Peter Joseph Elvenich (29 January 1796 – 16 June 1886) was a German Catholic theologian and philosopher born in Embken, a village that today is part of Nideggen, North Rhine-Westphalia.
He was a principal supporter and defender of Hermesianism, a theological belief system based on the teachings of Georg Hermes (1775–1831).
In 1829 he attained a full professorship at the University of Breslau, where in 1837 he took on additional duties as librarian.
[1] Following the papal decrees of 26 September 1835 and 7 January 1836, of which Pope Gregory XVI condemned writings issued by Georg Hermes, Elvenich, along with Johann Wilhelm Joseph Braun (1801–1863), traveled to Rome in order to the convince the Pope to revise the decrees of condemnation.
[2] In 1843 Elvenich was removed from his post in Breslau at the request of Johannes von Geissel, coadjutor to the Archbishop of Cologne.