Christopher M. Bellitto, Ph.D....

...is a medievalist, a church historian, and Professor of History at Kean University in Union, NJ, where he teaches courses in ancient and medieval history. He has twice been a Fulbright Specialist: at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands (2023) and the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand (2019). In 2021-2022, he was Visiting Scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary.  He has twice won grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. An NEH Public Scholar grant in 2021 allowed him to complete his latest book, Humility: The Secret History of a Lost Virtue. In 2010-2012, he was awarded an NEH Enduring Questions grant to develop a course and public programming on the theme: "Is there such a thing as a just war?"  

He is also a frequent public speaker and media commentator on church history and contemporary Catholicism. Dr. Bellitto served as a member of the Public Scholars Project of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities and is a former chair of Kean's History Department. He received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in History from Fordham University. His B.A., magna cum laude, is from New York University, where he was a University Scholar. 

  He was a church history professor at St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie) and its Institute of Religious Studies in Yonkers, NY, where he also served as the Institute’s Associate Dean. From 2001 to 2004, he was Academic Editor at Paulist Press in Mahwah, NJ, while teaching at Fordham’s College of Liberal Studies (2002-2004) and serving as a Fellow at Fordham’s Center for Medieval Studies (2003-2004). He has also taught graduate courses in church history and spirituality for Princeton Theological Seminary, Loyola University-New Orleans, Catholic Theological Union, Fordham University, and Holy Apostles Seminary.

Dr. Bellitto's latest book is Humility: The Secret History of a Lost Virtue (Georgetown University Press,  2023). His others include Ageless Wisdom: Lifetime Lessons from the Bible (Paulist Press, 2016), 101 Questions and Answers on Popes and the Papacy (Paulist Press, 2008), The Living Church and Church History 101 (Liguori Publications, 2011, 2008), and the companion volumes, The General Councils: A History of the 21 Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II and Renewing Christianity: A History of Church Reform from Day One to Vatican II (Paulist Press 2001-2002). He is also the author of Nicolas de Clamanges: Spirituality, Personal Reform, and Pastoral Renewal on the Eve of the Reformations (Catholic University of America Press, 2001). In addition, Dr. Bellitto has co-edited six volumes of collected essays, including Reassessing Reform: A Historical Investigation into Church Renewal (Catholic University of America Press, 2012), The Church, the Councils, and Reform: The Legacy of the Fifteenth Century (Catholic University of America Press, 2008), and Reforming the Church Before Modernity: Patterns, Problems, and Approaches (Ashgate, 2005). 

He has also taped a series of audio and video courses on Christianity and ancient, medieval, and reformation history for Learn25, Curiosity Stream, and One-Day University. For some samples: Ancient Greece, Crusades, Medieval Europe, John Paul II.

His scholarly and outreach articles have appeared in the Catholic Historical Review, Church History, Annuarium historiae conciliorum, Cristianesimo nella storia, Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique, America, Commonweal, U.S. Catholic, The Tablet, CNN.com, Reuters, NJ.com and other outlets. His writing has been honored by the American Catholic Historical Association and the Catholic Press Association.

In addition to his own writing, Dr. Bellitto has long experience as an editor. He is Academic Editor at Large for Paulist Press  and Editor in Chief of the series Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition. A public historian for many years, he also offers professional development workshops on working with the media, publishing, writing outreach articles and essays, and speaking to a wide range of audiences.


Courses taught

Contact information

cbellitt@kean.edu

History Dept: Liberty Hall Academic Center 212

Kean University

1000 Morris Avenue

Union, NJ 07083 USA     

                                                                

@DrCBellitto