Aloysius Pieris
Biography
Aloysius Pieris was born in Ampitiya, Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka). He was a brilliant student during his days at the prestigious, St. Aloysius' College, Galle. After responding to his call to be a priest of God, the young Aloysius took his Jesuit vows in 1953. Pieris has three theological degrees, an LPh from Sacred Heart College in Shembaganur, India (1959), STL from the Pontifical Theological Faculty in Naples (1966), and a Th.D. from Tilburg University (1987). Pieris also has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London (1961) and a Ph.D. in Buddhist philosophy from the University of Sri Lanka (1971). He has held academic posts as Franciscan Chair in Mission Studies at Washington Theological Union, Henry Luce Chair of World Christianity at Union Theological Seminary, New York, and A. P. Wilson Distinguished Visiting Chair of Theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School.{{cite web |last1=de Silva |first1=Frances |title=Rev. Fr. Aloysius Pieris, S.J. |url=https://tulana.org/bibliography-rev-fr-aloysius-pieris-s-j/ |website=Tulana Research Centre |accessdate=29 January 2019}}
In June 1974, Pieris established the Tulana Research Center for Encounter and Dialogue in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and has been its director ever since.{{cite web |last1=de Silva |first1=Frances |title=Origins of Tulana |url=https://tulana.org/origins-of-tulana/ |website=Tulana Research Centre |accessdate=29 January 2019}} Tulana was created as a Jesuit retreat site, but also as a space for Buddhist-Christian interfaith dialogue.{{cite web |last1=Iddamalgoda |first1=Sarath |title=Doctor Of Letters - D. Litt. Award For Fr. Aloysius Pieris |url=https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/doctor-of-letters-d-litt-award-for-fr-aloysius-pieris/ |website=Colombo Telegraph |accessdate=29 January 2019 |date=29 November 2015}}
One of Pieris's most well-known writings, An Asian Theology of Liberation (1988),{{cite book |last1=Pieris |first1=Aloysius |title=Asian Theology of Liberation |date=1988 |publisher=T&T Clark |location=London |isbn=9780567640277 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEcACwAAQBAJ |language=en}} attempts to move beyond the limitations of Latin American liberation theology and engage an Asia that is wreaked by severe poverty and shaped by deep religiosity.{{cite web |last1=Phan |first1=Peter |authorlink1=Peter C. Phan |title=Take and Read: An Asian Theology of Liberation |url=https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/take-and-read-asian-theology-liberation |website=National Catholic Reporter |accessdate=29 January 2019 |language=en |date=7 March 2016}}
Honors
A festschrift was prepared in his honor on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, entitled Encounters with the Word (2004).{{cite book |editor-last1=Fernando |editor-first1=Marshal |editor-last2=Tilakaratne |editor-first2=Asanga |title=Encounters with the Word: Essays to Honour Aloysius Pieris S.J. on His 70th Birthday 9th April 2004 |date=2004 |publisher=Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue |isbn=9789558497036 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvDYAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}
In November 2015, Pieris was awarded an honorary DLitt in recognition of his lifetime contribution to field of humanities by the University of Kelaniya.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/an-epochal-trendsetter-fr-aloysius-pieris-sj/172-97479|title=An Epochal trendsetter Fr. Aloysius Pieris SJ|last=|first=|date=30 November 2015|website=Daily Mirror|language=English|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-03-01}}
In January 2019, Pieris was awarded the International Harmony Theologian Prize by the Institute of International Harmony and Sustainable Development, Bishop Dennis Ng Victory Ministries Foundation at the International Harmony Conference on 7 January 2019.{{cite web |last1=Pieris |first1=Aloysius |title=International Harmony Theologian Prize Recipient's Response |url=https://tulana.org/2899-2/ |website=Tulana Research Centre |accessdate=3 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204065736/https://tulana.org/2899-2/ |archive-date=4 February 2019 |url-status=dead }}
Works
- {{cite book |last1=Pieris |first1=Aloysius |title=Asian Theology of Liberation |date=1988 |publisher=T&T Clark |location=London |isbn=9780567640277 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEcACwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
- {{cite book |last1=Pieris |first1=Aloysius |title=Love meets wisdom: a Christian experience of Buddhism |date=1988 |publisher=Orbis Books |location=Maryknoll, NY |isbn=9780883443729 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bO8PAQAAIAAJ |language=en}}
- {{cite book |last1=Pieris |first1=Aloysius |title=Fire and Water: Basic Issues in Asian Buddhism and Christianity |date=1996 |publisher=Orbis Books |location=Maryknoll, NY |isbn=9781570750557 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KSbZAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}
References
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External links
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- [https://tulana.org Tulana Research Center for Encounter and Dialogue]
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Category:Anti-poverty advocates
Category:Religious studies scholars
Category:Liberation theologians
Category:World Christianity scholars