AMBS appoints Egyptian Christian to teach Old Testament

He has combined studies with serving as a pastor and currently is serving part-time with the Arabic American Evangelical Church in Jersey City. He was ordained by the Synod of the Nile in Egypt, a counterpart to the Presbyterian Church



Elkhart, Ind

Safwat Marzouk, a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary originally from Cairo, Egypt, has been appointed as Professor of Old Testament at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, beginning in July.

Marzouk is currently completing his dissertation on the book of Ezekiel and anticipates receiving the Ph.D. degree this summer. Previously he studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York, N.Y., and the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. Marzouk has been teaching at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, Pa., and serving as a teaching fellow at Princeton. He has combined studies with serving as a pastor and currently is serving part-time with the Arabic American Evangelical Church in Jersey City. He was ordained by the Synod of the Nile in Egypt, a counterpart to the Presbyterian Church.

“It is a true joy to welcome Dr. Marzouk to AMBS,” Sara Wenger Shenk, AMBS president, said. “The affinity between Safwat’s perspective as a minority Egyptian Christian and our Anabaptist core commitments and community ethos is remarkable. His love for teaching, pastoral heart and brilliant scholarly curiosity will surely inspire students and many in the wider church who are eager to read the Scriptures through Middle Eastern eyes. His commitments to peace and interfaith dialogue, forged in situations of protracted conflict, are longstanding. We eagerly anticipate the rich diversity of perspectives on multiple levels Dr. Marzouk will bring to our community and the broader church.”

Marzouk said, “As a Christian who grew up in Egypt, I look forward to my time at AMBS. I am eager to learn more about the Anabaptist worldview and commitment to peacemaking and nonviolence. At the same time I look forward to representing and bringing the voice of Middle Eastern Christians to the theological conversations in the classrooms and the life of the community of AMBS. It is very exciting to be part of a Christian community that trains men and women who seek to participate in God’s work of reconciliation in this broken world.”

Marzouk and Carolin Marzouk, his wife, have one daughter.

–May 4, 2011



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