Marquette theology professor honored with fellowship award

June 4, 2019


MILWAUKEE — Dr. Andrei Orlov, professor of theology at Marquette University, has been named the recipient of the Helen Way Klingler Fellowship Award.

Orlov has studied Jewish apocalyptic texts, with a focus on materials preserved in Slavonic, for the past 25 years. Scholars believe these writings are vital to reexamine as they are recognized as having formative significance for early Christian theology.

The Way Klingler fellowship will allow Orlov to translate an important text that has remained unreachable for international scholarship for over a century. Orlov plans to complete the three-volume edition of the Slavonic historical compendium, the Palaea Interpretata. It represents the most extensive and important collection of Jewish pseudepigraphic texts and fragments that have survived the Slavonic environment. The collection remains untranslated into any European language and is virtually unknown to contemporary biblical scholarship.

Orlov believes that the publication of the Palaea Interpretata is vital to Marquette’s mission as it will contribute to a better understanding of the conceptual world of the New Testament writings that constitute the core of Catholic theology.

“As a Catholic university, we are committed to the unfettered pursuit of truth,” Orlov said. “Since our pursuit of truth is guided by the illuminating powers of not only human intelligence but also Christian faith, it is important for us to have a thorough knowledge of our Christian theological legacy.”

The Way Klingler Fellowships are awarded to full-time regular faculty at the associate or full professor rank who have potential for significant scholarship. One fellowship in science and one in humanities is awarded. The humanities fellow receives $20,000 annually for three years to fund critical research that requires time, access to information and travel.


About Shelby Williamson

Shelby Williamson

Shelby is a senior communication specialist in the Office of Marketing and Communication. Contact Shelby at (414) 288-6712 or shelby.williamson@marquette.edu