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Robert Louis Wilken (born November 20, 1936) is an American historian and former Lutheran minister who is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of the History of Christianity emeritus at the University of Virginia.

Career

Robert Louis Wilken was born in New Orleans. He was raised in a Lutheran family and took his religion very seriously, having wanted to become a pastor since childhood.

Wilken attended Concordia College, Concordia Seminary (B.A.) and the University of Chicago (M.A. and Ph.D.). From 1964 to 1967 he worked in the Lutheran Theological Seminary, later in Fordham University, the University of Notre Dame and from 1985 in the University of Virginia. Currently he is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of the History of Christianity emeritus and the Distinguished Fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. Wilken also was the Lady Doris Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Wilken is an author of numerous books about the history of Christianity. Wilken has focused his research primarily on the early church, church tradition, the Roman view on early Christianity, and on Judaism and its links to early Christianity.

Personal life

Wilken married Carol Faith Weinhold on June 4, 1960. He has two children, Gregory and Jonathan.

Membership and awards

• American Academy of Arts and Sciences;
• American Historical Association;
• American Academy of Religion;
• American Society of Church History;
• National Endowment for the Humanities grant.

Selected publications

• Anselm Weber, O. F. M.: Missionary to the Navaho, 1898-1921. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company. 1955. OCLC 1657328.
• Judaism and the Early Christian Mind: A Study of Cyril of Alexandria's Exegesis and Theology. Yale publications in religion. Vol. 15. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1971. ISBN 978-0-300-01383-2 – via the Internet Archive.
• The Myth of Christian Beginnings: History's Impact on Belief. Anchor books: Religion. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. 1971. ASIN B0006C2T9M. LCCN 71123712 – via the Internet Archive.
• Aspects of Wisdom in Judaism and Early Christianity. Ward-Phillips Lectures in English Language and Literature. Vol. 1. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press. 1975. ISBN 978-0-268-00577-1 – via the Internet Archive. (Editor)
• Jews and Christians in Antioch in the First Four Centuries of the Common Era. Society of Biblical Literature sources for biblical study. Vol. 13. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press. 1978. ISBN 978-0-891-30229-2 – via the Internet Archive. (with Wayne A. Meeks)
• Early Christian Literature and the Classical Intellectual Tradition: In Honorem Robert M. Grant. Théologie historique : études. Vol. 53. Paris: Éditions Beauchesne [fr]. 1979. ISBN 978-2-7010-0086-2 – via the Internet Archive. (Editor, with William R. Schoedel)
• John Chrysostom and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the Late 4th Century. Comparative Studies of Health Systems and Medical Care. Vol. 4. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1983. ISBN 978-0-520-04757-0 – via the Internet Archive.
• Wilken, Robert Louis (1984). The Christians as the Romans Saw Them (Second, reprinted ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-03066-2. JSTOR j.ctt32bdb2 – via the Internet Archive.
• Wilken, Robert L. (1992). The Land Called Holy: Palestine in Christian History and Thought. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-05491-0. JSTOR j.ctt1cc2mc8 – via the Internet Archive.
• Remembering the Christian Past (Reprinted ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans. 1995. ISBN 978-0-802-80880-6.
• Wilken, Robert Louis (2003). The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-10598-8. JSTOR j.ctt1npn65.
• Maximus, the Confessor (2003). On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ: Selected Writings from St. Maximus the Confessor. Popular patristics series. Vol. 25. Translated by Robert L. Wilken; Paul M. Blowers. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. ISBN 978-0-881-41249-9.
• The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2012. ISBN 978-0-300-11884-1. JSTOR j.ctt32bd7m – via the Internet Archive.
• Liberty in the Things of God: The Christian Origins of Religious Freedom. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2019. ISBN 978-0-300-24549-3.

References

1. ^ Peacock, Scot, ed. (2000). "Wilken, Robert L(Ouis) 1936-". Contemporary Authors. New Revision Series. Vol. 178. Gale. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-787-63238-0.
2. "Robert Louis Wilken". Catalogue of the Library of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. Rome. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
3. ^ "Dr. Robert Louis Wilken: Former Lutheran Minister". The Coming Home International. February 26, 1999. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
4. "Visiting Scholar in Catholic Thought: Dr. Robert Louis Wilken - 2015". Benedictine University Library. 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
5. "Robert Louis Wilken". Berkley Center of the Georgetown University. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
6. "The Myth of Christian Beginnings: History's Impact on Belief". Kirkus Reviews. January 8, 1970. Retrieved June 8, 2024.

• Living people
• 1936 births
• People from New Orleans
• Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Lutheran priests
• Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• University of Notre Dame faculty
• University of Virginia faculty
• Fordham University faculty
• Concordia University Texas alumni
• Concordia Seminary alumni
• University of Chicago alumni