Rudolf Schnackenburg (5 January 1914 – 28 August 2002) was a German Catholic priest and New Testament scholar.
Joseph Ratzinger
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
referred to him as "probably the most significant German-speaking Catholic exegete of the second half of the twentieth century."
[Joseph Ratzinger, ''Jesus von Nazareth'', p. 11, where Schnackenburg is called the "wohl bedeutendste deutschsprachige katholische Exeget der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts."]
Life
Schnackenburg spent his childhood in
Liegnitz
Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 ...
and finished secondary school there (at the "Gymnasium Johanneum") in 1932. He then studied philosophy and theology at the universities of
Breslau and
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
. In 1937 he earned his doctoral degree from the
University of Breslau
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
for a dissertation written under Friedrich Wilhelm Maier on "faith" in the
Gospel of 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 ...
. In the same year, he was ordained a priest by Cardinal
Adolf Bertram and began pastoral work in Silesia until he was expelled from there in 1946, after World War II. He then earned his Habilitation (Dr. habil.) in New Testament Exegesis in 1947 with the work "Das Heilsgeschehen bei der Taufe nach dem Apostel Paulus" ("The Salvation through Baptism according to the Apostle Paul"). His Habilitation was also completed under Friedrich Wilhelm Maier, now at the
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
, and Schnackenburg was then made
Privatdozent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
there in 1948. From 1952 he was
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...
in New Testament Exegesis at the Philosophisch-Theologischen Hochschule
Dillingen. In 1955, Schnackenburg was made full professor in
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...
. From 1957 until 1982, he was Professor of New Testament at the
University of Würzburg
The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...
. After his retirement, he provided pastoral care in a retirement home and also worked with the
Community of Sant'Egidio
The Community of Sant'Egidio ( it, Comunità di Sant'Egidio) is a lay Catholic association dedicated to social service, founded in 1968 under the leadership of Andrea Riccardi. The group grew and in 1973 was given a home at the former Carmelit ...
.
Work
Schnackenburg was a member of the
International Theological Commission (ITC), wrote numerous books (including a commentary on the
Gospel of 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 ...
) and worked on the translation of the German
Einheitsübersetzung of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
.
Select Publications
Commentaries
* ''Das Evangelium nach Markus,'' 2 vols. (Düsseldorf)
* ''Das Matthäusevangelium,'' 2 vols. (Die Neue Echter Bibel; Würzburg)
* ''Das Johannesevangelium,'' 4 vols. (Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament 4; Freiburg)
* ''Der Brief an die Epheser'' (Evangelisch-Katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament 10; Düsseldorf)
Other Publications
* ''Die sittliche Botschaft des Neuen Testaments'' (Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament, Supplementband 2; Freiburg 1986–1988), vol. 1: ''Von Jesus zur Urkirche'', vol. 2: ''Die urchristlichen Verkündiger''
* ''Der Jesusweg: Meditationen zum lukanischen 'Reisebericht (Stuttgarter Taschenbücher 4; Stuttgart 1990)
* ''Gott hat seinen Sohn gesandt: Das Weihnachtsgeheimnis'' (Freiburg 1990)
* ''Die Person Jesu Christi im Spiegel der vier Evangelien,'' new edition (Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament, Supplementband 4; Freiburg 1998)
* ''Freundschaft mit Jesus'' (Freiburg 1995)
* ''Predigt in der Gemeinschaft Sant’Egidio'' (Würzburg 2003)
* ''Die Bergpredigt: Utopische Vision oder Handlungsanweisung?'' (Düsseldorf 1984)
Festschriften
* Joachim Gnilka, ed., ''Neues Testament und Kirche:
estschriftfür Rudolf Schnackenburg
um 60. Geburtstag am 5. Januar 1974 von Freunden und Kollegen gewidmet' (Freiburg 1974)
* Helmut Merklein, ed., ''Neues Testament und Ethik:
estgabefür Rudolf Schnackenburg'' (Freiburg 1989)
References
External links
Homily eulogizing Rudolf Schnackenburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schnackenburg, Rudolf
1914 births
2002 deaths
People from Katowice
People from the Province of Silesia
20th-century German Catholic theologians
German biblical scholars
Roman Catholic biblical scholars
New Testament scholars
University of Breslau alumni
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich faculty
University of Würzburg faculty
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
People from Legnica
German male non-fiction writers
20th-century German Roman Catholic priests