Louis Bouyer
Encyclopedia
Louis Bouyer was a French
Lutheran minister who converted to Catholicism
in 1939. During his religious career he was a scholar who was relied upon during the Second Vatican Council
.
He was known for his books on Christian spirituality and its history. Along with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and others, he was a co-founder of the international review Communio
. He was chosen by the pope to be part of a team to initiate the International Theological Commission
in 1969.
minister in 1936 and served as vicar of the Lutheran parish of the Trinity in Paris until World War II
. In 1939, the study of the christology
and ecclesiology
of St. Athanasius of Alexandria
led Bouyer to the Catholic Church
.
Received into the Catholic Church in the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille (Seine-Maritime
) in 1944, he entered the congregation of the priests of the Oratory, and remained with them the rest of his life. He was a professor at the Catholic Institute of Paris until 1963 and then taught in England
, Spain
, and the United States
. In 1969 he wrote the book The Decomposition of Catholicism, which presented what he saw as the liturgical and dogmatic problems in the Church.
Twice appointed by the pope to the International Theological Commission
, he was a consultant at the Second Vatican Council
for the liturgy
, the Congregation of Sacred Rites
and Secretariat for Christian Unity
. In 1999 he received the Cardinal-Grente prize of the French Academy for all his work. He died 22 October 2004 in Paris
, a victim for many years of Alzheimer's. He was buried in the cemetery of the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Lutheran minister who converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in 1939. During his religious career he was a scholar who was relied upon during the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
.
He was known for his books on Christian spirituality and its history. Along with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and others, he was a co-founder of the international review Communio
Communio
Communio is a federation of theological journals, founded in 1972 by Joseph Ratzinger, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, Walter Kasper, Marc Ouellet, Louis Bouyer and others. Communio, now published in fifteen editions , has become one of the most important journals of Catholic thought...
. He was chosen by the pope to be part of a team to initiate the International Theological Commission
International Theological Commission
The International Theological Commission of the Roman Catholic Church consists of up to 30 Catholic theologians from around the world. These theologians are appointed for renewable five year terms and have tended to meet together in person once every year for a week...
in 1969.
Biography
Born into a Protestant family, Louis Bouyer, after a receiving a degree from the Sorbonne, studied theology with the Protestant faculties of Paris and then Strasbourg. He was ordained a LutheranLutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
minister in 1936 and served as vicar of the Lutheran parish of the Trinity in Paris until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1939, the study of the christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
and ecclesiology
Ecclesiology
Today, ecclesiology usually refers to the theological study of the Christian church. However when the word was coined in the late 1830s, it was defined as the science of the building and decoration of churches and it is still, though rarely, used in this sense.In its theological sense, ecclesiology...
of St. Athanasius of Alexandria
Athanasius of Alexandria
Athanasius of Alexandria [b. ca. – d. 2 May 373] is also given the titles St. Athanasius the Great, St. Athanasius I of Alexandria, St Athanasius the Confessor and St Athanasius the Apostolic. He was the 20th bishop of Alexandria. His long episcopate lasted 45 years Athanasius of Alexandria [b....
led Bouyer to the Catholic Church
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
.
Received into the Catholic Church in the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille (Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
) in 1944, he entered the congregation of the priests of the Oratory, and remained with them the rest of his life. He was a professor at the Catholic Institute of Paris until 1963 and then taught in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1969 he wrote the book The Decomposition of Catholicism, which presented what he saw as the liturgical and dogmatic problems in the Church.
Twice appointed by the pope to the International Theological Commission
International Theological Commission
The International Theological Commission of the Roman Catholic Church consists of up to 30 Catholic theologians from around the world. These theologians are appointed for renewable five year terms and have tended to meet together in person once every year for a week...
, he was a consultant at the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
for the liturgy
Catholic liturgy
The Catholic Church is fundamentally liturgical and sacramental in its public life of worship.-Liturgical principles:As explained in greater detail in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its shorter Compendium, the liturgy is something that "the whole Christ", Head and Body, celebrates —...
, the Congregation of Sacred Rites
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the...
and Secretariat for Christian Unity
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962–1965.Pope John XXIII wanted the Catholic Church to engage in the contemporary ecumenical movement...
. In 1999 he received the Cardinal-Grente prize of the French Academy for all his work. He died 22 October 2004 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, a victim for many years of Alzheimer's. He was buried in the cemetery of the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille.
Published works
- Liturgical Piety (1955)
- The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism (1956)
- Newman: His Life and Spirituality (London: Burns & Oates, 1958)
- Introduction to Spirituality (1961)
- The Word, Church and Sacraments in Protestantism and Catholicism (1961)
- Liturgy and Architecture (1967)
- The Spirituality of the New Testament and the Fathers (History of Christian Spirituality; v. 1) (1982)
- The Spirituality of the Middle Ages (History of Christian Spirituality; v. 2) (1982)
- Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality of the Eucharistic Prayer (1989)
External links
- Louis Bouyer biography on IgnatiusInsight.com
- Louis Bouyer profile and books on Goodreads
- Louis Bouyer and Church Architecture
- Mark Brumley, Why Only Catholicism Can Make Protestantism Work: Louis Bouyer on the Reformation, on the Catholic Education Resource Center webpage; reprinted from Mark Brumley. "Why Only Catholicism Can Make Protestantism Work: Louis Bouyer on the Reformation," Catholic Dossier 7 no. 5 (September–October 2001): 30–35.
- Mark Brumley, Why Catholicism Makes Protestantism Tick: Louis Bouyer on the Reformation, on the Ignatius Insight webpage (November 2004).