Vice Dean
BA, MA English Literature
BA (Hons), MA, MTh (Applied theology)
Shemil serves as Vice-Dean of the College, providing strategic and theological leadership and overseeing the academic strand of the curriculum in collaboration with the Dean and Leadership Team. He is of St Thomas Christian heritage from Kerala, India, and was ordained in the Diocese of Peterborough in the Church of England.
A theologian, educator, and regular speaker at national and international conferences, retreats, and gatherings, Shemil focuses on liberation and global theologies and is passionate about equipping future leaders to engage faithfully and imaginatively in God’s mission and in the work of justice, inclusion, and reconciliation.
He serves on the Church of England’s Racial Justice Board, is a Trustee of the Church Urban Fund, and was previously a Participant Observer in the House of Bishops. A founding member of the Anglican Minority Ethnic Network (AMEN), Shemil combines experience in chaplaincy, theological education, and international development and mission. Having worked across Anglican Communion churches in Africa, South Asia, and East Asia, he brings a rich global perspective to his teaching and leadership.
Areas of expertise
- Practical theology – Contextual theology
- World Christianity and Global theology
- Theologies of Discriminations
- Christianity and interfaith engagement
- Diaspora Anglicanism
- Ecclesiology
Publications
- Mathew. S. (2026) Conflicting Ecclesiologist to Siblinghood: From Generosity to Acceptance. In Sam George (Ed), Mission on the Move. Wipf and Stock Publishers
- Mathew.S. (2025) Pragmatic Church Unity. In Chapman Et al (Eds.), Towards Interchangeability II Local and Legal Perspectives and the Meissen Agreement. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig
- Mathew, S. (2024). Contexts and Consequences: Enduring Pain versus the Intentional Erasure of Colonial Legacy. In H. K. Benjamin Aldous, Peniel Rajkumar & Victoria Turner. (Ed.), Lived mission in 21st century Britain : Ecumenical and postcolonial perspectives. SCM press
- Mathew S (2021) When the poisonous tree attempts to produce an antidote: colonialism, colonial CMS missions and the caste system in Kerala. Anvil 36 (3) https://churchmissionsociety.org/resources/when-the-poisonous-tree-attempts-to-produce-an-antidote-shemil-mathew-anvil-vol-36-issue-3/
- Mathew S (2021) Siblinghood between those with super-yachts and those that have just the one oar: the hope of a celebration of ethnic diversity in Church of England. In Percy. M, Slocum R.B (Eds.), Fearful Times; Living Faith. Wipf & Stock Publishers.
- Mathew S (May 2019) Should a not-so-Anglican-looking Anglican Chaplain Carry Colonial Guilt? Upstream BAME Newsletter, Oxford Brookes University.
