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

) 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