SICKENBERGER, JOSEPH

SICKENBERGER, JOSEPH. — Catholic exegete, born at Kempten (Bavaria) on 19 March 1872, died at Kitzbühel on 27 March 1945.

He pursued theological studies at Munich (1891–96), where O. BARDENHEWER, OTTO (v.) was among his teachers; ordained a priest in 1896, he was in Rome in 1896–98 as Campo Santo Teutonico (v.), in order to pursue studies in Christian archaeology. In 1900 he received his doctorate at Munich with the dissertation Titus von Bostra, Studien zu dessen Lukashamilien, published in the series Texte und Untersuchungen (Leipzig 1901). With a second dissertation, Die Lukashatene des Niketas von Herakleia, which was accepted and included in the same series (Leipzig 1902), he qualified as a Privatdozent in New Testament exegesis at Munich, where in that same year he was appointed extraordinary professor of patrology and Christian archaeology. In 1903, together with J. Goettberger, professor of the Old Testament at Freising, he founded the journal Bibliche Zeitschrift (v.), in which for 18 years he directed the New Testament section. In 1905 he was transferred to

(from Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, 1 [1931], p. 80, fig. 1)
SICLO - Obverse and reverse of a bronze s. from the time of Simon Bar Kökhöbhä.

Würzburg as professor of pathology; in 1906 he went as professor of New Testament exegesis to Breslau, where he pursued an exceptionally productive literary activity until 1924. Once again he returned to the study of the «Catenae» (v.), with the edition of the Fragmente der Homilien des Cyrill von Alexandrien (in Texte und Untersuchungen, Leipzig 1909). He contributed several valuable volumes to the Bonner Bibel: Geschichte des N. Test (Bonn 1918–34); Die beiden Briefe des hl. Ap. Paulus an die Korinther und sein Brief an die Römer (ibid. 1919–34). He also wrote the erudite Leben Jesu nach den vier Evangelien in the series Biblische Zeitfragen (Münster 1915–31; in one volume, 1932) and the very well-known Kurzgefasste Einleitung in das Neue Testament (Freiburg 1916, 1920, 1925, 1939), translated into Italian (Turin 1942). In 1924 he became the successor of his beloved teacher O. Bardenhewer in Munich and published, in his memory, the Erinnerungen an O. Bardenhewer (Freiburg 1937); in addition, the Erklärung der Johannesapohalypse (Bonn 1940), written competently in that difficult field. He directed the New Testament section of the Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche (1930–1938) with expertise. A pious and zealous priest, he influenced the formation of the clergy, for whom he gave lectures, especially in the Bibelapostolat of the archdiocese of Munich.