Paul David Loup Avis (/ˈeɪvɪs/;[1] born 1947) is an English Anglican priest, theologian, and ecumenist.
He was General Secretary of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity from 1998 to 2011, theological consultant to the Anglican Communion Office, London, from 2011 to 2012, and Canon Theologian of Exeter Cathedral from 2008 to 2013.
After serving briefly as a presbyter in the Free Church of England, he was ordained deacon (1975) and priest (1976) in the Church of England's Diocese of Exeter, Avis served his title as assistant curate in the large team ministry of the South Molton Group of Parishes (1975–80), after which he became the vicar of the semi-rural, multi-parish benefice of Stoke Canon, Poltimore with Huxham, and Rewe with Netherexe, for eighteen years (1980–98).
He is also an honorary Assistant Priest in the Axminster Group of Parishes in which he lives (in East Devon, UK).
Since his first years as a parish priest, Avis has become a prolific writer of theological books and articles, especially related to the identity and ecclesiology of Anglicanism in historical and ecumenical perspective.
According to Anglican theologian and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, "[a]mong contemporary theological voices, that of Paul Avis is always wide-ranging, constructive and sane, combining scholarship with a nuanced feel for tradition.
"[4] Leaving aside his articles, Avis's books can be classified in three areas of theology: systematic, ecclesiological and practical-theological.
Based upon a participatory ontology, Avis offers an alternative to both an "objective" or "literal" approach to the truth of the Christian faith and a liberal "mere metaphor" discourse.
Rooted in an analysis of the present Western-European cultural situation (between modernity and post-modernity) and in a pastoral translation of the ecumenically well-received koinonia theology (the "wholeness paradigm"), Avis offers a model for parochial practice which tries to relate the "common religion" of contemporary people to the specific contents of the Christian faith.
In trying to do justice to both, without suggesting that they can be too easily integrated, this book shares the insights of Avis's long experience as a parish priest as well as a theologian.
The Catholicity of Anglicanism is visible through its adherence to scripture, the ancient creeds, the central sacraments of baptism and the eucharist, and the ministry of bishops, priests and deacons in apostolic succession.
For Avis, these sacraments (together with the proclamation of the Word) are the core of an ecclesial life that opens up towards a pastoral and missionary presence in society.