The Theological Gift of Friendship - Jul 2026

Friendship, with a few exceptions, is the human relationship that has received the least theological attention over the centuries. Friendship, both in Greek and Roman philosophy, and in some theological writings, has been treated with suspicion. Steffan Mathias explores friendship in a positive light within the Bible, in theological tradition, and in the contemporary church. Steffan proposes friendship as a site of divine life, as something which can offer the church new avenues to think about community, discipleship, and human relationships. Revd Dr Steffan Mathias is Vicar of St Peter’s Streatham, and an independent scholar focusing on Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, with a PhD from King’s College London focusing on afterlife and memorialisation in the Old Testament. He is an external tutor at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, and St Augustine’s College of Theology in the South East. His PhD was published as Paternity, Progeny, and Perpetuation Creating Lives after Death in the Hebrew Bible in 2020.