Roelof "Roel" van den Broek (born 20 December 1931) is a Dutch religious scholar. He was a professor of Religious History of the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

between 1979 and 1991. He subsequently was a professor of

history of Christianity The history of Christianity concerns the Christianity, Christian religion, Christendom, Christian countries, and the Christians with their various Christian denomination, denominations, from the Christianity in the 1st century, 1st century ...

until his retirement in 1997.

Career

Van den Broek was born in Alphen aan den Rijn on 20 December 1931. He attended the gymnasium and later studied theology at Utrecht University. In 1972 he obtained his title of

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

under

Gilles Quispel Gilles Quispel (30 May 1916 – 2 March 2006) was a Dutch theologian and historian of Christianity and Gnosticism. He was professor of early Christian history at Utrecht University. Born in Rotterdam, after finishing secondary school in Dordrecht ...

, with a thesis titled: ''The myth of the Phoenix, according to classical and early Christian traditions''. He subsequently worked as scientific employee on the early history of Christianity. Van den Broek was appointed as (professor not paid by University funds) of Religious history of the

in 1979. In 1991 he was named professor of history of Christianity. He retired on 1 January 1997. Between 1998 and 2005 he was rector of education institute OVP. Van den Broek was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1993. He received an honorary doctorate of the

Paris-Sorbonne University Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; french: Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV) was a public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the Universit ...

in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broek, Roel van den 1931 births Living people Dutch historians of religion Historians of Christianity Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Alphen aan den Rijn Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of Utrecht University