Yearbook 2002 - Obituaries

YEARBOOK 2002:
OBITUARIES

The saints who joined the church triumphant in 2001 included leaders whose lives and witness had contributed significantly to the Christian movement of the 20th century and suggested new directions for the faithful:

Robert McAfee Brown, teacher, author, and champion of dialogue and liberation theology, died at age 81 on 4 September. A Presbyterian theologian, his academic career included professorships at Stanford University in California and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. A Protestant observer at the Second Vatican Council, he was author and co-author of books encouraging dialogue and cooperation in mission among Protestants and Catholics. Invited to speak at the WCC's fifth assembly in Nairobi, he delivered the address, "Who Is This Jesus Christ Who Frees and Unites?" As writer and lecturer, Brown was instrumental in introducing liberation theology to church members in the USA. Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel paid this tribute to Brown, "In the 20th century, in the religious quest for meaning and redemption, few have been his peers."

Harry de Lange, an ecumenical leader and theologian from the Netherlands, died at the age of 83 on 27 September. For many years a board member of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey in Switzerland, he retained membership on the WCC's working committee on church and society from 1954 until his retirement. In retirement, de Lange concentrated on the issue of justice in developed Western societies.

Gerhard Ebeling, a student of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's at Finkenwalde and later a founder of "the new hermeneutics", died on 30 September at the age of 89. A member of the Confessing Church during the Nazi era, he was persuaded by Bonhoeffer to pursue doctoral studies in theology at the University of Zürich. He later served as a professor at Tübingen and Zürich.

Carl F. Hallencreutz, a pioneering figure of interfaith dialogue, died on 18 March. A member of the Church of Sweden, he served as a professor on the theological faculty in Uppsala and for several years taught at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. He was an authority on religious symbolism and cross-cultural mission.

Bola Ige, a founder of the WCC's Programme to Combat Racism in the 1970s, was assassinated in mysterious circumstances on 23 December at the age of 71. A Nigerian layman from Yorubaland in the west of his country, Ige spent much of his early life in the northern reaches of Nigeria. Following legal training in London, he served in a number of government posts, though the turbulent politics of his times often left him out of favour and at least once in detention. He criticized the imposition of Muslim sharia (religious law) in the north and became a controversial figure in Yoruba politics. At the time of his murder, Ige was serving as attorney general in the Obasanjo government.

David J. Mandeng, former general secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, died on 21 January at the age of 75. A graduate of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Temple University, Mandeng became a professor of African studies in the USA and then of Christian theology and history in Zaire. Following four years as general secretary of his church, he held the same position from 1992 to 1993 in the Federation of Evangelical Churches and Missions of Cameroon (FEMEC). From 1991 to 1998, he served as a member of the central committee of the WCC and was on the planning committee for the 8th assembly of the WCC in Harare.

Maria Teresa Porcile-Santiso, a Catholic theologian active in ecumenical dialogue, died at age 58 on 18 June. A native of Uruguay, she became a professor of philosophy in Montevideo following doctoral studies at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Aruna Gnanadason of the WCC said that Porcile-Santiso "won our gratitude for the lively theological spirit she brought into our discussions".

Ioannis Romanides, an Orthodox priest and theologian who was a member of the WCC's central committee, died in Athens on 1 November at the age of 75. He had been involved in the WCC from its founding and was active on its governing bodies and working committees over five decades. Father Romanides devoted his energy to the cause of Christian unity throughout his career and held a wide variety of positions in his church and the ecumenical movement. He made substantive contributions in the field of inter-religious dialogue.

Stanley J. Samartha, the first director of the WCC's sub-unit on Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies, died in Bangalore, India, on 23 July at age 81. He was well respected for entering inter-religious dialogue with humility and sensitivity while also remaining faithful to his Christian faith. A member of the Church of South India, Samartha taught at Karnataka Theological College in Mangalore, Serampore College in Calcutta and the United Theological College in Bangalore.

Howard Schomer, a former president of Chicago Theological Seminary and expert in international affairs, died on 28 June at the age of 86. While engaged in post-war relief work in Europe, Schomer together with his wife Elsie established an ecumenical retreat centre at Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France. As a special assistant to the United Nations in 1948, he was involved in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition to his academic career as a missiologist, he served in various staff and governing body positions in the United Church of Christ, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and the WCC.

Ralph Teinaore, general secretary of the Evangelical Church of French Polynesia, died in April at the age of 47. Teinaore, who served the Pacific Conference of Churches in multiple capacities, was recalled by President Diana Tere of Tahiti as "a person of respect, courtesy and faith". WCC general secretary Konrad Raiser spoke of his "untiring commitment to the church" and "his leadership in the campaign against the resumption of nuclear testing in French Polynesia".

T.K. Thomas, a former staff member of WCC Publications, died in Madras at the age of 76 on 25 October. "T.K." was a theologian belonging to the Mar Thoma Church who translated its communion liturgy from Malayalam into an English version now used by congregations around the world. He was associated with the Christian Literature Society in Madras and with the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society in Bangalore. For ten years, Thomas served as an editor in the publications department of the World Council of Churches.

Archbishop Victorin, who led the Romanian Orthodox churches of the USA and Canada over a period of 35 years, died on 16 July at the age of 88. A native of Romania, he represented his church in Jerusalem for the decade following the second world war. In 1956, he went to North America. He was much appreciated for the active role he played as a member of the pan-Orthodox Standing Conference of Canonical Bishops in America.