Photo (from left): Rev. Dr. Sophie Ramond; Rev. Fr. Joseph Benedict Mathais, SJ; Prof. Rev. Dr. Olivier Artus, Honourable Francois Gautier, French Consul General; and Prof Rev. Dr P Joseph Titus.
By Verghese V Joseph –
Bengaluru: Rev. Dr. Olivier Artus, Professor of Old Testament, Catholic University of Paris, was honored at the international symposium on ‘Bible and Politics’ at St Peter’s Pontifical Institute, Bangalore on Tuesday. The two-day conference is a joint initiative between St Peter’s Pontifical Institute and Catholic University of Paris.
Prof. Artus was honoured with a Mysore Peta, a classical royal Indian headgear worn by the erstwhile kings of Mysore. He was also draped with silk shawls and a sandalwood garland.
Felicitating Prof Artus, Honourable Francois Gautier, French Consul General, Bengaluru recalled instances of how Prof Artus went all out to keep his commitment to the institute. The examples of how Prof Artus and Prof Legrand have been the bedrock of Indo-French connection from pontifical academic perspective and that both of them have been tirelessly working with the institute, he added.
In this context, Honourable Gautier also mentioned about his own visits to St. Peter’s and the pleasant relationships he shared with the institute. He also related an instance about Rev Prof Lucien Legrand who has been in India for over sixty five years. When queried about his long stay in India, Prof Legrand simply said, “India loved me more!”
Rev. Dr. Sophie Ramond paid glowing tributes were paid to Prof Artus for his pioneering work at St Peter’s Pontifical Institute by helping doctoral students in furthering their studies.
Rev. Dr. Joseph Titus shared some instances of the challenges that Prof Artus threw at him and how demanding he was while submitting his doctoral papers. More importantly, he fondly remembered how humane Prof Artus too was in his approach to students.
Rev. Fr. Joseph Benedict Mathias, SJ, Rector, St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute recalled Prof Artus’ rich contribution to the study of Bible.
During the symposium, a festschrift (collection of articles by Prof Artus) was also released in his honour.
An audio video presentation tracing Prof Artus’ life and work was featured during the symposium.
Born on September 15, 1954 in Lille, the capital of the Hauts-de-France region in northern France, near the border with Belgium, Prof. Artus, is a doctor, catholic priest and exegete French, especially specialist of the Pentateuque.
Prof. Artus is first a doctor of medicine, having passed his thesis in 1983. He was ordained priest in 1988 and became a doctor of theology in 1997. He became Professor of Sacred Scripture (Old Testament) at the Catholic Institute of Paris (Theologicum – Faculty of Theology and Religious Sciences). He directed the School of Languages and Civilizations of the Ancient Orient (ELCOA) in this same Catholic Institute.
Prof. Artus was appointed in 2001 by Pope John Paul II, a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission until 2014.
In his book ‘Jesus of Nazareth’, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI refers to the works of Prof Artus to describe the process of hermeneutics internal to Scripture.
Professors of sacred scriptures, research scholars, graduates of Biblical Studies and all Bible aficionados gained much from the deliberations at the event.