Ayla Lepine
Associate lecturer, Theology and the Arts
Ayla has been Associate Rector at St James’s Church Piccadilly since 2022.
Originally from Canada, Ayla moved to the UK in 2003 to study theology and art history. After completing a PhD in Victorian sacred architecture at the Courtauld Institute of Art, she held fellowships at both Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music and the Courtauld, before becoming a lecturer and fellow at the University of Essex.
Ordained in 2018, Ayla served her curacy at Hampstead Parish Church. Her ministry is shaped by a deep commitment to belonging, beauty, and social justice.
Her writing has been published in British Art Studies and Tate’s In Focus series, as well as in books such as Modern Architecture and Religious Communities. She is a trustee of the UK charity Art and Christianity, a visiting scholar at Sarum College, and serves on the St Paul’s Cathedral Visual Arts Committee. Ayla is also a member of the Church of England’s Contested Heritage Committee and a visiting fellow at King’s College London.
