Catherine Pickstock

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Catherine Pickstock (born 1970) is an English philosophical theologian known for helping shape the Radical Orthodoxy movement. Since 2018 she has been Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge and a fellow and tutor at Emmanuel College. She is married to Thomas Harrison (m. 2002).

Early life and education
Pickstock was born in New York City but grew up in England. She studied English literature at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, earning a BA in 1991. She then moved into philosophical theology at Cambridge, completing a PhD titled The Sacred Polis: Language, Death and Liturgy under the supervision of John Milbank.

Career
She worked as a Research Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and held a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship. She later became a University Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion, then a Reader in Philosophy and Theology, and eventually a Professor of Metaphysics and Poetics. She also served as a Mellon Teaching Fellow and, in 2018, took up the Norris–Hulse Chair of Divinity.

Ideas and influence
Pickstock is closely associated with Radical Orthodoxy and is known for exploring how humans participate in the divine creation through language. Her work often emphasizes:
- Liturgical language as primary and doxological (praise-filled)
- The role of music in theology
- Repetition as a key to identity and understanding
- Truth as a metaphysical matter tied to being, not just knowledge

Her writing frequently returns to the thought of Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, and other thinkers, as she argues that language, liturgy, and art help extend creation and participate in God’s ongoing work.

Notable works
Her notable books include After Writing: On the Liturgical Consummation of Philosophy, Radical Orthodoxy, Repetition and Identity, Truth in Aquinas (co-authored), and Aspects of Truth: A New Religious Metaphysics. Her work continues to shape contemporary discussions about liturgy, language, and the nature of truth.