Gottlieb (Georg) Nathanael Bonwetsch (5 February 1848 – 18 July 1925) was a Russian-born German Protestant

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. He was born in Norka,

Saratov province Saratov Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR. History On December 25, 1769, the Saratov province was established as part of the Astrakhan Governorate. On January 11, ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, where his father was

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

. He studied theology in

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, then later in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

and

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. In 1878 he published a treatise on the writings of

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

, titled ''Die Schriften Tertullians, nach der Zeit ihrer Abfassung untersucht''. In 1881 obtained his doctorate in theology and his first academic position was at Dorpat (1882). He became a full professor of

church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

in 1891.Bonwetsch, Gottlieb Nathanael
at Deutsche Biographie His main area of work was the history of

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

involving the

Early Christian Church Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

. He also made contributions to the critical edition and commentary on the works of

Methodius of Olympus Methodius of Olympus () (died c. 311) was an early Christian bishop, ecclesiastical author, and martyr. Today, he is honored as a saint and Church Father; the Catholic Church commemorates his feast on June 20. Life Few reports have survived on ...

and

Hippolytus of Rome Hippolytus of Rome ( , ; Romanized: , – ) was a Bishop of Rome and one of the most important second–third centuries Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communitie ...

References

*
HathiTrust Digital Library
published works. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonwetsch, Gottlieb Nathaniel 1848 births 1925 deaths 19th-century German Protestant theologians 20th-century German Protestant theologians Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Academic staff of the University of Tartu 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers German male non-fiction writers Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities