Mathias Rissi

Mathias Rissi was a New Testament scholar and teacher, the Walter H. Robertson Professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary, Richmond. He is a specialist in the Book of Revelation and the Gospel of John.

He was born in Wienacht, Appenzell, Switzerland, on September 29, 1920, and grew up in his native land. His university studies were at Zurich and at Basel under professors Karl Barth, Oscar Cullman, Eduard Thurneysen, and Emil Brunner. Under Karl Barth he received his doctorate in 1951.

When Rissi joined the faculty of the Union Theological Seminary in Richmond in 1963, he brought wide pastoral experience gained through work in five parishes of the Reformed Church of Switzerland. He also had substantial experience as a teacher; for nine years he had been a lecturer at the Theological Faculty of the University of Basel under his mentor Karl Barth. In 1966, three years after joining the faculty in Richmond, Va, Rissi was elected Walter H. Robertson Professor of New Testament.

Though his responsibilities have ranged more widely, his teaching, research, and writing have focused especially on the Johannine literature. In the 1970s and 80s, Rissi and his wife Veronica Rissi Truedinger both taught ecumenical summer courses at the University of Vienna, Austria. Her area of expertise included the art and history of the region. Rissi retired after 24 years on the faculty in 1987 and moved with his wife to Stonington, Maine where he continued to publish books and articles. He died in Charlotte, North Carolina, on 1 March 2006.