John Edward Crean Jr.

 John Crean was born in New York City and grew up in Westchester County and Southern Connecticut. Educated on the East coast, he graduated from Fairfield Prep  and Holy Cross College, concentrating on German, philosophy, and theology. John went on to receive both his master’s and doctorate in German at Yale. After teaching there, he went on to the University of Wisconsin, the University of Hawaii and finally to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. John has published, edited, or co-authored numerous textbooks, scholarly articles, and books.

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While teaching in Hawaii, John was also ordained an Episcopal priest. From then on he continued to serve bi-vocationally, holding both ecclesiastical as well as academic positions. Since 1980, John has presented and published on the Rule of Benedict. From 1995-2010 he served as a coeditor and board member of Magistra: A Journal of Women’s Spirituality in History. Appointed as a scholar-in-residence at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA, he researched and published on ecclesiastical history. In 2020, Church Publishing, Inc. brought out his most recent book, Recovering Benedict, a daily devotional which blends the Rule of Benedict with the principles of
twelve-step recovery.

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His next book, Week by Week through the Seasons of Life, will be published by Torchflame Books in 2023. 

 

John currently resides in the Southern California desert where he continues to write and assist at a local parish.