Alfred Loisy

Alfred Loisy
Born
Alfred Firmin Loisy

(1857-02-28)28 February 1857
Died1 June 1940(1940-06-01) (aged 83)
Occupation(s)Priest, professor, theologian
Years active1879–1931
Known forFounder of Modernism in the Roman Catholic Church
TitleChair of History of Religions in the Collège de France
Academic background
Alma materInstitut Catholique de Paris
Academic work
InstitutionsCollège de France
Notable works(See list below)
InfluencedAlec Vidler[1]

Alfred Firmin Loisy (French: [lwazi]) (28 February 1857 – 1 June 1940) was a French Roman Catholic priest, professor and theologian generally credited as a founder of modernism in the Roman Catholic Church.[2] He was a critic of traditional views of the interpretation of the Bible, and argued that biblical criticism could be helpful for a theological interpretation of the Bible.

He famously wrote "Jesus announced the kingdom, and it is the Church that came".[3][4]

His theological positions brought him into conflict with the church's authorities, including Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius X. In 1893, he was dismissed as a professor from the Institut Catholique de Paris. His books were condemned by the Roman Curia,[5] and in 1908 he was excommunicated.[6]

  1. ^ Beeson, Trevor, ed. (2002). Priests and Prelates: The Daily Telegraph Clerical Obituaries. London: Continuum. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8264-6337-1.
  2. ^ Wolfgang Weiß (1993). "Loisy, Alfred Firmin". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 5. Herzberg: Bautz. cols. 190–196. ISBN 3-88309-043-3.
  3. ^ Morrow, Jeffrey L (2019). "Thy Kingdom Come: The Church and the Kingdom of God in Loisy's L'Évangile et l'Église". The Downside Review. 137 (1): 3–13. doi:10.1177/0012580619832255. S2CID 197905004.
  4. ^ Butticaz, Simon (2021). "Comment l'Église est-elle née ?". Labor et Fides, Coll. "Le Monde de la Bible" (75).
  5. ^ Pope, Hugh. "The Condemnation of Four Works by Abbé Loisy," The American Catholic Quarterly Review, Vol. XXIX, 1904.
  6. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Biblical Criticism (Higher)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2023-02-04.