Jillian Marcantonio, Spring 2025 Graduate
Jillian Marcantonio will be hooded this May during Duke’s commencement to commemorate her achievement of earning the doctoral degree in Religious Studies. Her dissertation, “Embodying a Quiet but Pervasive Presence: The Holy Spirit in Late Ancient Liturgical Poetry,” was supervised by Professor J. Warren Smith, with Professors Jennifer Wright Knust, Laura Lieber, Brittany E. Wilson, and Derek Kreuger also serving on her committee.
Marcantonio came to Duke by way of Princeton Theological Seminary, where she earned a Master of Divinity degree. She has demonstrated strong leadership in our program, often helping students navigate the murky landscape of academic administration. Her service record is lengthy, having served as Graduate Student Representative for the Graduate Program in Religion, Graduate Student Coordinator for the Elizabeth A. Clark Center for Late Ancient Studies as well as Organizer and Moderator for their 2024 symposium, “Performing the Sacred: Soundscapes and Senses in the Late Ancient and Medieval World.” On an international level, she has also served on the Steering Committee for the Society of Biblical Literature (the oldest and largest scholarly membership organization dedicated to the academic study of the Bible) since 2023.
In addition to her professional service is an extensive history of service to the Church. She is a Candidate for Ordination in the Presbytery of New Hope. She is a very engaged leader at Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church in Durham and is a Fellow in Campus Ministry in Chapel Hill. This year (2025), she is serving as Chaplain Intern (Clinical Pastoral Education) at Duke Regional Hospital, Durham, NC.
With all this service, one might question whether Marcantonio would have time for scholarly pursuits. This would be a mistake, as she has equally excelled in scholarship. Regarding modern languages, she has reading facility in German and French and is conversational in Spanish. Her ancient language knowledge includes both Koine and Byzantine Greek, Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew, Latin, and Syriac. She is a member of five different professional societies. Her professional development has included Preparing Future Faculty, Certificate in College Teaching, Certificate of Accomplishment in Teaching Writing in the Disciplines, and Responsible Conduct of Research. Besides her education at Duke, she attended Byzantine Greek Summer School at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington DC in 2022 and International Summerschool German (and) Theology at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in 2019 with support from a DAAD grant. She has given numerous academic presentations for various professional organizations, several invited lectures locally, and has extensive and varied teaching experience. She has published articles and book reviews in three different journals.
We are certain that wherever (soon-to-be Dr.) Jillian Marcantonio ends up, she will establish herself as a leader.