in spirituality of urban sustainability, focusing on the intersections of building communal trust, cultivation of social capital and achieving sustainable economic growth that promotes reverent consumption and ecological stewardship in pursuit of the common good.   

Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Birmingham, I served as Associate Professor of Theological Ethics at Lee University, Cleveland, TN. Before my transition to the USA, I lectured in the Bulgarian Theological College (Stara Zagora, Bulgaria), where I served also as Academic Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs; the Pentecostal Theological Seminary (Cleveland, TN); as well as the International Institute for Christian Studies and Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.

After completing my doctoral studies, I conducted advanced postdoctoral research in the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, NJ, focusing on the event of Pentecost as a paradigm for social transformation. I have served also as the scholar in residence at the Centre for Pentecostal Theology in Cleveland, TN. In the Fall of 2016, I was welcomed as a visiting scholar in St. Vladimir’s Seminary in Crestwood, NY in conjunction with the habilitation work that I am currently conducting in the University of Heidelberg. My research in Heidelberg focuses on the liturgical pneumatology of Alexander Schmemann.  

In 2017, I was invited to join the American Theological Society, the oldest theological association in North America. I am also a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, NJ, as well as of a number of professional societies, including the American Academy of Religion and the Society for Pentecostal Studies where I serve as the Leader/Chair of the Christian Ethics Interest Group.

I am committed to ecumenical engagement and have been involved in the Joint Consultative Group between the World Council of Churches and Pentecostals and the Ecumenical Dialogue between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and Pentecostals. I am currently a member of the steering committee of the Orthodox-Pentecostal Academic Dialogue which convenes in conjunction with the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion.

I serve also as associate editor of the Journal of Pentecostal Theology, and co-editor of Bloomsbury (T&T Clark) series in Systematic Pentecostal and Charismatic Theology.