Benedict Thomas Viviano (born January 22, 1940, died May 24, 2023) a

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

scholar and author, was a member of the Chicago Province of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He was on the faculty of the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, as a full professor of New Testament, teaching in the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

. Before teaching in Fribourg, he taught for 11 years at the Ecole Biblique in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

br>
and 12 years at

Aquinas Institute of Theology Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Catholic graduate school and seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded by the Dominican Order and is sponsored by the Province of St. Albert the Great. Academics The institute offers a number of graduate ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. He was vice president of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies in

. He was probably best known for his book ''The Kingdom of God in History'' and the St. Matthew section of the New Jerome Bible Commentary.

Early life

Viviano was born in

St Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. In a city of French foundation but mainly

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

population with a strong

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

minority, his family belonged to the city's community of

Italian people Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

, itself divided into

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

and

Sicilians Sicilians () are a European ethnographic group who are indigenous to Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, as well as the largest and most populous of the autonomous regions of Italy. History The Sicilian people are indigenous to ...

. He went to

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Lasallian Catholic Church, Catholic University-preparatory school, college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, M ...

in St. Louis. After two years of university, he entered the Dominican order in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1966. Viviano had been interested in Scripture since the age of 12, and was assigned to write a doctorate in that subject. His education included studies in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

(

the Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

(

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

(

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

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, ...

(

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies located in Rome. Founded in 1909 by Pope Pius X, it is an institution of the ...

), and

(Ecole Biblique). He spent shorter times at a rabbinical seminary in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and at

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

and

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

Career

His teaching life was divided into three main periods, each of about 12 years: first in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at a Dominican faculty of theology, in close collaboration with a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

seminary. He had a strong interest in

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

and also an interest in

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, and so had served on dialogue teams for various bishops' conferences and for the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

. His second teaching period was in

. His third period of teaching, was at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, where he was a full ordinarius professor for New Testament in French, since 1995. He retired as Professor Emeritus of the University of Fribourg to th
Dominikanerkonvent Rosenkranzbasilika St. Maria Rotunda Postgasse 4 A-1010 Vienna, Austria
Viviano also spent the fall semester each year a
Aquinas Institute, 23 S. Spring Avenue St. Louis, Missouri.
His special interests were in the

Gospel according to Matthew Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sense ...

and its Jewish background, and, for biblical theological themes, the

kingdom of God The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" ...

in history. He also had an interest in the religious value of study and intellectual life. He therefore mentored others who felt called to pursue studies, and offered counsel as to where to study and with whom. Besides having published books and essays in these areas, Viviano’s side interests included the relation between Matthew and the

Gospel according to John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven " signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the resurrection ...

the Evangelist, a theology of

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, the philosophy of history (

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

), the theology of hope. Retired as a full professor in 2008, Viviano continued to lecture and to write. According to the author, his most important works were "Study as Worship"; the "Commentary on Matthew in the New Jerome Biblical Commentary" and "The Kingdom of God in History."

Teaching experience

*1972-1976 Instructor in New Testament, Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa *1976-1978 Assistant Professor of New Testament, Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa *1978-1981 Professor of New Testament, Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa. *1981-1984: Professor of New Testament, Aquinas Institute, St. Louis *1984-1995: Professor of New Testament, Ecole Biblique, Jerusalem (1989: full professor ordinarius) *1995-2008: Professor of New Testament, University of Fribourg, Switzerland

Educational background

*1962 - BA (Philosophy), Aquinas Institute of Philosophy, River Forest. *1963 - MA (Philosophy), Aquinas Institute of Philosophy, River Forest, Illinois. *1966 - MA (Theology), Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa. *1967 - ST.Lic., S.T.Lr. (Theology), Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C. *1969 - SSB (New Testament), Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome, Italy. *1976 - PhD (Bible), Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. *1977 - SSL Pontifical Biblical Commission, Rome, Italy (cum mentione speciali).

Selected works

Books

* * * * *

As editor

* - editor of the NT section.

Chapters

* * *

Journal articles

Notes

References

*Jerome Murphy-O’Connor ''The Ecole Biblique and the New Testament: A Century of Scholarship (1890–1990)'' NTOA13; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1990. pp. 138–142
University of Fribourg, Faculty of Theology
*''Who’s Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology,'' ed. Hershel Shanks. Washington DC: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1987. page 231; / 9780961308933

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090904074051/http://www.spiritualitytoday.org/spir2day/823424viviano.html *https://openlibrary.org/a/OL2649452A/Benedict_T._Viviano

* https://web.archive.org/web/20140516181257/http://www.domlife.org/Books/BenedictVivianoBooks.html * https://wipfandstock.com/advancedsearch/search?search_type=keyword&keyword=Viviano&go_search_btn.x=9&go_search_btn.y=12 * https://web.archive.org/web/20090904074051/http://www.spiritualitytoday.org/spir2day/823424viviano.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Viviano, Benedict T. 1940 births American biblical scholars Roman Catholic biblical scholars Academic staff of the University of Fribourg Catholic University of America alumni Harvard University alumni University of Tübingen alumni Duke University alumni University of Vienna alumni Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni Aquinas Institute of Theology faculty American people of Italian descent Living people New Testament scholars Dominican theologians Writers from St. Louis