Dr. Liza Anderson is a historical theologian who focuses on the ecumenical history of Christian spirituality, monasticism, and the history of ancient and medieval Christianity outside of Europe. She has held faculty positions in church history and ascetical theology at Episcopal Divinity School, Claremont School of Theology, and General Theological Seminary.
Liza has been a member of the Episcopal Church since her baptism as an undergraduate, and she is active in Episcopal Church governance and churchwide leadership. She has served as a member of the Executive Council, the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox International Commission, the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, the General Board of Examining Chaplains, and the Liberian Covenant Committee.
Liza is the past president of the North American Academy of Ecumenists, serves on the board of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality, and is the associate editor of the Anglican Theological Review. She has been involved nationally and internationally in both ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, has taught at seminaries in Iraq and Ukraine, and has studied Islam and Muslim-Christian dialogue in Yemen, Egypt, and Morocco. She brings an international and multicultural perspective to her work, having lived and traveled in more than 100 countries, and having studied 18 foreign languages.
Liza holds degrees from Swarthmore College, Trinity College Dublin, Harvard Divinity School, and Yale University. Her work has been supported by Fulbright, Mitchell, and Javits Scholarships, and by fellowships from the Louisville Institute, the Episcopal Church Foundation, the American Academy of Religion, the Collegeville Institute, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Liza currently lives in Minnesota, where she worships with the monks of Saint John’s Abbey and the sisters of Saint Benedict’s monastery.
