Who was Alfred Loisy? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

French Celebrities Born In February

Also Known As: Alfred Firmin Loisy

Died At Age: 83

Priests Theologians

Died on: June 1, 1940

place of death: Ceffonds, France

Notable Alumni: Institut Catholique De Paris

More Facts

education: Institut Catholique de Paris

Recommended For You

Recommended Lists:

French Intellectuals & Academics

Childhood & Early Life

He was born on 28 February 1857 in Ambrieres, a village in Paris, France, 7 into a peasant family of humble means. He was raised in a religious environment and was prepared for a career in religion from early on.

He attended high school at the College de St. Dizier. In 1874 he entered the diocesan seminary at Chalons-sur-Marne at the age of seventeen and studied there till 1879.

He entered the Institut Catholique at Paris around 1878-79 where he continued his studies under Abbe Duchesne, a prominent church historian of those times. By this time Loisy had his doubts about religion, but nonetheless, became an ordained priest in 1879.

Continue Reading Below

Career

After being ordained as a priest, he was assigned to rural parishes for the next two years. He returned to the Institut in 1881 where he was appointed as a professor of Hebrew.

Even though he believed in the basic tenets of Christianity, he opposed several of the traditions that were attached to the interpretation of the scriptures. He believed in the historical and critical methods of studying the Bible instead.

He was of the view that there should be greater freedom in the interpretation of religious scriptures in order to spread hope and faith among mankind. Thus he decided to write an apologetic based on the historical critical method.

In 1890, he defended a thesis on the Canon of the Old Testament which led to years of critical studies on the Bible. At the same time it sparked considerable controversy as it went against the traditional beliefs.

His works also brought him in contact with other like-minded individuals like Maurice D’Hulst, George Tyrrell and Baron von Hugel, all of whom collaborated to campaign for modernizing the church’s traditional views.

Loisy argued that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses and that the first five chapters of Genesis are not reliable accounts. He also felt that the New Testament and the Old Testament do not possess equal historical value.

His views and opinions infuriated several religious parties and he was dismissed from his professorship at the Institut Catholique in 1893.

After leaving the Institut Catholique he became a chaplain at a girls’ school in Neuilly where he served for five years. It was during this time that he organized his theology after years of study, research and reflection.

In 1900, he became a lecturer at Ecole des hautes Estudes at the Sorbonne.

He wrote several books during the period 1901 to 1903 based on his research on Christianity. These included ‘La Religion d'Israël, Études évangéliques’, ‘L'Évangile et L'Église’, ‘Autour d'un petit livre’, and ‘Le quatrième Évangile’ which were condemned by the church .

In 1902, he began his work on ‘Les Évangiles Synoptiques’ which he finally completed in 1908. He had meant to write this work as a response to Adolf von Harnack's ‘Das Wesen des Christentum’. This work of his caused his excommunication.

He became a lay intellectual after his excommunication. Afterwards he was appointed as the professor of history of religions in the Collège de France in 1909 where he served till 1931.

All through his career he developed his philosophy regarding Christian religion as a system of humanistic ethics. He compared the studies on pre-Christian religious phenomena and examined how they influenced the religions of Christianity. He did not protest his excommunication and neither did he recant his views which had offended the religious community.

Major Works

His work, ‘Les Évangiles Synoptiques’, published in 1908 after years of research, is considered to be among his major works. In this work he has expressed his beliefs regarding the formation of the Catholic Church which kindled much controversy and caused his excommunication.

Personal Life

He was a very devout person who dedicated his life to serving religion. He lived for 83 years most of which were spent in studying Christianity and in helping people understand the true essence of religion. He died on 1 June, 1940.

Alfred Loisy Biography