Drey, Johann Sebastian Von

Drey, Johann Sebastian Von, a Roman Catholic theologian of Germany, was born October 16, 1777, at Killingen. He was ordained priest May 30, 1801; was appointed in 1806 professor at the Roman Catholic school of Rottweil, and in 1812 professor of dogmatic theology at the newly-established university of Ellwangen. In 1817 he was transferred, with the whole theological faculty, to the University of Tiubingen, at which he lectured on dogmatic theology, history of doctrines, apologetics, and theological encyclopaedia (from 1838 only on the two last-named branches). He resigned in 1846, and died at Tübingen on February 19, 1853. Drey was one of the ablest scholars of Roman Catholic Germany. He is especially known for his great work on Apologetics (Christliche Apologetik, Mainz, 1838-47, 3 volumes). He also wrote an Introduction to the Study of Theology (Einleitung in das Studium der Theologie, Tubing. 1819), Researches on the Apostolical Constitutions and Canons (Untersuchungen fiber die Constitutionen und Canones der Apostel, Tübingen, 1832), and several other works. He established, with Gratz (q.v.) and Hirscher (q.v.), in 1819, the Theologische Quartalschrift, which is still (1868) one of the ablest journals of scientific theology published in the Roman Catholic Church. He also contributed a large number of articles to the Kirchen-Lexikon of Wetzer and Welte. See Hefele, in Wetzer u. Welte, Kirch.-Lex. 12:307.