Denis Farkasfalvy

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Denis Farkasfalvy (born June 23, 1936 in Székesfehérvár ; † May 20, 2020 in Dallas , Texas ) was an American-Hungarian Roman Catholic clergyman, Cistercian , abbot , theologian , author and translator.

life and work

Escape from Hungary, studies and ordination

Miklós Farkasfalvy, son of a mechanical engineer, attended the Cistercian grammar school in Székesfehérvár and, after its closure in 1948, the Benedictine grammar school of Pannonhalma . In 1954 he graduated from high school and in 1955 entered the underground novitiate of the abolished Zirc Abbey . He took the religious name Dionysius (Hungarian: Dénes, English: Denis). After the Hungarian uprising of 1956 he fled on the advice of his novice master Lóránt Sigmond (1911-1964) and the abbot Vendel Endrédy via Austria ( Heiligenkreuz Abbey ) to Rome and studied at the Benedictine University , where he received his doctorate in theology in 1962. He made his solemn profession (for Zirc) in 1960 in Lilienfeld Abbey . There he was ordained a priest in 1961.

Headmaster and Abbot in Texas

Since the monks of the Zirc monastery had fled to the United States in 1954, he was now ordered to Irving, Texas, where the Our Lady of Dallas monastery needed him as a teacher at the elite school run there by the Cistercians. Since there was a lack of mathematicians, he studied mathematics at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth for two more years , during which time he was the chaplain of the school sisters of Notre Dame of Namur , who helped him learn English. From 1969 he headed the school for 12 years. From 1988 to 2012 he was abbot of his monastery. He rebuilt the abbey church and renovated all other buildings. After taking office, he taught at the University of Dallas . He died of COVID-19 at the age of 83 .

The theologian and translator. Awards

Farkasfalvy published numerous theological works in English, Hungarian and French. In addition, he excelled as a translator of Latin Bible texts and poems by Rainer Maria Rilke into Hungarian. From 2002 to 2014 he was the first Hungarian member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission . In 2010 he received the Stephanus Prize ( Stephanus-díj ) in Budapest in the theology category. In Dallas, he received the Catholic Foundation Award in 2016.

Works

Original works

  • L'inspiration de l'Écriture Sainte dans la théologie de Saint Bernard . Herder, Rome 1964. (Dissertation)
  • Bevezetes a szentirastudomanyba . Rome 1976. (Introduction to Theology)
  • A lelki élet teológiája . Rome 1980. Budapest 1995. (Theology of Spiritual Life)
  • (with William R. Farmer ) The formation of the New Testament canon. An ecumenical approach . Ed. Harold W. Attridge. Paulist Press, New York 1983.
  • (Co-editor) Bernhard von Clairvaux : Complete works in Latin / German . Edited by Gerhard Bernhard Winkler in connection with Alberich Altermatt, Denis Farkasfalvy and Polykarp Zakar . 10 vols. Tyrolia-Verlag, Innsbruck 1990–1999.
  • Commemorating the 900th anniversary of Cistercian beginnnings, 1098–1998. 40 years of Cistercian life in Texas, 1958-1998 . Carrollton, TX 1998.
  • Inspiration and interpretation. A theological introduction to Sacred Scripture . Catholic University of America Press, Washington, DC 2010.
  • The Marian mystery. The outline of a Mariology . St Pauls, Staten Island, NY 2014.
  • A theology of the Christian Bible. Revelation, inspiration, canon . Catholic University of America Press, Washington, DC 2018.
  • In search of a lasting home. The story of the Cistercians in Texas. Abbey and school . Cistercian Abbey Our Lady of Dallas, Irving, Texas 2019.

Translations

Bible texts

  • Zsoltároskönyv . Prugg, Eisenstadt 1975. Budapest 2006 (The Book of Psalms )
  • A Római Levél . Bevezetés, fordítás és magyarázat. Prugg, Eisenstadt 1983. (The Letter to the Romans )
  • Himnuszok. Válogatás a Római Breviárium himnuszaiból . Budapest 1984, 2010. (Hymns from the Roman Breviary)
  • Testté vált szó. Evangélium Szent János szerint . Fordítás, jegyzetek és magyarázat. Prugg, Eisenstadt 1989. ( Gospel of John )

Rilke translations

  • Rilke nyomában . Budapest 1990. (Traces of Rilke. Selected Poems)
  • Rainer Maria Rilke: Szonettek Orfeuszhoz . Budapest 2014. ( The Sonnets to Orpheus )
  • Rainer Maria Rilke: Mária élete . Budapest 2015. (The Life of Mary)

literature

  • "The gift of a new beginning: Denis Farkasfalvy OC is in conversation info". In: Erbe und Einsatz 95, 2019, pp. 190–203.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Official obituary of his abbey
  2. ↑ Official obituary of his abbey
  3. ↑ Official obituary of his abbey
  4. ↑ Denis Farkasfalvy, The Pontifical Biblical Commission's Document on Jews and Christians and Their Scriptures: Attempt at an Evaluation. Communio 29.4 (2002), pp. 715-737.
  5. ^ "Cistercian's Fr. Denis Farkasfalvy Selected as 2016 Catholic Foundation Award Honoree." The Good Word 29.2 (2015), title page.
personal data
SURNAME Farkasfalvy, Denis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Farkasfalvy, Miklós (maiden name); Farkasfalvy, Dionysius; Farkasfalvy, Dénes; Farkasfalvy, Denis M.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American-Hungarian clergyman, Cistercian, abbot, theologian, author and translator
DATE OF BIRTH June 23, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Székesfehérvár
DATE OF DEATH May 20, 2020
Place of death Dallas , Texas