Manlio Simonetti (2 May 1926 – 1 November 2017) was an Italian scholar of

Patristics Patristics, also known as Patrology, is a branch of theological studies focused on the writings and teachings of the Church Fathers, between the 1st to 8th centuries CE. Scholars analyze texts from both orthodox and heretical authors. Patristics e ...

and the history of Biblical interpretation.

Biography

Simonetti was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 2 May 1926. His early studies were in

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

(philology and history) at the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

. In 1959 he became Professor of Ancient Christian Literature at the

University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari () is a public research university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old ...

, a post he held until 1969. In that year he became Professor of the History of Christianity at the Sapienza, a chair he held for three decades. He also taught at the

Salesian Pontifical University The Salesian Pontifical University (; ) is a pontifical university in Italy run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It has three campuses, one in Rome, one in Turin, and one in Jerusalem. The Salesian Pontifical University is an ordinary member of ...

and was an instructor at the Augustinianum from its founding in 1971 until 2016. He was made a national fellow of the

Accademia dei Lincei The (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed"), anglicised as the Lincean Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy. Founded in ...

in 1981. Simonetti died on 1 November 2017 in Rome, at the age of 91.

Awards and publications

In 2011, he was a co-recipient of the first Ratzinger Prize. At the time of his award,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

remarked of him, "Professor Simonetti has approached the world of the Fathers in a new way, showing us with accuracy and care, what the Fathers say from the historical viewpoint; they become our contemporaries who speak to us". Simonetti's academic publications are numerous. His scholarship was focused on the domains of Biblical interpretation (in particular,

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

, the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

, etc.), in Christian antiquity (e.g.

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

, notably during the

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

crisis of the fourth century), and early Christian literature (including anthologies). Several of his most recent articles have appeared in '' Vetera Christianorum'', and have been highlights of most issues since 2000. This journal is published at Edipuglia for the Classics and Christianity Department of the University of Bari.

Selected works

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References

External links

Author profile
at '' Éditions du Cerf''
Membership profile
with the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonetti, Manlio 1926 births 2017 deaths Patristic scholars Italian biblical scholars Sapienza University of Rome alumni Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome Academic staff of the University of Cagliari Ratzinger Prize laureates