Dr. Columba Stewart is the executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and literature from Harvard College, a master’s degree in religious studies from Yale University, and a doctorate in theology from the University of Oxford. Dr. Stewart is a professor of theology at Saint John’s University, served as Novice Master and Director of Monastic Formation for Saint John’s Abbey

At HMML, he has overseen the digitization of tens of thousands of endangered manuscripts in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and Europe. With his background in theology and the history of the book, he has often been called on to speak about how The Saint John's Bible has a place in the long Benedictine tradition of care for books and the creation of outstanding manuscripts. Dr. Stewart writes extensively on the history and spirituality of Christian monasticism, with several publications at both popular and scholarly levels, including Prayer and Community: the Benedictine Tradition and Cassian the Monk. In addition to his work at HMML, he teaches courses in monastic studies and eastern Christianity at the Saint John’s School of Theology.