Dr Roger Whittall
Honorary Postdoctoral Researcher
About
Ordained in England in 1976, Roger moved to Adelaide in 1990 with his family for postgraduate studies at Luther Seminary (MTh 1991). Further studies were interrupted by service as a chaplain / teacher at Concordia College, Toowoomba, and as parish pastor in the Barossa Valley (2000–2009), Hahndorf (2011) and North Adelaide (2012–2015). The intervening years also included time spent travelling and teaching in Cambodia and PNG. His doctoral thesis on “Martin Luther’s Common Priesthood” was finally completed in 2021.
After “family” (spouse Lois, sons Ben & Jon, four grandchildren) Roger’s personal interests include reading, gardening, film & theatre, travel, and the English Premier League.
Special interests
- Reformation / Luther studies, Ecclesiology, Ecumenical relations.
Community engagement
- Roger is a member of St Stephen’s Lutheran Church, Adelaide, and has participated in the deliberations of the Australian Lutheran-Catholic Theological Dialogue since [2000]
Qualifications in detail
- Diploma in Theology, Westfield House, Cambridge (1976)
- Ordained, Evangelical Lutheran Church of England, Harlow UK (1976)
- Master of Theology, Luther Seminary, North Adelaide (1991)
- Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education, USQ, Toowoomba (1996)
- Doctor of Theology, UD / ALC Adelaide (conferred March 2022)
Papers and publications
Books
2024
We Are All Priests. The Ecclesiological Boundaries and Horizons of Martin Luther’s Common Priesthood. Lexington Books / Fortress Academic
2000
Cambridge Preachers: Robert Barnes’ Advent Sermon, in “Teach Me Thy Way O Lord. Essays in Honor of Glen Zweck”. Zweck Festschrift Committee, Houston Tx
1983
Yves Congar, “Martin Luther, His Faith and His Reform”, ATF Press, Adelaide, 2025. Translated from “Martin Luther, Sa Foi, Sa Réforme”, Editions Cerf, Paris
Articles
2024
“Reflections on the Australian Lutheran-Catholic dialogue on the Augsburg Confession”, Lutheran Theological Journal, 58/2 September 2024. 54–58
2022
“Ordering the Church’s Ministry: Luther’s Priorities”, Lutheran Theological Journal 56/2. August 2022. 102–104
2021
“Boundaries and horizons: Luther on the Church and its Priesthood”, Lutheran Theological Journal 55/3. December 2021. 127–138.
Presentations
2025
“Yves Congar and Martin Luther”, at the Fourteenth Annual REFORC Conference on Early Modern Christianity, Vienna, May 2025.
Other
Current Study:
“Luther in English” - translation and use of Luther’s writings during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
1991
“Defensores Fidei: Early English Reactions to Luther, 1518-1521”. Master’s Thesis, Luther Seminary North Adelaide, 1991.
