Fr. Andreas Kramarz – Legion of Christ College of Humanities

Fr. Andreas Kramarz LC, Ph.D.

Professor of Cultural Studies

S.T.M. University of Münster, Germany

M.A. in Philosophy, Pontifical Regina Apostolorum College, Rome, Italy

M.A. Education, University of Münster, Germany

Ph.D. in Classics, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA

Fr. Andreas Kramarz, LC, Ph.D.

Born in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1968, Fr. Andreas grew up in Aachen. He obtained the Diplom (U.S. equivalent: S.T.M.) in Catholic Theology and his First State Examination Degree (Staatsexamen; U.S. equivalent: M.A.) in German Language and Literature (Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster, 1992 and 1993 respectively). He spent two semesters (1989/1990) of his theological studies with the Theological Year of Studies at the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem, Israel. From 1993 to 1994, he worked as an assistant nurse at the hospice Haus Hörn in Aachen, Germany.

After joining the Legionaries of Christ in 1994, he studied classical humanities for one year in Salamanca, Spain (1996-1997), and in 1999 he received a Licentiate in Philosophy (U.S. equivalent: M.A.) at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum College in Rome, Italy. Since 1999, he has taught Latin, Greek, History, Art, and Music courses at the Legion of Christ College of Humanities in Cheshire, CT. A priest since 2003, he has served as Academic Dean from 2009 to 2019.

In 2013, Fr. Andreas earned his Ph.D. in Classical Civilization at the Classics Department of the University of Florida. In recent years, he has taught Western Civilization, Music Theory and History, and Chant. In addition, he serves as a spiritual director, confessor, and choir director for the seminary and as a chaplain for Regnum Christi members in Upstate New York. He is a member of the International Society for the Study of Greek and Roman Music and Its Cultural Heritage (MOISA), The Society of Catholic Social Scientists, and the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music.

From 2020 to 2022, Fr. Andreas was a visiting scholar with the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, IN, with an interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship granted by the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum College in Rome, to initiate an extensive research and publication project on integral formation on which he continues to work at present while resuming to teach part-time at Legion of Christ College.

Publications:

2024. “Transcendental Relationality: A New Proposal on Personhood”. Communio: International Catholic Review 51.3: 502–550.
2024. “Review of Iain McGilchrist.. The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World. 2 vols. London, UK: Perspectiva Press, 2022.” Catholic Social Scientists Review 29: 249–252.
Forthcoming. “Hacia una fundamentación filosófica de la formación integral.” Book chapter in: Andrés Iván Oliva Avilés (ed.), Formación Integral: Fundamentos, Retos y Aplicaciones.
Forthcoming. “Transcendental Relationality: A New Proposal Concerning “Person” in Joseph Ratzinger and Beyond.” Communio: International Catholic Review.
Forthcoming: “Music.” Book chapter in Michael C. Sloan/Joseph Sanzo (eds.), Greco-Roman Literature. Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies, vol. 6. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
2024. “Revolution in Theology? A Closer Look at the Significance of Pope Francis’ Ad Theologiam Promovendam.” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, July 26, 2024.
2023. “The Mozart of Theology and His Favorite Composer.” Church Life Journal, March 16, 2023.
2023. “Formación integral – más que un método: Un acercamiento relacional para superar la fragmentación antropológica y pedagógica.” Book chapter in James Andrew Cleary and Vicente Pérez Moreira (eds.), Formación integral universitaria. Una respuesta a los desafíos de la persona y la universidad de hoy, 473–515. Santiago de Chile: Ediciones Universidad Finis Terrae. Accessible online at academia.edu.
2022. “A Call for Universal Harmony: The ‘New Song’ in Scripture, Patristic Commentary, and Liturgy.” Antiphon 26.2: 105-133.
2022. “Review of Robert Forgács, Latin and music in the early modern era: education, theory, composition, performance and reception. Brill research perspectives. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2021″ Bryn Mawr Classical Review (BMCR 2022.02.05).
2020: “Music and the Divine: Introductory Remarks (MOISA Panel at the SCS Meeting in January 2019)” Greek and Roman Musical Studies 8.1: 91-96.
2019. “Sounds of War: What Brought the Walls of Jericho Down?” Greek and Roman Musical Studies 7.2: 250-269.
2018. “Christian Reception of the ‘New-Music’ Debate in the Church Fathers and Clement of Alexandria.” Greek and Roman Musical Studies 6.2: 359-378.
2017. “Is the Idea of ‘Musical Emotion’ Present in Antiquity?” Greek and Roman Musical Studies 5.1: 1-17.
2016. The Power and Value of Music. Its Effect and Ethos in Classical Authors and Contemporary Music Theory. Medieval Interventions: New Light on Traditional Thinking, vol. 1. New York/Frankfurt: Peter Lang. A video about this book can be watched here.
2013. “Effect and Ethos of Music in Greek and Roman Authors: Exposition and Evaluation.” Dissertation Thesis. Gainesville: University of Florida.
2008: “Demosthenes 21: Against Meideias — Construction and Deconstruction in Forensic Speech.” Published on academia.edu.
2008: “Slavery in the Athenian Democracy.” Published on academia.edu.
2000. “El ‘medio’ en Platón y en Aristóteles. Un acercamiento para redescubrir un principio filosófico.” Il Cannocchiale; 3/2000: 77-118. Accessible on academia.edu.
Translation guides and commentaries (published on academia.edu):
- Midas and the Golden Touch (Ovid, Met. XI, 85-145).
- The Harmony of the Spheres (Cicero, De re publica VI, 18-19).
- Catullus Carm. 1 and 31.
Miscellaneous Articles:
- The Historical Shakespeare. National Catholic Register, June 17, 2008.
- When the Angels Sing Along: What Pope Benedict hears when he listens to — or performs — his favorite compositions by Bach and Mozart. National Catholic Register, April 8, 2008.
- Benedict’s Mozart. National Catholic Register, September 18, 2007.
- Die Schönheit Jesu. Der Christ hat kein theoretisches Tugendideal vor Augen, sondern einen lebendigen Menschen. Vatican 1.5 (December 2006), 42-46.
- Christ on Mussel Silk. National Catholic Register, November 8, 2006.
- The Shakespeare Code. National Catholic Register, May 8, 2006.

