Henryk Witczyk

Rev. Prof. Henryk Witczyk, born in 1955, is a leading Biblical theologian at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin’s Faculty of Theology, where he directs the Department of Biblical Theology and Protohistory. After completing his doctorate in Biblical Theology (1984) and habilitation (1997), he was appointed Associate Professor in 1999 and received presidential professorial nomination in 2004. He has led the Institute of Biblical Studies (2008-2016) and served as President of the Society of Polish Biblical Scholars (2013-2023).

• Doctorate in Biblical Theology (Pontifical Academy of Theology, Cracow, 1984)
• Habilitation in Biblical Theology (Catholic University of Lublin, 1997)

His research focuses on Biblical hermeneutics, inspiration and truth of Scripture, and Christian anthropology, with interdisciplinary connections to Qumranology and literary studies. He has organized major symposia on Scriptural inspiration and co-authored Pontifical Biblical Commission documents. His editorial leadership includes the Verbum Vitae journal (Scopus-indexed) and the Biblical Annals, both elevated to high MEiN rankings. Recent articles analyze Genesis’s ecological implications, Pauline theology, and Christian sexual ethics.

• 2004: Minister of National Education and Sport award for The Passover of Jesus as the Answer to the Sin of the World
• 2015: Rector of KUL’s Second-Degree Team Award

As a founding figure of the John Paul II Biblical Work in Poland (2005), Witczyk established nationwide initiatives like the International Autumn Bible Days (2006) and National Bible Reading (2017). He successfully advocated for ‘biblical studies’ as a standalone academic discipline in Poland (2022) and contributed to Vatican II’s Dei Verbum implementation.