Benedict Thomas Viviano (born January 22, 1940, died May 24, 2023) a

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

scholar and author, was a member of the Chicago Province of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was on the faculty of the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisi ...

, Switzerland, as a full professor of New Testament, teaching in the French language. Before teaching in Fribourg, he taught for 11 years at the Ecole Biblique in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

br>
and 12 years at

Aquinas Institute of Theology Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic graduate school and seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded by the Dominican Order and is sponsored by the Province of St. Albert the Great. Academics The institute offers a number of gr ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. He was vice president of the

Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies "Tantur" (from Arabic: الطنطورة, al-Tantura, lit. The Peak/Hill) may refer to: * Tantur Ecumenical Institute: An institute of advanced theological research in ecumenism located on Tantur hill in Jerusalem, near Bethlehem. * Tantour: a conica ...

. He was probably best known for his book ''The Kingdom of God in History'' and the St. Matthew section of the New Jerome Bible Commentary.

Early life

Viviano was born in

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. In a city of French foundation but mainly

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

population with a strong

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

minority, his family belonged to the city's community of

Italian people , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

, itself divided into

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

and

Sicilians Sicilians or the Sicilian people are a Romance speaking people who are indigenous to the island of Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the largest and most populous of the autonomous regions of Italy. Origin and i ...

. He went to

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis and ...

in St. Louis. After two years of university, he entered the Dominican order in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1966. Viviano had been interested in Scripture since the age of 12, and was assigned to write a doctorate in that subject. His education included studies in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(

the Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

(

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

), Durham, North Carolina ( Duke University),

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. It is an institution of the Holy See entrusted to the Society of Jesus. His ...

), and

(Ecole Biblique). He spent shorter times at a rabbinical seminary in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and at

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...

and

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

Career

His teaching life was divided into three main periods, each of about 12 years: first in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at a Dominican faculty of theology, in close collaboration with a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

and a Reformed seminary. He had a strong interest in ecumenism and also an interest in

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

, and so had served on dialogue teams for various bishops' conferences and for the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. His second teaching period was in

. His third period of teaching, was at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, where he was a full ordinarius professor for New Testament in French, since 1995. He retired as Professor Emeritus of the University of Fribourg to th
Dominikanerkonvent Rosenkranzbasilika St. Maria Rotunda Postgasse 4 A-1010 Vienna, Austria
Viviano also spent the fall semester each year a
Aquinas Institute, 23 S. Spring Avenue St. Louis, Missouri.
His special interests were in the

Gospel according to Matthew Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and its Jewish background, and, for biblical theological themes, the kingdom of God in history. He also had an interest in the religious value of study and intellectual life. He therefore mentored others who felt called to pursue studies, and offered counsel as to where to study and with whom. Besides having published books and essays in these areas, Viviano’s side interests included the relation between Matthew and the

Gospel according to John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

the Evangelist, a theology of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

, the philosophy of history ( Hegel), the theology of hope. Retired as a full professor in 2008, Viviano continued to lecture and to write. According to the author, his most important works were "Study as Worship"; the "Commentary on Matthew in the New Jerome Biblical Commentary" and "The Kingdom of God in History."

Teaching experience

*1972-1976 Instructor in New Testament, Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa *1976-1978 Assistant Professor of New Testament, Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa *1978-1981 Professor of New Testament, Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa. *1981-1984: Professor of New Testament, Aquinas Institute, St. Louis *1984-1995: Professor of New Testament, Ecole Biblique, Jerusalem (1989: full professor ordinarius) *1995-2008: Professor of New Testament, University of Fribourg, Switzerland

Educational background

*1962 - BA (Philosophy), Aquinas Institute of Philosophy, River Forest. *1963 - MA (Philosophy), Aquinas Institute of Philosophy, River Forest, Illinois. *1966 - MA (Theology), Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa. *1967 - ST.Lic., S.T.Lr. (Theology), Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C. *1969 - SSB (New Testament), Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome, Italy. *1976 - PhD (Bible), Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. *1977 - SSL Pontifical Biblical Commission, Rome, Italy (cum mentione speciali).

Selected works

Books

* * * * *

As editor

* - editor of the NT section.

Chapters

* * *

Journal articles

Notes

References

*Jerome Murphy-O’Connor ''The Ecole Biblique and the New Testament: A Century of Scholarship (1890–1990)'' NTOA13; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1990. pp. 138–142
University of Fribourg, Faculty of Theology
*''Who’s Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology,'' ed. Hershel Shanks. Washington DC: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1987. page 231; / 9780961308933

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090904074051/http://www.spiritualitytoday.org/spir2day/823424viviano.html *https://openlibrary.org/a/OL2649452A/Benedict_T._Viviano

* https://web.archive.org/web/20140516181257/http://www.domlife.org/Books/BenedictVivianoBooks.html * https://wipfandstock.com/advancedsearch/search?search_type=keyword&keyword=Viviano&go_search_btn.x=9&go_search_btn.y=12 * https://web.archive.org/web/20090904074051/http://www.spiritualitytoday.org/spir2day/823424viviano.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Viviano, Benedict T. 1940 births American biblical scholars Roman Catholic biblical scholars Academic staff of the University of Fribourg Catholic University of America alumni Harvard University alumni University of Tübingen alumni Duke University alumni University of Vienna alumni Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni Aquinas Institute of Theology faculty American people of Italian descent Living people New Testament scholars Dominican theologians Writers from St. Louis