Robert A. Skeris is an American Roman Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. He has been based in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee since 1961. He earned a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Liturgical Studies from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

and studied at the Universities of Cologne and Bonn in Germany. He earned his Doctor of Theology in 1975 from the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

. Skeris was influential in founding (and was intimately involved with) the ''Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae''. As Associate Professor of Theology at the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a private Catholic university in Irving, Texas. Established in 1956, it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university comprises four academic units: the Braniff Graduate School ...

, he taught liturgy, sacramental theology, ecclesiology and apologetics, as well as church music at the adjacent

Holy Trinity Seminary Holy Trinity Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary residence in Irving, Texas, United States, in the Diocese of Dallas, Texas that is located within the University of Dallas campus, founded in 1964. It is headed by Rector Vincent Anyama, S.T.D ...

. After having pursued further research in

hymnology Hymnology (from Greek ὕμνος ''hymnos'', "song of praise" and -λογία ''-logia'', "study of") is the scholarly study of religious song, or the hymn, in its many aspects, with particular focus on choral and congregational song. It may be m ...

at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

and the Claremont Colleges, Skeris was appointed Director of the Hymnology Section at the International Institute for Hymnological and Ethno-Musicological Studies in Maria Laach in 1978, where he worked for the West German Bishops' Conference and the Academy of Science in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

as researcher in charge of the Roman Catholic contribution to the joint ecumenical project ''Das Deutsche Kirchenlied'', a critical edition of congregational hymns printed in the German language area between 1481 and 1800. Having served from 1986 through 1989 as Professor and Prefetto della Casa at the

Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music The Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music ( it, Pontificio istituto di musica sacra; la, Pontificium institutum musicae sacrae) is an institution of higher education of the Roman Catholic Church specifically dedicated to the study of church music ...

in Rome, where he also had been named Consultor to the Vatican's Office of Pontifical Ceremonies, Skeris joined the faculty of

Christendom College Christendom College is a Catholic liberal arts college in Front Royal, Virginia, United States, located in the Shenandoah Valley. It is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College and has been characterized as a conservative Catho ...

in 1990. Through the decade of his service at Christendom as Associate Chaplain, Chairman of the Theology Department, director of the

Choir and Schola Gregoriana, and organizer of the annual summer Church Music Colloquium, he made Christendom College not only a center of intellectual renewal, but a genuine center for the restoration of the sacred. He has been Professor Emeritus of Sacred Theology since 2000.

Publications

* Co-author of ''Das deutsche Kirchenlied: Kritische Gesamtausgabe der Melodien'' (Kassel, Basel, London, New York: Baerenreiter, 1993) * Author of 13 articles on liturgy, sacred music, etc. in the Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine, ed. Russell Shaw (OSV, 1997) * Numerous articles in such publications as ''Crisis'', ''Sacred Music'', ''Pastoral Music'', ''Proceedings of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars'' * Appearances on EWTN; conducted sacred music workshops in the Diocese of

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, and elsewhere.

Affiliations

Skeris is a Knight Commander of the

Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

, and President Emeritus of CMAA (the

Church Music Association of America The Church Music Association of America (CMAA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) association of Catholic church musicians and others who have a special interest in music and liturgy, active in advancing Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony, and other f ...

). Currently, he is Director of the Centre for Ward Method Studies at the B.T. Rome School of Music at

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. ...

(CUA).

External links

Latin Tridentine Community
Archdiocese of Milwaukee. {{DEFAULTSORT:Skeris, Robert American theologians American Roman Catholic priests University of Bonn alumni University of Cologne alumni University of Notre Dame alumni University of Dallas faculty Christendom College Living people Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art faculty Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American male writers Knights of the Holy Sepulchre