Wilhelm Gass was a German theologian born in Breslau. He was the son of theologian Joachim Christian Gass (1766–1831).

He received his education in Breslau, Halle and Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, and as a student was influenced by the teachings of August Neander

August Neander

Johann August Wilhelm Neander , was a German theologian and church historian.-Biography:Neander was born at Göttingen as David Mendel. His father, Emmanuel Mendel, is said to have been a Jewish pedlar, but August adopted the name of Neander on his baptism as a Protestant Christian...

 (1789–1850). In 1846 he became an associate professor at the University of Breslau, and during the following year relocated to Greifswald, where in 1855 he achieved the title of professor ordinarius. In 1862 he was appointed professor of systematic theology

Systematic theology

In the context of Christianity, systematic theology is a discipline of Christian theology that attempts to formulate an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the Christian faith and beliefs...

 at the University of Giessen

University of Giessen

The University of Giessen is officially called the Justus Liebig University Giessen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.-History:The University of Gießen is among the oldest institutions of...

, and in 1868 moved to Heidelberg as a successor to Richard Rothe

Richard Rothe

Richard Rothe was a German Lutheran theologian.-Biography:Richard Rothe was born at Posen, then part of Prussia....

 (1799–1867).

His theological work largely dealt with the history of Protestant dogmatics, studies of the Greek Church during the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 and the history of Christian ethics

Christian ethics

The first recorded meeting on the topic of Christian ethics, after Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Great Commandment, and Great Commission , was the Council of Jerusalem , which is seen by most Christians as agreement that the New Covenant either abrogated or set aside at least some of the Old...

. Among his more important written works was the four-volume Geschichte der Lutherischen Dogmatik (History of Lutheran Dogmatics 1854-67), and an 1846 book on Georgius Calixtus and syncretism

Syncretism

Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...

called Georg Calixt und der Synkretismus. Other noted works by Wilhelm Gass include:

• Beiträge zur kirchlichen Litteratur und Dogmengeschichte des griechischen Mittelalters (1844–49, 2 volumes)
• Zur Geschichte der Athosklöster (1865)
• Die Lehre vom Gewissen (1869)
• Symbolik der griechischen Kirche (1872)
• Optimismus und Pessimismus. Der Gang der christlichen Welt- und Lebensansicht (1876)
• Geschichte der Ethik (1881, volume 1)