Farewell to Fellow and Chaplain the Revd Dr Zachary Guiliano

St Edmund Hall wishes a fond farewell to the Revd Dr Zachary Guiliano who joined the Hall in October 2020 as a Career Development Research Fellow in Early Medieval History, and the College Chaplain. Since Zack joined the College during the pandemic, there have been some unusual circumstances for a college Chaplain to operate under as well as some amazing highlights. We recently interviewed Zack to find out about his experience of contributing to Hall life.

What have you enjoyed most about being the College Chaplain at Teddy Hall?

The people. Among the greatest privileges of being a minister is the involvement you can have in other people’s lives: from the biggest celebrations to the darkest days and everything in between. I am constantly involved in planning big community events or things like weddings and christenings, as well as the weekly services. I am also constantly tracking with members of college who are experiencing major challenges. And I have tried for most of my time here simply to be around and available for people to talk to, investing a lot of time with the Choir in particular. I think one of the things that people value about chaplaincy, even when they are not religious, is that they know the chaplain is someone who cares about them and who can talk with them about their deepest questions or challenges. The chaplain can pray for them or with them; the chaplain can be a spiritual guide. But, frankly, we can also just drink a cup of coffee and talk about the day. One of my favourite early memories is when I went around to all the staff departments with doughnuts or cake, one after another.

What have you enjoyed most about being a Career Development Research Fellow in Early Medieval History at Teddy Hall?

The research time, and the incredible resources we have here in Oxford! Most priests find it difficult to continue formal studies after ordination, and I was no different. For a few years after my PhD, I was very busy with work as a journalist and then also as a priest. Finding time to get in the library was a huge challenge, and I had a largely completed book draft that sat mostly unchanged for far too long. Coming to Teddy Hall allowed me to finish that book, The Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, for which I won an award this past year. And I also published several articles and wrote most of another book on early medieval exegesis. So, it was a concentrated time of research and writing that I couldn’t have had otherwise.

Could you tell us about your experience of running Choral Evensong and Chapel services during the pandemic?

It was very unusual – something I never expected to do. I would normally want to encourage people to come to Chapel, but instead we had to ask everyone to stay away from the building for Choral Evensong on Sundays. We had a broadcast model, utilising spaces across the college for the Choir to sing in, particularly the Chapel, Old Dining Hall, and the Crypt. But by Hilary Term 2021, we only had three musicians and the chaplain here in college to run services, and between us we performed a series of special arrangements made by our Director of Music, James Whitbourn. A ‘pandemic chaplain’ selfie from that time sums things up pretty well: I am behind a computer, running the audio for the service, and so I have a mask, headphones, and full Anglican ‘choir dress’ (cassock, surplice, scarf, and hood). It was right before I had to head out to sing, pray, and preach as well.

At the same time, the pandemic saw the beginning of significant engagement with Chapel services, which has continued ever since. More people have been attending Chapel in the last three years than in the last 30. I thank God for that.

The pandemic was also a time where we opened up the Chapel as a public building again every day, so that anyone who was on site could have a space to use for prayer or silence. And I led Evening Prayer in there nearly every day of term from Trinity 2021 until Trinity 2023. So it had really shaped my time here.

What have you most enjoyed about Teddy Hall?

The collegiality and friendliness. It’s a cliché about Teddy Hall, but I think it’s true. I have been part of Oxford and Cambridge colleges that are far more formal and hierarchical, and there’s an element of that here, of course. But my primary experience is of a college that’s really welcoming. I have tried to emphasise that myself as well: to stress the values of hospitality, community spirit, and the virtues St Edmund exemplified, like service and the love of one’s neighbour.

If you have one last message for the Hall community, what would it be?

I would almost prefer to give my blessing, rather than another message. Such a large part of my job has been to preach on Sundays on dozens of different topics. I feel talked out! And a blessing feels like a natural form of closure, as well as a reminder of one of the most important aspects of chaplaincy and priesthood: ‘to bless the people in God’s name’, as the Church of England’s ordination service puts it.

This is how I have concluded Choral Evensong every year on St Edmund Day:

God give you grace to follow Edmund and all the saints in faith and hope and love. And the blessing of God almighty: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.