New publication: Perceptions of the Divine in Greek Historiography
June 8, 2026: When a book is published, a mix of emotions comes with it: relief and joy for sure, but even fear, because there is always something more that could be written about something…and there are certainly some annoying mistakes that have escaped our attention. Anyway, it’s out there, and for that I’m grateful! 
Here’s the link to download the entire book for free (thanks to the support of the Swiss National Scientific Foundation).
The book explores how Greek historians in antiquity described perceptions of the divine sphere as having some interaction with or influence on the course of human history. I propose a model for reading historians from a theological perspective, and I apply it to two authors, Herodotus and Luke, who were of very different times and theological worldviews.
Our Mom's passing - May 17, 2025
Not long after her sister’s passing (Joan Mallonee) in April, Mom also succumbed to her decline in health over the past three years. I was thankful to reach her to spend time in prayer with her before she passed early in the night on May 17, 2026.
Due to family circumstances, we have decided to celebrate a memorial service later in the year at Clarksville Presbyterian Church (Clarksville, VA). We are moving steadily through the process of mourning our parents’ deaths within eight months of each other. This explains the late report here…it takes time to work through so many emotions and practical questions.
Here is Mom’s online obituary
A lovely visit to the Peloponnese (Oct. 25 - Nov. 4 2025)
Lilian and I enjoyed a delayed summer vacation at the end of October, early November. If you haven’t been to Greece before, I do recommend October for exploring the country, thanks to cooler temperatures, fewer tourists, and generally cheaper flights, accommodations, and car rentals.
We decided to focus on the Peloponnese this time, particularly the northeastern part between Corinth, Argos, Nafplio, and Epidaurus. Our rental car (from Athens) was very practical and inexpensive.
We began our journey in ancient Corinth and visited the Acrocorinth and ancient Corinth. We loved the spectacular views from the top of the Acrocorinth over the isthmus of Corinth.
We continued our tour by visiting Isthmia and its archaeological museum and then briefly Mycenae (more to see next time). Then we travelled a bit further south to Tolo where we rented an apartment near the beach. This gave us a lot of freedom to spend the days where we wanted and to fit in some excursions in the region at our own pace.
Our excursions were more or less in this order: Nafplio, Epidaurus (ancient and new), Assini, and Argos. I love the theatres in Epidaurus (12,000 seats) and Argos (20,000 seats). From the latter, if you can manage to climb to the top level of the theatre, you have a beautiful panorama of Argos and its valley all the way to Nafplio, which was (and still is) Argos’ harbour at its peak.
Some encouraging news after mourning our father's passing
I was encouraged in my professional activities by the news that I was welcomed as a member of the prestigious Society for New Testament Studies. I received this news while I was in the United States from various colleagues and friends who were at the SNTS conference in Regensburg, Germany. I look forward to attending the conference in Durham, England, next year.
More good news is that I signed a contract for my book on perceptions of the divine in Greek historical writing. It will be published as volume 65 in the “Schweizerische Beiträge zur Altertumswissenschaft” series, dedicated to Classical studies. It should be published in the first quarter of 2026. It will be available in print as well as an Open Access document (downloadable at no cost to readers!)..
I’m currently thinking of cover illustrations, the fun part of publishing! I will share more about this book project in the coming months.
Our father's passing (August 16, 2025)
August was an intense month for our family as we faced the passing of our father, James Harry Morgan (1930–2025). I spent two weeks with him until August 14. Due to family circumstances, we held the memorial service two days later, on Saturday, August 16, at the nursing home. My training in the priesthood (see below) helped me plan and lead the service.
Family, friends, residents, and staff were able to celebrate God’s faithfulness and goodness in our dad’s life. He was ninety-five, and he spent sixty-seven of those years with our mom.
Click here for the online obituary
Presbyteral ordination at St Ursula's Church in Bern, Switzerland
It was a HUGE blessing to be ordained on July 6, 2025 as priest at St Ursula’s Church Bern (in the Diocese in Europe)!
I am a ‘self-supporting minister’ and will continue to work at the University of Fribourg in the biblical studies department.
Fascinating tour in Turkey in relation to the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (28 Apr. – 8 May 2025)
Lilian and I participated in a tour that was organised by the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association, from 28 April to 7 May (2025). We began in Istanbul and ended in Izmir. We visited the sites in the ancient cities of Constantinople (incl. the Hagia Sophia), Chalcedon (Kadikoy), Nicaea (Iznik), Assos (Behramkale), Kydonies (Ayvalik), Pergamum (Bergama), Smyrna (Izmir), Ephesus (Selçuk), Erythrai (Idir), and Cesme (prob. ancient Boutheia). One highlight was that – In between visits – we had times of worship in Anglican and Orthodox churches. Another highlight was to visit Ephesus, which is magnificently preserved (see photo)
Losing things…and the stories behind them!
Patterns in life are like motifs in stories. One pattern in my life is losing things when I travel! Rarely do I find them again (e.g. when I left my laptop at the security checkpoint at Geneva airport, which was carefully set aside for me until my return!) On my last trip to the States, I left my coat on the train. Explainable? A story behind it? Yes, it was due to a series of distractions. My train from Fribourg to Geneva was canceled, and so was that part of the network for an indeterminate amount of time. I got on and off two other trains because there was so much confusion. I finally found one that went to Yverdon-les-Bains, where I’d take another train to Geneva. Well, on the way to Yverdon, I went to the bathroom and took my backpack with me, but left my coat on the hook by my seat. When I came back, my coat was still there, but when I had to change trains, I was in a hurry to catch the next one and forgot my coat, which I had bought just a few months before. Argh! Distractions are often the beginning of stories…some become real adventures…others are just inconveniences! Motifs usually have a common thread. I’ve been wondering what this pattern in my life is…kind of perplexing and scary!
Habilitation accomplished on 3 December 2024!
I’m very happy that the Habilitation process is accomplished. After submitting my Habilitation project at the end of February 2024, I presented a public teaching lesson on 3 December 2024 to my colleagues at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Fribourg.
(The habilitation process examines the candidate’s ability to do research and to teach.)
It was a pleasure to celebrate this with my colleagues, students, friends, and family.
My research project was entitled ‘The Prophetic Voice of Greek Historiography: Perceptions of the Divine from Herodotus to Luke’. If all goes well, this will be published in 2025.
My teaching lesson was ‘Les Evangiles, ont-ils leur propre intrigue? Eclairages de la Poétique d’Aristote et de la narratologie contemporaine.’ This still needs to be fleshed out and so is the beginning of an article. We’ll see…