In Memoriam Revd Dr William Rusch

On 16 January 2025, the Lutheran Pastor, Dr William Rusch, passed away. The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity joins his family and all who mourn his passing in prayer for Christian consolation.

Dr Rusch was instrumental in fostering Catholic–Lutheran relations and in advancing the reception of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification through his writings, teaching, and conferences, including those at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute (Jerusalem), the Angelicum University (Rome), and Yale Divinity School.

He was the director of the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches in the USA and served on the Standing Commission and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, as well as on the Lutheran–Episcopal and Lutheran–Roman Catholic dialogues in the United States.

Requiescat in pace.