Stephan Wiest (7 March 1748, Teisbach - 10 April 1797,

Aldersbach Aldersbach () is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany. The former Cistercian Aldersbach Abbey, of which the Baroque church remains, is located in the village. There is also a brewery with museum. Aldersbach has around 4, ...

) was a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

, and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

History

He was born on 7 March 1748 at Teisbach in

Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. It consists of nine districts and 258 municipalities (including three cities). Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two ...

. He attended the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

in 1767 to study

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. He took the vows on 28 October 1768, and was later

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1772. He then studied further at the

University of Ingolstadt The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of four faculties: theology, law, artes liberales and medicine, all of w ...

. From 1774 to 1780 he taught philosophy and

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

at Aldersbach, and then theology from 1780 to 1781. In 1781 he was made professor of

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Chu ...

at the University of Ingolstadt, where he also taught

patristics Patristics, also known as Patrology, is a branch of theological studies focused on the writings and teachings of the Church Fathers, between the 1st to 8th centuries CE. Scholars analyze texts from both orthodox and heretical authors. Patristics e ...

and the history of theological

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. He was then made rector of the university from 1787 to 1788, and then resigned his professorship in 1794, returning to the monastery of Aldersbach.

Works

* ''

Institutiones theologicae Institutiones may refer to several works: * Institutes of Gaius, legal textbook, written about 161 AD * Institutes of Justinian, or "Justinian's Institutes", sixth century, largely based upon the Institutes of Gaius * ''Institutiones Divinarum et ...

'' * '' Institutiones theologicae dogmaticae in usum academicum'' * '' Introductio in historiam litterariam theologiae revelatae potissimum catholicae'' * '' Institutiones Patrologiae in usum academicum'' * '' De Wolfango Mario Abbate Alderspacensi Ord. Cist.''

External links and references

Catholic Encyclopedia on Stephan Wiest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiest, Stephan 1748 births 1797 deaths German Cistercians 18th-century German Roman Catholic priests People from Dingolfing-Landau