Vincent Pizzuto

The Rev. Vincent Pizzuto, PhD, is Professor of New Testament and Christian Mysticism in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. Committed to linking ancient Christian tradition with contemporary faith, his courses explore the relationship between historical-critical exegesis and theological interpretation, both ancient and modern. He also teaches Christian mysticism, with particular attention to the doctrine of the Incarnation and its corollary, deification. Additional offerings include courses on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion as mythical gateways into the central themes of Christian faith. He has also introduced two separate courses examining the intersection of Christian theology and near-death experiences.

Professor Pizzuto has published and presented internationally. His scholarship highlights the relationship between Scripture and the Christian contemplative life. His book Contemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life (Liturgical Press, 2018) has appeared in Spanish (Desclée De Brouwer, 2022) and will be published in Chinese (Kuangchi Cultural Group, 2026). His current research explores near-death experiences in dialogue with medical science, philosophy of mind, epistemology, and theology.
 
An Episcopal priest, Fr. Pizzuto serves as vicar of St. Columba’s Church & Retreat House in Inverness, California, where he founded a Christian Contemplative Center dedicated to the advancement of contemplative Christianity.

• New Testament hermeneutics
• The Synoptic Gospels
• Lectio Divina and contemplative practice
• Christianity and divinization
• Christian mysticism
• Near-death experience and veridical perception

• New Testament historical-critical exegesis
• Christian mysticism and contemplative practice
• Near-death experience and philosophy of mind
• JRR Tolkien and mythology
• Theology and ecology

• Coordinator, Ignatian Faculty Forum

• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, PhD (STD), 2003
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, MA (STL), 1999
• Boston College, M.Ed in Religious Education, 1995

• University of San Francisco, Ignatian Service Award, 2014

• Contemplar a Cristo. Los Evangelios y la Vida Interior. Desclée De Brouwer, 2022.
• Contemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2018.
• A Cosmic Leap of Faith: An Authorial, Structural, and Theological Investigation of the Cosmic Christology in Col 1:15-20, Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology 41. Leuven: Peeters, 2006.
• "The Deus Absconditus of Scripture: An Apophatic Hermeneutic for Christian Contemplatives" Biblical Theology Bulletin 44:2 (Spring 2014), 100–108.
• "The Structural Elegance of Matthew 1-2: A Chiastic Proposal" Catholic Biblical Quarterly (October 2012), 712–737. 
• "Colossae," in Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception, Walter de Gruyter Publishing House, 2012.
• "Epistle to the Colossians," in Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception, Walter de Gruyter Publishing House, 2012. 
• "Ecological Hermeneutic of Col 1:15-20: A Panentheistic Proposal," in Confronting the Climate Crisis: Catholic Theological Perspectives, Jame Shaefer, ed., Maquette: University Press, 2011.
• "Christianity and Homosexuality" in Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, SAGE Publications, 2009.
• "God Has Made it Plain To Them: An Indictment of Rome's Hermeneutic of Homophobia," Biblical Theology Bulletin 38:4 (Winter 2008), 163–83.
• "Religious Terror and the Prophetic Voice of Reason: Unmasking our Myths of Righteousness, Biblical Theology Bulletin 37:2 (Summer 2007), 47–53.