Aloysius Pieris
SJ (born 9 April 1934) is a
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
n
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
priest, theologian, intellect, and the founding director of the Tulana Research Center for Encounter and Dialogue.
Biography
Aloysius Pieris was born in
Ampitiya, Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka). He was a brilliant student during his days at the prestigious, St. Aloysius' College, Galle. After responding to his call to be a priest of God, the young Aloysius took his Jesuit vows in 1953. Pieris has three theological degrees, an
LPh from Sacred Heart College in
Shembaganur, India (1959),
STL from the Pontifical Theological Faculty in Naples (1966), and a
Th.D.
Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...
from
Tilburg University
Tilburg University is a public university, public research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands.
Tilb ...
(1987). Pieris also has a
BA in
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
from the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
(1961) and a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in
Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combi ...
from the
University of Sri Lanka
The University of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා විශ්වවිද්යාලය, ta, இலங்கைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) was the public university system of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978.
Est ...
(1971).
He has held academic posts as Franciscan Chair in
Mission Studies
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
* Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
at
Washington Theological Union
Washington Theological Union (WTU) was a Catholic graduate school of theology and seminary in Washington, D.C. in the United States, founded in 1968. It stopped accepting students in 2011, and suspended operations at the end of June 2015.
WTU wa ...
,
Henry Luce
Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967) was an American magazine magnate who founded ''Time'', ''Life'', ''Fortune'', and ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine. He has been called "the most influential private citizen in the America ...
Chair of
World Christianity
World Christianity or global Christianity has been defined both as a term that attempts to convey the global nature of the Christian religion and an academic field of study that encompasses analysis of the histories, practices, and discourses of C ...
at
Union Theological Seminary, New York
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''U ...
, and A. P. Wilson Distinguished Visiting Chair of Theology at
Vanderbilt Divinity School
The Vanderbilt Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion (usually Vanderbilt Divinity School) is an interdenominational divinity school at Vanderbilt University, a major research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of o ...
.
In June 1974, Pieris established the Tulana Research Center for Encounter and Dialogue in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and has been its director ever since. Tulana was created as a Jesuit
retreat site, but also as a space for
Buddhist-Christian interfaith dialogue
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...
.
One of Pieris's most well-known writings, ''An Asian Theology of Liberation'' (1988), attempts to move beyond the limitations of Latin American
liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". In ...
and engage an Asia that is wreaked by severe poverty and shaped by deep religiosity.
Honors
A
festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
was prepared in his honor on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, entitled ''Encounters with the Word'' (2004).
In November 2015, Pieris was awarded an
honorary DLitt
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
in recognition of his lifetime contribution to field of humanities by the
University of Kelaniya
Pannaya Parisujjhati
, mottoeng = Self-purification is by insight
, established = 1875 Vidyalankara Pirivena1959 Vidyalankara University
, type = Public
, endowment =
, adminis ...
.
In January 2019, Pieris was awarded the International Harmony Theologian Prize by the Institute of International Harmony and Sustainable Development, Bishop Dennis Ng Victory Ministries Foundation at the International Harmony Conference on 7 January 2019.
Works
*
*
*
References
External links
Tulana Research Center for Encounter and Dialogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pieris, Aloysius
1934 births
Living people
Sri Lankan Jesuits
Anti-poverty advocates
Religious studies scholars
Liberation theologians
World Christianity scholars
20th-century Roman Catholic theologians
21st-century Roman Catholic theologians