The magnum opus of preeminent nineteenth-century German theologian Matthias Scheeben, the Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics is among the most substantial, erudite, and compelling works of Catholic dogmatic theology in the modern era. Scheeben addresses with clarity and depth the fundamental mysteries of divine revelation, the triune God, creation, grace, sin, and salvation, deftly interweaving biblical, historical, and speculative concerns. Presented here for the first time in English in Michael J. Miller’s masterful translation, the eight volumes of Scheeben’s six-book Dogmatics include:

Book One: Theological Epistemology
1.1 The Objective Principles of Theological Knowledge
1.2 Theological Knowledge Considered in Itself

Book Two: Doctrine about God, Or Theology in the Narrower Sense

Book Three: God in His Fundamental, Original Relation to the World

Book Four: Sin and the Kingdom of Sin as a Contradiction and a Combat against the Supernatural Order of the World

Book Five: Soteriology
5.1 The Person of Christ the Redeemer
5.2 The Work of Christ and the Role of His Virgin Mother

Book Six: The Realization of the Salvation Merited by Christ in Individual Human Beings through the Justifying Grace of Christ

MATTHIAS JOSEPH SCHEEBEN (1835–1888) was a German priest and scholar whose theology points to the inner coherence of the Christian faith and its supernatural mysteries. Notable in his own time, Scheeben later received praise from Pope Pius XI, who in 1935 encouraged study of the late theologian’s works, reflecting: “The entire theology of Scheeben bears the stamp of a pious ascetical theology.” Hans Urs von Balthasar credited Scheeben as “the greatest German theologian to date.” Scheeben’s works include Nature and Grace, The Mysteries of Christianity, and the unfinished Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics.

“Scheeben’s Dogmatics is a feast of faith, a tour de force of faith seeking understanding via the lights of Scripture and Tradition, guided by the Church’s dogmatic teaching, as well as by the great theologians and saints from the Fathers onward.”
—Matthew Levering, Mundelein Seminary

“A priceless combination of deep love for the mysteries of the Catholic faith, profound learning, and speculative genius. To have at last a translation of this great work is a tremendous gift to Catholic theology in our time.”
—Bruce D. Marshall, Southern Methodist University

“Exceptionally rich and deeply rewarding. A must-read for theologians, priests, graduate students, seminarians, and—indeed—bishops who, suffering under a spiritually desiccated and intellectually vacuous climate desire to rediscover the full scope of Catholic theology in a state of full flowering.”
—Reinhard Hütter, Catholic University of America