Matthew Neumann

Matthew Neumann is a doctoral candidate in the History of the Christian Tradition. His research interests include Trinitarian theology and relations between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions as they developed and separated from one another in the medieval and early modern periods. His broader interests extend to the history of the doctrines of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and salvation.

Matthew’s  dissertation, “‘More Orthodox than Thomas:’ John Duns Scotus, Gennadios Scholarios, and the Filioque,” will give a critical analysis of the theology of the Holy Spirit in the late Byzantine theologian Gennadios Scholarios (c. 1400 – c. 1472), especially as it relates to his reception of the Franciscan theologian John Duns Scotus (c. 1265-1308) and thecontroversy between medieval Greek and Latin Christianity concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit. What makes Scholarios’s response to the controversy unique is his ability to draw on a wider range of Greek and Latin, early and medieval, sources than almost anyone else. His reception of Aquinas is well-known, but he is also one of the few Byzantine thinkers who had direct access to the works of Scotus, whom he mentions by name. The dissertation will seek to bring out some of the neglected aspects of these two late medieval theologians and see what potential they provide for a historical approach to ecumenical issues.

Matthew holds a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Biblical and Theological Studies from Wheaton College, where he also completed a Certificate in Early Christian Studies. He lives in Dallas with his high school sweetheart, Ashley Acevedo Neumann, and their dog. They enjoy traveling and exploring new places together, and have appreciated having warmer winters than they did in their Midwest hometowns. 

Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Bruce D. Marshall

Publications:

"Maximus the Confessor, the Lateran Synod of 649, and the Problem of Religious Authority," The Princeton Theological Review 22, no. 2 (Spring 2019): 41–54.

Presentations:

"Proceeding and Manifesting, Essence and Energies: Theology and Economy of the Holy Spirit in John of Damascus, Gregory of Cyprus, and Gregory Palamas," International Conference on Patristic Studies, August 4-9, 2024.

"Distinguishing the Son and Holy Spirit in John Duns Scotus," Ad Fontes Academic Week, June 3, 2022.

"Peter Abelard’s Doctrine of the Trinity: An Integrated Vision," Patristics, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference, October 16, 2020.

"Gregory Palamas and Augustine of Hippo’s De Trinitate," Byzantine Studies Conference, October 19, 2019.

"Maximus the Confessor, the Lateran Synod of 649, and the Problem of Religious Authority," Archbishop Iakovos Graduate Students Conference in Patristic Studies, March 1, 2019.

"Rhetoric of Purpose in the Councils of Basel and Ferrara-Florence," Patristics, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference, October 6, 2018.

"The Filioque in the East: Augustinian Reflections on Photius' Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit," Archbishop Iakovos Graduate Students Conference in Patristic Studies, March 3, 2018.

Fellowships and Awards:

2023 Outstanding Community Service Award, Southern Methodist University 

2021-2026 University Fellowship, Southern Methodist University 

2019 Bishop Epiphanius al-Maqari Memorial Award, Princeton Theological Seminary

2019 Senior Fellowship in History and Ecumenics, Princeton Theological Seminary

2016-2019 Seminary Fellowship, Princeton Theological Seminary