Rudolf Schnackenburg


Rudolf Schnackenburg was a German Catholic priest and New Testament scholar. Joseph Ratzinger referred to him as "probably the most significant German-speaking Catholic exegete of the second half of the twentieth century."

Life

Schnackenburg spent his childhood in Liegnitz and finished secondary school there in 1932. He then studied philosophy and theology at the universities of Breslau and Ludwig Maximilian [University of Munich|Munich]. In 1937 he earned his doctoral degree from the University of Breslau for a dissertation written under Friedrich Wilhelm Maier on "faith" in the Gospel of John. In the same year, he was ordained a priest by Cardinal Adolf Bertram and began pastoral work in Silesia until he was expelled from there in 1946. He then earned his habilitation degree in New Testament Exegesis in 1947 with Das Heilsgeschehen bei der Taufe nach dem Apostel Paulus. His habilitation advisor was Friedrich Wilhelm Maier, then at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, which is where Schnackenburg was made Privatdozent in 1948. From 1952 he was Lecturer in New Testament Exegesis at the Philosophisch-Theologischen Hochschule Dillingen. In 1955, Schnackenburg was made full professor in Bamberg. From 1957 until 1982, he was Professor of New Testament at the University of Würzburg. After his retirement, he was chaplain in a retirement home and worked with the Community of Sant'Egidio.

Work

Schnackenburg was a member of the International Theological Commission (ITC), wrote numerous books and worked on the translation of the German Einheitsübersetzung of the Bible.

Select publications

CommentariesDas Evangelium nach Markus, 2 vols. Das Matthäusevangelium, 2 vols. Das Johannesevangelium, 4 vols. Der Brief an die Epheser
Other PublicationsDie sittliche Botschaft des Neuen Testaments, vol. 1: Von Jesus zur Urkirche, vol. 2: Die urchristlichen VerkündigerDer Jesusweg: Meditationen zum lukanischen 'Reisebericht' Gott hat seinen Sohn gesandt: Das Weihnachtsgeheimnis Die Person Jesu Christi im Spiegel der vier Evangelien, new edition Freundschaft mit Jesus Predigt in der Gemeinschaft Sant’Egidio
  • ''Die Bergpredigt: Utopische Vision oder Handlungsanweisung?''

Festschriften

  • Joachim Gnilka, ed., Neues Testament und Kirche: für Rudolf Schnackenburg
  • Helmut Merklein, ed., ''Neues Testament und Ethik: für Rudolf Schnackenburg''