Zachary Skarka
PhD supervisors pay tribute to doctoral student who has died at the age of 31.
Zack preparing to give an online presentation.
Zack began on the distance-learning doctoral programme in ITSEE at the University of Birmingham back in 2019. Supervised by Professor Hugh Houghton and Dr Amy Myshrall, he was working on the Greek text of the Epistle to the Colossians, developing new criteria for selecting manuscripts for inclusion in the Editio Critica Maior.
Zack presented his research at a number of academic conferences, including the SBL Annual Meeting at Denver, Colorado in November 2022, the inaugural SBL Global Meeting online in 2023, and the CSNTM Text and Manuscript conference in Dallas, Texas in May 2024. He was awarded a scholarship towards his studies by the British New Testament Society.
Zack's research was characterised by his blend of textual scholarship with mathematics and his cheerful enthusiasm. Dr Myshrall recalls how he was the first transcriber for the International Greek New Testament Project to use the online tutorial exercises, being a willing "guinea pig" to test the new system and completing each task with a smile and helpful feedback. Professor Houghton acknowledged Zack's scholarly contribution in a recent research paper investigating previous unexamined manuscripts of the Pauline Epistles.
Zack's death followed months of treatment which he bore with faith and fortitude, supported by the love of family and many friends. He leaves behind his wife and two young children, who both arrived during the course of his doctoral study. We send them our condolences.
A celebration of Zack's life will be held at Lakewood Ranch Church in Sarasota, Florida on 13th September.