Marilyn McCord Adams, one of the world's most prominent and respected philosophers-theologians, has died aged 73.

She was the first women ever to hold the prestigious title of Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University and the first woman to receive a Doctor of Divinity degree from Oxford.

Her work was varied, but her most well known publications and lectures were on evil. Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God was her most widely known work, in which she addressed the problem of evil.

An American who spent some of her career in the UK, Adams was ordained as an Episcopal priest and taught at prestigious institutions such as Yale, Rutgers and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, having received degrees from Cornell and Princeton.

Reactions to her death came from both sides of the Atlantic with Dr Giles Fraser among those remembering her. Her fellow priest and academic said: 'RIP the wonderful, feisty, clever, brilliant Marilyn McCord Adams. It was a privilege to know her.' Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Waikato, New Zealand, added her thoughts. She tweeted, 'Saddened to hear about the death of Marilyn McCord Adams, who led my deacons retreat in ‪@oxforddiocese way back in 2005, inspiring!'