Anselm Stolz (November 25, 1900 – September 19, 1942) was a Benedictine monk, theologian, and professor.
Biography
He entered
Gerleve Abbey
Gerleve Abbey (in German ''Kloster'' or ''Abtei Gerleve'') is a monastery of the Benedictine Order situated between Coesfeld and Billerbeck in Westphalia (North Rhine-Westphalia), in Germany.
History
The community, dedicated to Saint Joseph, was ...
and made solemn profession on February 29, 1920. He attended the
Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm
The Anselmianum, also known as the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm (; ) or simply ''Sant'Anselmo'', is a pontifical university in Rome associated with the Benedictines. It offers courses in philosophy, theology, liturgy, monastic studies, lan ...
beginning in 1921; he taught Systematic Theology there beginning in 1928. He spoke frequently at Catholic conferences such as the ''Hochschulwochen'' in Salzburg in 1937. He died in Rome in 1942, after contracting typhoid fever while caring for the sick.
[Daniel Heisey: "Book review." In: ''American Benedictine Review'', vol. 74, no. 1, 2023, ISSN 0002-7650, pp. 121–122.]
Reception
Several theologians have identified his work as an important example of rediscovered, "authentically Christian mysticism." When Sant' Anselmo celebrated its centennial anniversary, the Faculty of Theology held a symposium in honor of Stolz, who was described as "one of its most famous lecturers" in the published proceedings.
''Christian Ascetism''
His first publication on ascetism appeared in 1936, but it was the 1943 book on Christian spirituality that had long-standing success. It has been translated into the three languages over the course of eighty years. His references were primarily
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...
and the
Rule of St. Benedict
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...
, occasionally referencing
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
. His approach was unusual in an era which had not yet re-discovered patristic sources.
Selected publications
* ''Glaubensgnade und Glaubenslicht nach Thomas von Aquin''. Rom 1933, .
* ''Theologie der Mystik''. Regensburg 1936, .
** Translated as ''The Doctrine of Spiritual Perfection'', by Aidan Williams, 1938.
** Translated as ''La scala del paradiso. Teologia della mistica'', Brescia 1979 (3rd edition).
* ''
Anselm von Canterbury. Sein Leben, seine Bedeutung, seine Hauptwerke''. München 1937, .
* ''L’ascesi cristiana''. Brescia 1943, .
** Translated as ''L'ascèse chrétienne''. Éditions des Bénédictins d'Amay, Chevetogne 1948.
** Translated as ''Christian Asceticism''. Arouca Press, 2021, ISBN 978-1-989905-71-5.
Literature
Entry (with photograph)in ''Regesta Ecclesiastica Salisburgensia.''
* Elmar Salmann: ''Gnadenerfahrung im Gebet. Zur Theorie der Mystik bei Anselm Stolz und Alois Mager''. 1979, .
* Elmar Salmann, ed.: ''La teologia mistico-sapienziale di Anselm Stolz''. Rom 1988, .
* Fabio Angelo Bressan: ''Lo sfondo mistico della teologia. La lezione breve di Anselm Stolz Padua''. Padua 2004, ISBN 88-250-1200-4.
* Pius Engelbert: ''Sant'Anselmo in Rome. College and University. From the Beginnings to the Present Day''. Collegeville 2015, S. 146–154, ISBN 9780814637135.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stolz, Anselm
1900 births
1942 deaths
Academic staff of the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm
Asceticism
German Benedictines
20th-century German Catholic theologians