The Revd Professor Carsten Thiede (1952 – 2004)For twenty-four hours during the 4th and 5th of November three leading British scholars (Tom Wright, Margaret Barker and Geoffrey Rowell*) will be coming to Vienna to mark together with the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna Dr Christoph Schönborn and Dr Hans Förster the life and work of the Revd Professor Carsten Thiede (1952 – 2004). This twenty-four hour event is being organised by the Ven. Patrick Curran (Church of England) with the assistance of the British Embassy in Austria. Professor Thiede died suddenly in December 2004 at the age of 52. He shot to international fame in 1994 by his dating of the Magdalen papyrus. His early dating was hotly debated at the time occasioning lead stories in the Times and Time Magazine. Although scholars continue to debate the dating of this particular papyrus the controversy itself demonstrated some of the force of his argument. Professor Thiede, who was ordained a priest of the Church of England in 2000, was not afraid to put forward controversial arguments if he believed in them: no received school of thought was sacred. He was always questioning handed-down assumptions such as that propagated about the Gospel of Mark, namely that it was written by an inferior linguist and theologian. By the sheer force of his arguments Thiede enabled many to set aside their deep-seated scepticism about the historical reliability of the New Testament. If previous scholars began with the assumption that the historical record of the New Testament was unreliable Thiede turned this around and began with the assumption that the record was reliable – with surprising results. He extended this way of proceeding to the Tradition of the Church as well. One of the last projects he worked on as an archaeologist was to locate the biblical village of Emmaus mentioned in the Gospel according to Luke (24.13). Thiede was a prolific author, writing many books. He wrote regular articles for newspapers like the Rheinischer Merkur and the Church of England Newspaper. He lectured extensively and travelled widely. He wrote and lectured both in German and English. He had a deep-seated love of all things British which extended surprisingly to include English wines. He was an admirer of the Roman Catholic author Reinhold Schneider (1903-1958) and was the chair of the Reinhold Schneider Gesellschaft. Thiede was innovative and collaborated with one scientist in developing a computer microscope that is now used extensively by papyrologists. He was a polyglot. For instance he wrote a short book on Germany’s place within Europe entitled We in Europe (1996) for the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government of Germany. It is one example of his wide-ranging knowledge and ability. Many people were touched by his enthusiasm and his energy. It was a delight to witness him in public debate, but also as a lecturer who was unstinting in his efforts to answer patiently the many questions which his approach occasioned. Thiede’s life was a libation poured unto death (cf. Isaiah 53.12). He was a Pauline-like figure giving of himself for the sake of the Gospel in which he believed with all his mind, heart, soul and strength. He believed that life and death had contended and that life had won. His debate with Gerd Lüdemann concerning the resurrection is a reminder that in life and in death he was open towards his future in God (cf. Die Auferstehung Jesu - Fiktion oder Wirklichkeit? * The Rt Revd Dr Tom Wright – Lord Bishop of Durham Dr Margaret Barker – Elected President of the Society for Old Testament Study in 1998, and is currently the Editor of the Society’s Monograph Series. The Rt Revd Dr Geoffrey Rowell – Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe Dr Hans Förster – Visiting researcher at the Austrian National Library, Department of Papyri Patrick Curran - Archdeacon of the Eastern Archdeaconry in the Diocese of Europe and the Anglican Chaplain of Christ Church, Vienna |
| Close This Window |