Jean-Baptiste Terrien

Jean-Baptiste Terrien

Dogmatic theologian, born at St-Laurent-des-Autels, Maine-et-Loire, 26 Aug., 1832; d. at Bellevue, near Paris, 5 Dec., 1903. He entered the Society of Jesus at Angers, 7 Dec., 1854; taught philosophy for two years and dogmatic theology for twenty-two at the seminaries of Laval (France), 1864-80, and St. Helier (Jersey), 1880-88, then, after being spiritual father at Laval he was appointed professor of dogmatic theology and taught three years, 1891-94, at the Catholic Institute of Paris, remaining afterwards in this city as spiritual father and writer. During his first period of teaching, he did not publish any theological work, except a treatise, "De Verbo incarnato", Jersey, 1882, for private circulation; there are also five or six other treatises in MS. or lithographed, which form a substantial body of Positive rather than Scholastic theology, after the manner and doctrine of Cardinal Franzelin. In a quite different style is framed a neo-Thomistic monograph, published at paris in 1894: "S. Thomæ Aquinatis, O.P., doctrina sincera de unione hypostatica Verbi Dei cum humanitate amplissime declarata". At this time, Father Terrien began to apply his deep knowledge of theology to popular instruction, and published the following doctrinal treatises in French: "La Dévotion au Sacré-Coeur de Jésus, d'après les documents authentiques et la théologie", 1893; Italian translation by G.M. Rossi (Naples, 1895); "La grâce et la gloire ou la filiation adoptive des enfants de Dieu étudiée dans sa réalité, ses principes, son perfectionnement, et son couronnement final", 2 vols., 1897; new ed., 1908; "La Mère de Dieu et la Mère des hommes d'après les Péres et la théologie", 4 vols., 1900, 1902. These three works form unquestionably the most conspicuous part of Terrien's literary performance, as they are highly valuable on account of precision and richness of doctrine.

XAVIER LE BACHELET