author
K. A. Heinrich (Karl Adam Heinrich) Kellner
1837–1915
A German Catholic priest and scholar, he wrote with a careful historian’s eye about early Christianity, church festivals, and the lives of Jesus and the apostles. His best-known work, Heortology, helped bring the history of the Christian year to a wider English-speaking audience.
1 Audiobook
Heortology : A history of the Christian festivals from their origin to the present day
by K. A. Heinrich (Karl Adam Heinrich) Kellner
About the author
Born in Heiligenstadt on August 26, 1837, Karl Adam Heinrich Kellner became a Roman Catholic priest, theologian, and university professor. He taught church history and pastoral theology at the University of Bonn, and his work reflects both deep religious learning and a strong interest in how Christian tradition developed over time.
Kellner wrote on a range of historical and theological subjects, including early Christianity, Tertullian, the chronology of the apostolic age, and the history of popular education. He is especially remembered for Heortologie, later translated into English as Heortology: A History of the Christian Festivals from Their Origin to the Present Day, a detailed study of the church year and saints’ feasts.
He died in Bonn on February 6, 1915. Though not widely known outside specialist circles today, his books remain useful for readers interested in liturgy, church history, and the long development of Christian observances.