Eastern Orthodox Christianity; Religion and Film
Frederick C. Webster, Ph.D, Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at GMU since January 2020, is an archpriest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Fr. Alexander (as he is more commonly known) retired in August 2019 as Dean and Professor of Moral Theology Emeritus at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, New York. He also retired in June 2010 as a U.S. Army chaplain in the rank of Colonel after a quarter century of service in uniform, his last five years back on active duty primarily to conduct twelve periodic visits to the American and Coalition troops of Eastern Orthodox Christian faith in the combat areas of Afghanistan and Iraq.
In addition to 55 scholarly articles, 60 op-ed articles (Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Detroit News, Washington Times, Stars & Stripes, among others), and dozens of presentations, public debates, and interviews on CNN, C-SPAN, Religious Freedom Institute website, among others), Fr. Alexander is the author of five books on religious ethical themes: The Virtue of War: Reclaiming the Classic Christian Traditions East and West [co-authored with Dr. Darrell Cole of Drew University] (Salisbury, MA: Regina Orthodox Press, 2004); The Pacifist Option: The Moral Argument Against War in Eastern Orthodox Theology (Lanham, MD: International Scholars Publications, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 1998); The Price of Prophecy: Orthodox Churches on Peace, Freedom, and Security (2d. rev. ed.; Grand Rapids, MI, and Washington, D.C.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company and Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1995); The Price of Prophecy: Orthodox Churches on Peace, Freedom, and Security (original edition: Washington, D.C.: Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1993); and The Romanian Legionary Movement: An Orthodox Christian Assessment of Anti-Semitism (Carl Beck Papers No. 502; Pittsburgh: Russian and East European Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh, 1986). He is also co-editor of two books: Let No One Fear Death: Orthodox Christian Leaders Respond to the COVID-19 Crisis (Florence, AZ: Uncut Mountain Press, 2022) [co-edited with Fr. Peter A. Heers], and Healing Humanity: Confronting Our Moral Crisis (Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2020) [co-edited with Prof. Alfred Kentigern Siewers at Bucknell University and Prof. David Ford at St. Tikhon’s Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania].
Professor Webster earned academic degrees in History at the University of Pennsylvania (A.B., Summa cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa), History & Education at Columbia University Teachers College (M.A.), Theology at Harvard University Divinity School (M.T.S.), and Religion / Social Ethics at the University of Pittsburgh (Ph.D.).