About
A Life Spent at the Crossroads of Faith
Theologian, priest, chaplain, author — a ministry built one conversation, one bedside, one congregation at a time.
The Rev. Dr. Donald R. Hayes, DTh
Born and raised in South Carolina, Dr. Hayes grew up where Sunday morning was not a routine but a rhythm — a cadence woven through small-town life, family memory, and the slow turning of seasons.
His vocational journey carried him from Wofford College's liberal arts halls to American University, then on to L'Abri Institute in the footsteps of Francis Schaeffer, St. Andrews Seminary, and finally Oxford — where his doctoral research deepened a lifelong love of the great Anglican divines.
But scholarship alone never satisfied him. For decades he has served as parish priest, hospice chaplain, and clinical trauma chaplain — sitting with the dying, walking with the wounded, and standing alongside soldiers as a Major in the South Carolina State Guard.
His writing reflects that twofold calling: theology that holds its ground against any secular wind, paired with a pastoral warmth shaped by years at the bedside. Whether speaking of C.S. Lewis, Bonhoeffer, Luther, or the language of everyday idiom, his aim is always the same — to make the truth of the Gospel both luminous and near.
"I have not labored to win an argument, but to walk someone home."
Formation
An Education Across Continents
Wofford College
Liberal arts foundation in South Carolina.
American University
Graduate study in Washington, D.C.
L'Abri Institute
Apologetics in the tradition of Francis Schaeffer.
St. Andrews Seminary
Theological formation in Anglican tradition.
Oxford
Doctoral research in theology.
Vocation
Many Callings, One Calling
Anglican Priest
Two parishes served with care and conviction.
Hospice & Trauma Chaplain
Bedside presence at life's most tender thresholds.
Major, SC State Guard
Chaplaincy in service of state and soldier.
Author & Theologian
Three volumes spanning devotion, theology, and pastoral healing.