Rafael Rodríguez Granted Tenure at Pittsburgh Seminary
At its May 2026 meeting, the Board of Directors of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary voted to confer tenure upon Dr. Rafael Rodríguez, professor of New Testament, effective immediately.
Dr. Rafael Rodríguez is an accomplished New Testament scholar who has taught for 20 years. He serves on The Catholic Biblical Quarterly editorial board and has previously served on the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus editorial board. Dr. Rodríguez is the author or editor of six books—most recently The First Christian Letters: Reading 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Cascade, 2024)—and has published prolifically in journals such as The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, and Journal of New Testament Studies. He also actively brings his scholarship into venues beyond academic arenas, leading adult education opportunities and speaking at multi-congregational retreats, and he has appeared on podcasts such as OnScript, Faith in the Folds, and Unwriting the Bible. Dr. Rodríguez’s areas of expertise include the Apostle Paul, the letters to the Thessalonians and to the Romans, Paul within Judaism, and social memory approaches to the Bible—hermeneutics which account for realities such as changing social structures and overlapping collective identities in the formation and reception of biblical texts. He holds degrees from Cincinnati Christian University (B.A., Bible; M.A., biblical studies) and the University of Sheffield (Ph.D., biblical studies).
“Dr. Rodríguez brings his whole heart to his work at PTS,” says the Rev. Dr. Angela Hancock, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty. “He not only excels as a scholar advancing the field of New Testament study; he also deeply understands how important these biblical texts are in shaping the beliefs and lived experiences of people of faith. Rafael approaches his work with the utmost care, humility, and compassion, and he is incredibly generous in the time and attention he gives to his students. That example—holding together intellectual rigor and compassionate humility—is an important one for those discerning a calling to Christian leadership today.”
“I have been greatly blessed by the opportunity to work with the people of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary—its students, staff, faculty, and administration—over the last two years,” says Dr. Rodríguez. “I am humbled by and grateful for the long-term commitment PTS and I are making to each other to join together in the work of forming students for ministry.”