About
Research
Email: jack.bull@stmarys.ac.uk
Tel: 07818 115361
Biography
Following undergraduate studies at St Mary's, Jack went to Liberia as a missionary. Upon his return, Jack worked for several parishes as a youth worker before studying for an MA in biblical studies at KCL. Jack finished the MA in 2019 and a year later returned to KCL to begin his PhD, which Jack completed in April 2023. Jack's research focused on the letters of Ignatius of Antioch and sought to revive the Curetonian hypothesis in favour of the short recension. This thesis has provided the basis of his first monograph (forthcoming with Peeters in 2024).
At St Mary's, Jack is a lecturer in biblical studies and teaches modules that pertain to the Bible and early Christianity.
Research
Research profile
Jack's research over the last few years has primarily focused on early Christian literature, particularly the epistles of Ignatius of Antioch. The first monograph seeks to reassess the Ignatian question and assert that the short recension of the three letters attests the oldest extant witness to the Ignatian epistles. Jack is currently working on a new translation of these epistles into English, along with a transcription of the original Syriac. It is also Jack's aim to translate the Syriac into Greek so that it might be more readily compared to the middle recension.
Jack has also been collaborating with a small team working on the Marcionite New Testament. The team has published several works, both individually and collaboratively, in an attempt to understand the role that Marcion played in the second century.
As a side hobby, Jack has also been researching the life and works of William Cureton. Cureton was an Orientalist working on early Christian texts in the 19th century and published many significant works. Jack was asked by Studia Patristica to write a book on Cureton which he hopes to finish by the end of the year.
Jack is proficient in Greek. Jack is currently learning Latin and German as well.
In 2023 Jack started a YouTube channel dedicated to early Christianity. Jack has produced several videos and have a small following. Jack has also appeared on several other channels dedicated to early Christianity. In total, across all channels, Jack has amassed over 100000+ views.
Publications
- Mark Bibly, Markus Vinzent. ed. Jack Bull, Paul's Literary Metamorphosis: Translations of Marcion's Apostolos and Canonical Counterparts: DOI.
- Mark G. Bilby, Jack Bull, and K. Lance Lotharp, Normalized Datasets of Zahn’s, van Manen’s, and Harnack’s Greek Reconstructions of Marcion’s Apostolos. DOI: 10.5334/johd.122