The Installation of the 20th Dean

December 01, 2015

The Rev. Dr. Christoph Keller, III, who was recently selected Dean and Rector of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, will be installed as the 20th Dean and Rector of the Cathedral at a service on Sunday, December 6, 2015, at 4 p.m. The installation ceremony will be held at the Cathedral, 17th and Spring Streets in Little Rock, and is open to the public. Dr. Keller, who has served Trinity on an interim basis for the past 23 months, was appointed Dean by the Rt. Rev. Larry Benfield, Bishop of Arkansas, and elected Rector by the Vestry, or governing board of Trinity. The appointment and election were carried out concurrently. (A Dean in The Episcopal Church has the primary administrative, pastoral and liturgical responsibilities of the Cathedral.)

The service, with a Celebration of Holy Eucharist, will be in the form of the “Celebration of a New Ministry,” which is used by The Episcopal Church for the installation of deans of cathedrals, as well as for priests being inducted as the rector of a parish. The chief minister of the service is the bishop. The special nature of the Trinity Cathedral service is due to the fact that Dr. Keller will be installed not only as the Dean of the Cathedral, but also as the Rector of the parish. The sermon will be delivered by the Very Rev. Kurt Dunkle, Dean and President of the General Theological Seminary in New York. Dr. Keller received his Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) from the seminary. The seminary also houses the Christoph Keller, Jr., Library, named for Dr. Keller’s father, a former Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas.

Dr. Keller is an Episcopal priest and theologian who has blended scholarly pursuits with innovative leadership. A 1977 graduate (B.A., magna cum laude) of Amherst College, and 1982 graduate (M.Div.) of the Episcopal Divinity School, he served for 16 years in parish ministry and as Canon Missioner of the Diocese of Arkansas.

In 1991, Dr. Keller founded St. Margaret’s Church on Chenal Parkway in west Little Rock, conducting initial services in a bargain movie theater. In 1999, he moved with his family to New York to pursue advanced study in theology. Dr. Keller holds a Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) in Anglican Studies (2009) from General Theological Seminary, where his field was systematic theology, focusing on theology and science.

Dr. Keller is a founder of SUMMA: A Student Theological Debate Society. SUMMA, a program he conceived to offer high school students intellectual tools for in-depth reasoning and knowledge of the Christian theological tradition, was begun as a pilot project in Little Rock. The program has expanded nationally through the Beecken Center of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Dr. Keller is an Episcopal Church Foundation Fellow, and an honorary Canon of the Diocese of Arkansas. He serves on the boards of directors of the General Theological Seminary, Deltic Timber Corporation, Murphy USA, and Episcopal Collegiate School.