Eric W. Gritsch
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Eric W. Gritsch (originally ''Erich Walter Gritsch'', April 19, 1931,
Neuhaus am Klausenbach Neuhaus am Klausenbach ( hu, Vasdobra, Vas-Dobra, sl, Dobra) is a town in the district of Jennersdorf in the Austrian state of Burgenland. Geography Cadastral communities A cadastral community or cadastral municipality, is a cadastral subdivisio ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
- December 29, 2012,
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,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
) was an American
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
theologian and
Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...
scholar.


Early life and student years

Gritsch was raised in a Lutheran pastor's family in
Bernstein im Burgenland Bernstein ( hu, Borostyánkő) is a municipality in Burgenland in the district Oberwart in Austria. Geography Parts of the municipality are Dreihütten, Redlschlag, Rettenbach, and Stuben. Population Politics Of the 23 positions on the munici ...
in Austria. His family was deeply affected by the ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
'' and the Second World War. His father died on a death march as a Russian prisoner of war, but Gritsch himself, who had been drafted into a
Werwolf ''Werwolf'' (, German for "werewolf") was a Nazi plan which began development in 1944, to create a resistance force which would operate behind enemy lines as the Allies advanced through Germany, in parallel with the ''Wehrmacht'' fighting in f ...
group, escaped capture by posing as a
gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
boy. He returned to Bernstein and graduated with
Matura or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...
in 1950. The same year, he matriculated at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
to study Protestant theology. In 1954 he received a
Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
and came to
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
for the academic year 1954/55. After going back to Austria to complete his ministerial training, he immigrated to the United States in 1957, initially for doctoral studies with Roland H. Bainton. His thesis was on
Thomas Müntzer Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer w ...
, the radical reformer.


Career

Gritsch's first teaching position was at
Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
from 1959 to 1961. In 1961, he was called to
Gettysburg Seminary The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Gettysburg Seminary) was a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was one of seven ELCA seminaries, one of the three seminaries in the Eastern ...
, where he taught Church History and Reformation Studies until his retirement in 1994. In 1970, he became the first director of the seminary's Institute for Luther Studies and responsible for the series of scholarly conferences at Gettysburg known as ''Martin Luther Colloquy.'' Since his early days in Gettysburg, he was active in the Christian-Jewish dialog. The
Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...
made him a board member of its Institute for Ecumenical Research in
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, and for the ELCA he was a member of the American Lutheran-Catholic Dialog Commission (1971–1992). He also served on the board of the Lajos-Ordass-Foundation. Together with
Robert Jenson Robert William Jenson (August 2, 1930 – September 5, 2017) was a leading American Lutheran and ecumenical theologian. Prior to his retirement in 2007, he spent seven years as the director of the Center for Theological Inquiry at Princeton Theol ...
, he produced ''Lutheranism. The Theological Movement and Its Confessional Writings'', a widely used resource book. Gritsch was part of a team that translated and edited the American edition of Luther's works. Assisted by his wife Ruth (1931–2009), he translated and edited vols. 39 and 41. He also cooperated on the translation and edition of the
Book of Concord ''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since t ...
(
Kolb Kolb may refer to: * Kolb (surname), a German surname * Kolb, Wisconsin, United States, an unincorporated community * Kolb Aircraft Company, an American aircraft manufacturer * Kolb Studio, a historic structure in Grand Canyon Village, Arizona, U ...
/ Wengert edition).Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, eds. and trans., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000


Later years

In retirement, Gritsch lived in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
with his wife Bonnie. He remained active as lecturer and teacher. From 1995 to 2005, he taught at the Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary’s University in Baltimore. At the Melanchthon Institute in
Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
he held an endowed chair named in his honor in 2000. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church and director of its ''Zion Forum for German Culture''. His latest major works were a history of Lutheranism and his autobiography ''The Boy from the Burgenland. From Hitler Youth to Seminary Professor'', which also contains a number of his articles.


Works

* ''Reformer Without a Church. The Life and Thought of Thomas Müntzer (1488?-1525).'' Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967. * (with Robert W. Jenson) ''Lutheranism. The Theological Movement and Its Confessional Writings.'' Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976. * ''Born Againism. Perspectives on a Movement.'' Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982. * ''Martin - God’s Court Jester. Luther in Retrospect.'' Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983. * ''Thomas Müntzer. A Tragedy of Errors.'' Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989. * ''Fortress Introduction to Lutheranism.'' Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994. : Hungarian Edition: ''Lutheranizmus.'' udapest Magyarországi Luther Szövetség, 2000 * ''A History of Lutheranism.'' Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. * ''A Handbook for Christian Life in the 21st Century.'' Dehli, NY: American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, 2005. * ''The Wit of Martin Luther.'' Facet Book. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006. * ''The Boy from the Burgenland. From Hitler Youth to Seminary Professor.'' West Conshohocken, PA: Infinity Publishing Company, 2006. * ''Toxic Spirituality. Enduring Temptations of Christian Faith.'' Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009. * ''Martin Luther's Anti-Semitism: Against His Better Judgement.'' Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012 * ''Good Friday's Good News: Meditations for the Mean Meantime.'' Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2014.


References


External links


Zion Lutheran Church

Augsburg Fortress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gritsch, Eric W. American Lutherans American Lutheran theologians American people of Austrian descent Austrian Lutherans Austrian Protestant theologians People from Jennersdorf District 20th-century Protestant theologians 1931 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Lutherans