March 4, 2008

GENEVA – Leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) have paid tribute to the ecumenical legacy of Rev. Dr William H. Lazareth, former bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), who died from illness on 23 February, aged 79.

"A most eloquent voice in witness to the gospel is now silent," said LWF President and ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson. He noted Lazareth's ecclesial, theological and ecumenical legacy "will bless the people of the Church for generations to come."

LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko described the former ELCA bishop as one of the Lutheran communion's "outstanding contributions to the ecumenical movement."

Lazareth was co-president of the Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue, 1991 to 2002, and director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission from 1980 to 1983.

The LWF leaders praised his role in the drafting of the document "Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry" (BEM), with Hanson describing it as "one of the most influential documents of the 20th century [which] continues to shape theological dialogue in the quest for deeper church-to-church relationships."

Lazareth's work on the WCC commission and the BEM document "will be a lasting tribute to his theological clarity and passion for the unity of Christ's Church," Noko added.

After working for three years with the WCC Faith and Order Commission, Lazareth served as a pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, New York, from 1983 to 1987, and was visiting professor of the Union Theological Seminary, New York, from 1987 to 1996. He was elected bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod in 1988 and served until his retirement from active ministry in 1992. From 1996 to 2003, he was a member of the executive staff, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, and a visiting professor at Princeton University. At the time of his death, he was serving as Jerald C. Brauer Distinguished Professor of Lutheran Studies at Carthage College Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Ordained in 1956, Lazareth earned a doctorate in doctrinal theology from Columbia University – Union Theological Seminary, New York, in 1958. He earned a master of divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 1953, and a bachelor's degree in history from Princeton University in 1948.

He is survived by his wife Jacqueline and three children.

Lutheran World Information
With contribution from ELCA News Service