ANDREW CAMPBELL

CLASS OF 2001

Anglican Minister and Adjunct/Associate Lecturer in Theology

Reflecting upon my time at Belfast High School, it was a time of vistas and visas. I can't overemphasise how formative Belfast High was for me; the academic disciplines that I went on to study at university, to then teach and write about, found their genesis there. It was the infectious passion of my teachers that sparked my academic imagination and opened “vistas of learning.” The teachers at Belfast High School presented to me with views into the world, be they in the form of the Arts, Social Sciences or Natural Sciences. I may have enjoyed some more than others, but they were always taught with a contagious passion that sought to encourage the view of that particular academic vista.

The teachers gave me the visa to realise and walk into those vistas. As a person with dyslexia, school was a struggle, particularly given my leaning towards more literacy-based subjects. However, the staff of Belfast High never allowed me to give up. Instead, they encouraged me not to lose faith in my abilities and to see the opportunities that lay before me. Those supportive words from teachers encouraged me never to lose sight of my dreams and aspirations. I recall after a challenging exam, a staff member supportively said, “You will get there in the end.” This was not the clichéd pronouncement of someone trying to pass themselves, but the genuine words of an authentic teacher who was emotionally invested in their students. As unique as that sort of educator is, they were one of many within the Belfast High Community. It was this level of support that gave me the visa to realise and enjoy those vistas fully. My experience at Belfast High was one of a pastoral community of learning, and for that, I am eternally grateful, without which I would not have achieved what I have. The building blocks that formed me as both a Pastor and Scholar came in no small part from Belfast High.

Upon leaving Belfast High School, my life has been marked by disciplines of both the ‘mind’, in the form of academic studies, writing and teaching, and of the ‘heart’, with pastoral ministry. I left Belfast High School to read Ancient History and Byzantine Studies at Queen’s University. During my undergraduate studies, I was drawn to historical theology and felt a call to ordained ministry. This led to postgraduate and eventual doctoral work in Philosophical Theology again at Queen’s University and ordination into the Church of Ireland (Anglican). This journey has taken me through ministry in varied and differing contexts, from Belfast Cathedral to Bangor Abbey, Broughshane, and Magherafelt. My academic work has enabled me to teach at various theological colleges, primarily through adjunct lectureships at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute (affiliated with Trinity College Dublin) and the Belfast School of Theology (affiliated with the University of Cumbria). Beyond Ireland, I have the privilege of being an Associate Fellow, PhD supervisor, and Trustee of the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge. In 2025, my book was published by Wipf and Stock in their “Analyzing Theology Series” (a book series that included some of my philosophical heroes). I have also published papers in Theology, Christian Philosophy and Ethics in various academic journals on both sides of the Atlantic. All this was made possible through the teachers at Belfast High School, who opened the vistas before me and provided me with the visa to realise them.