Paper Presentations, Lectures, Panels:

“Integral Formation: From Fragmentation to Full Flourishing.” Lecture for the McGrath Institute for Church Life, University of Notre Dame, IN, on May 11, 2023.
“Hacia una fundamentación filosófica de la formación integral.” Paper presented on December 5, 2022, at the 1st Congress on Integral Formation in Digital Environments (1er Congreso de Formación Integral en entornos digitales) at the Anáhuac University, Mexico City.
“Cosmical Music or Musical Cosmos? The ‘Copernican Turn’ of Aristides Quintilianus.” Paper presented on June 29, 2022, at the 13th Annual Meeting of the MOISA Society at the University of Strasbourg, France.
“Transcendentals Reloaded – How Harmony Can Help.” Paper presented on May 21, 2022, at the Medieval Philosophy and Theology Conference, organized by the Jacques Maritain Center and the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, IN.
“Sing a New Song – A Jam Session With Music and Theology.” Paper presented on March 4, 2022, at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music at Mercer University, Macon, GA.
“Harmony and the Transcendentals: How a Trinitarian Understanding of Music Could Heal a Broken World.” Presentation given on February 26, 2021, for the Annual Meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music (virtual event).
“Musical Ethos: How Music Can Shape Character.” Lecture given on March 5, 2020, at the Scholar Hotel in Syracuse, sponsored by the Sacred Music Society of Syracuse, NY.
“Musical Ethos and Rhythm in Ancient Musical Thought” for a panel titled “On the Power of Music from Plato to Augustine: Ethos, Virtue, and the Temporal Structure of Desire,” on February 16, 2019, at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music at St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, Canada.
Organizer and presider for the MOISA panel titled “Music and the Divine” for the 56th Paper Session on Saturday, January 5, 2019, at the 150th Annual Meeting of the Society of Classical Studies in San Diego, CA.
“What Brought the Walls of Jericho Down?” for the MOISA panel on January 5, 2018, at the 149th Annual Meeting of the Society of Classical Studies in Boston, MA.
“Christian Reception of the ‘New Music’-Debate: Similarities and Differences in the Musical Criticism of the Church Fathers” on Sunday, July 30, 2017, at the 10th Annual Meeting of the MOISA Society at Jesus College, Oxford, UK.
“Sounds that Get You Moving: Philosophical and Psychological Considerations on Music and the Emotions” on September 8, 2016, at the International Theological Institute (ITI) in Trumau, Austria.
“Is the Idea of ‘Musical Emotion’ Present in Antiquity?” for the MOISA panel on January 7, 2016, at the 147th Annual Meeting of the Society of Classical Studies in San Francisco, CA.