We’ve long experienced the reality that the CSC is a “family of scholars”. And as a family, we celebrate the successes of our colleagues and mourn our losses.

This week we lost an eminent scholar of Late Antiquity and early Christian history, Elizabeth Ann Clark. As Duke Divinity notes, Clark’s “scholarship and service to the academy made significant contributions to our understanding of the roles of women in antiquity and early Christianity, east and west; the study of gender and sexuality; and the history of Religious Studies in American higher education.”

In 2014 Clark was the inaugural Everett Ferguson Lecturer in Early Christian Studies at the CSC. Her selection was fitting not only not only because of her scholarly brilliance but that she co-edited, with Everett, The Second Century, ultimately building it into the Journal of Early Christian Studies.  She successfully launched our annual program.

Trevor Thompson, who has been such a force in creating and sustaining the Ferguson Lectures writes, “It was an honor for Everett Ferguson and the lecture to host Elizabeth Clark, a brilliant scholar and wonderful person.”

Knowing the fragility of life even as we experience kindnesses from our esteemed colleagues, we give thanks for the life and work of Elizabeth Clark.