The Passing of a Person of Influence

15 May 2006

I haven’t been able to get the passing of Jaroslav Pelikan out of my mind. Dr. Pelikan fell asleep in the Lord this past Saturday afternoon. He was a former Lutheran pastor / educator who converted (although that is not a word he would have used) to Orthodoxy in 1998 and is generally recognized as one of the greatest church historians of this age. Some of his accomplishments include the translation of almost half of the collection of Luthers Works and a series of books on church history. Just last week I started reading one of his latest books, Whose Bible is it?

I didn’t come to Orthodoxy on my own. There were several points of influence along my journey but without a doubt the first point was Jaroslav Pelikan. I was a serious student of Lutheranism and a new student of church history. I had the collection of Luther’s Works on CD and the first two books of the Pelikan series on my book shelf, in addition to his book, Jesus Through the Centuries. I had heard of Dr. Pelikan’s reputation as a church historian and I was proud that such a renowned church historian was Lutheran. And then I learned that truth…that about 4 years prior Pelikan had converted to Orthodoxy.

In the course of my journey I developed a kind of stomach ailment. Every time I thought about something in Lutheranism that didn’t seem quite right my stomach would contract in a tight, painful knot. At its worst the ailment included feelings of intense anxiety and even something similar to dry heaves. But initially just the tight knot…and this is exactly what I felt when I learned about Pelikan’s conversion. Pelikan knew more about Luther and the Lutheran church than I ever would and he knew more about Church history than I ever would and he chose Orthodoxy? What did he know that I didn’t…that I couldn’t?

I looked everywhere for information to try to understand “why” but Pelikan never went public with a full story. (I understand there may be some personal information in this new book, Orthodox and Western Culture: A Collection of Essays Honoring Jaroslav Pelikan, which I will be ordering this week.)

When I deliberately started putting one foot in front of the other as I took my first steps East, I did so with the assurance that someone like Jaroslav Pelikan had gone before me. I wasn’t merely at the mercy of my own hormone induced midlife whims. I took much comfort in knowing that if Pelikan could do this, it must not be such a crazy thing.

There were other influences…some people who know that they have influenced my journey, some, like Pelikan, who do not. But Pelikan was the first. He will always hold a special place in my heart.

May his memory be eternal!