Rudolf Ritter von Scherer (11 August 1845, Graz – 21 December 1918,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) was an Austrian

religious law Religious law includes ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, ...

professor.

Life

Rudolf von Scherer was the son of Anton Ritter von Scherer and of the writer Sophie Ritter von Scherer, née Sockl. He received his doctorate in law in 1867 at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

and was considered a disciple of

Friedrich Maassen Friedrich Bernard Christian Maassen (24 September 1823 – 9 April 1900, age 76) was a German jurist, professor of law, and Roman Catholic scholar. Biography Maasen was born in Wismar, Mecklenburg-Schwerin. After studying the humanities in his n ...

, who influenced him in the application of the

historical method Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be drawn ...

. Then he began the study of Catholic theology in Graz in 1869 and was ordained as a priest. After three years in pastoral ministry, he was sent to the higher education institution for secular priests the Frintaneum in Vienna, where he received his second doctorate in 1875, this time in theology. He taught at the University of Graz (from 1875), at first

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...

, but soon (in 1876) he became the first professor of the newly created Department of Religious Law. In 1899 he went to the

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 ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 1912. Scherer's major work, the textbook of religious law, ''Handbuch des Kirchenrechtes'', garnered high praise. He published only two of the three planned volumes, the first in 1885 and the second in 1891. His creativity decreased after 1911 because of various physical ailments and also because of being distracted by the discord around the Oath Against Modernism. He was since 1868 a member of the Catholic Student Association AV Guestfalia Tübingen.

Writings

* ''Handbuch des Kirchenrechtes.'' 2 volumes. Moser, Graz 1886/1898
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.

Literature

* * Josef Kremsmair: ''Rudolf Ritter von Scherer. Ein hervorragender Kanonist und seine Haltung zum Antimodernisteneid.'' In: Franz Pototschnig und Alfred Rinnerthaler (Hrsg.): ''Im Dienst von Kirche und Staat. In memoriam Carl Holböck'' (= ''Kirche und Recht.'' Bd. 17). Wien 1985, p. 327-346. * * Bruno Primetshofer: ''Kirchenrecht. Die Kath.-Theol. Fakultät der Universität Wien. Festschrift zum 600-Jahr-Jubiläum.'' Hrsg. von Ernst C. Suttner. Berlin 1984, p. 213-245.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherer, Rudolf von 1845 births 1918 deaths Canon law jurists 19th-century Austrian Roman Catholic theologians Austrian legal scholars 19th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests Academic staff of the University of Vienna Academic staff of the University of Graz Cartellverband members 20th-century Austrian Roman Catholic theologians