Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Catholic University of Leuven
| Faculteit Theologie en Religiewetenschappen | |
 |
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| Latin: Facultas Sacrae Theologiae Lovaniensis | |
| Motto | Sedes Sapientiae |
|---|---|
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Motto in English
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"Seat of Wisdom", or "Seat of Knowledge" |
| Established | 1834 |
| Dean | Mathijs Lamberigts |
| Location | Leuven, Belgium |
| Campus | Leuven |
| Affiliations |
Coimbra Group LERU |
| Website | theo.kuleuven.be/en/ |
The Leuven Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies is a branch of the Catholic University of Leuven. The faculty traces its history back to its founding in 1432, with a hiatus between 1797 and 1834 due to the French Revolution. The current faculty was established as a part of the Catholic University of Leuven following the Belgian Revolution of 1830, on the initiative of the Belgian bishops. In 1967 the faculty was divided into Flemish and French speaking departments, and they exist today as faculties of two separate universities.
The Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Mechlin then called Catholic University of Leuven received primarily those students having already completed two years of philosophy and four years of theology as a part of their priestly education. A number of introductory courses were taught in the years 1853–1877. These courses were reorganized in 1898 as a Schola Minor in association with the American College in Leuven. From the very beginning Canon Law was taught by the Theological Faculty until both programs separated in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution Deus scientiarum Dominus in 1929.
The Faculty included among its first generation of professors prominent figures such as Jan Theodoor Beelen (Holy Scripture Chair) and Jean Baptiste Malou (Dogmatic Theology Chair). There was a revived preference for a positive and historically oriented theology in the form of historical-critical research at the end of the nineteenth century. In 1890 the rector Jean Baptiste Abbeloos appointed the German Bernard Jungmann to the newly organized Cours pratique d'histoire ecclésiastique. Rapid progress was made in Biblical studies through a theological faculty, uniquely situated as embedded within a “complete university,” that played a role that should not be underestimated—particularly in the exchange of ideas, the application of the historical method, and specialization in the study of ancient Eastern languages. Students followed lectures in Christian Archeology taught by Edmond Reusens and a new course: Histoire critique de l'Ancien Testament, taught by Albin van Hoonacker in 1889. Six years later Alfred Cauchie, who founded the Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique, also became a professor in the theological faculty.
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