Rev. H. Richard Rutherford, C.S.C., Ph.D. | University of Portland

Rev. H. Richard Rutherford, C.S.C., Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus of Liturgical Theology, Rev. H. Richard Rutherford, C.S.C., Ph.D., served in the UP Theology department from 1976 until his retirement in 2012. A renowned expert in the theology of death and bereavement, his books, The Death of a Christian: The Order of Christian Funerals and Dead: Catholics and Cremation, are required reading in many seminaries and colleges. In recent years, Father Rutherford has turned his significant research energies to early Christian baptismal liturgy and architecture. At UP, he has held numerous leadership positions, including Chair of the Theology Department; Lead University Representative to Pietro Belluschi, architect of the Chapel of Christ the Teacher; and, Director of the University’s partnership with the University of Barcelona on the archaeological excavation of an ancient cemetery in Pollentia, the oldest Roman city on Mallorca.