James M. Fennelly (September 5, 1929 – January 8, 2000) was Chairman of the Department of Philosophy and Professor of History of Religions at

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

in Garden City, New York. For several years prior to his death, Fennelly was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Maywood, New Jersey. Fennelly was born in the Bronx, New York, and grew up in the lower Hudson Valley. He received an undergraduate degree from Springfield College, Massachusetts and Master of Divinity from

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

in New York City. While at Union Theological Seminary, Fennelly studied under Protestant theologian

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...

. In 1954, he was ordained into the Presbyterian ministry. The same year, he married Zona "Zee" Zeitner. In 1967, he received a Masters in New Testament Studies from Victoria University in Manchester England. Among Fennelly's contributions as historian of religion include articles in ''

The Biblical Archaeologist ''Near Eastern Archaeology'' is an American journal covering art, archaeology, history, anthropology, literature, philology, and epigraphy of the Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds from the Palaeolithic through Ottoman periods. The journal is ...

'' on religious ceremonies performed in the ancient city of

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

. In 1999, Fennelly completed a historical novel from the perspective of Chuza, steward of

Herod Antipas Herod Antipas (, ''Hērṓidēs Antípas''; ) was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea. He bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament. He was a s ...

and husband to

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...

, a disciple of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

References

1929 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American novelists Adelphi University faculty American male novelists 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) American male non-fiction writers Historians from New York (state) {{US-historian-stub