''Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche'' (''Lexicon of Theology and the Church''; commonly abbreviated ''LThK'') is a

German-language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a c ...

Catholic 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 ...

theological encyclopedia. Three editions have appeared so far, all published by Herder-Verlag in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

First edition: 1930 to 1938

The first edition of the ''Lexikon'' was edited by Michael Buchberger, Bishop of

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, between 1930 and 1938. It was an emended and expanded version of an earlier work in two volumes entitled ''

Kirchliches Handlexikon ''Kirchliches Handlexikon: ein Nachschlagebuch über das Gesamtgebiet der Theologie und ihrer Hilfswissenschaften'' is a two-volume book published in parts in Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most popu ...

'' (Munich, 1904–1912). The editor's goal was to create a modern ''

summa theologiae The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main t ...

'', i.e. a reference work that would cover all aspects of Catholic teaching, life and practice. This edition contained 10 volumes.

Second edition: 1957 to 1968

The second edition of the work was prepared between 1957 and 1968 by Josef Höfer and

Karl Rahner Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of ...

. At that time, the Catholic Church was experiencing drastic changes, culminating in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. As a result, the ten volumes of the encyclopedia and the additional volume containing the index were supplemented by three volumes containing the complete texts of the decrees of the council (in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and in German). The complete edition, thus, comprised 14 volumes, and had approximately 22,000 articles.

Third edition: 1993 to 2001

The third edition was edited by Cardinal

Walter Kasper Walter Kasper (born 5 March 1933) is a German Catholic cardinal and theologian. He is President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, having served as its president from 2001 to 2010. Early life Born in Heidenheim ...

between 1993 and 2001. This edition contains 10 volumes and an additional index volume; altogether it contains approximately 26,000 articles on 8,292 pages. Topics covered include all aspects of Catholic theology, doctrine, history and practice, as well as other subjects related to the Roman Catholic church and Roman Catholicism in general.

Bruno Steimer Bruno Steimer (born July 5, 1959) is a German historian of Christianity, especially early Christianity in the Roman era. Biography Bruno Steimer was born July 5, 1959, in Saarland, West Germany. He graduated high school from . He studied Cathol ...

worked as editor on the third edition.

References

''Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche'' in ''Historisches Lexikon Bayerns''

External links

''Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche''

''LThK'', Verlag Herder
{{Authority control Christian encyclopedias German-language encyclopedias Catholic theology and doctrine

First edition: 1930 to 1938

Second edition: 1957 to 1968

Third edition: 1993 to 2001

See also

References

External links