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A Statement From Dean William A. Graham
Posted: April 16, 2008
Krister Stendahl was so good at everything he did, and he did so
much, that it is hard to know how, in a few sentences, to do any justice
to his luminous life and work.
I knew him first when I was a Faculty of Arts and Sciences graduate
student taking one of his New Testament courses. I had never before—nor
have since—heard a better set of lectures, or worked with a better
interpreter of texts. In the time since I joined the Divinity School as
its Dean, six years ago, Krister was constant in his support, sage
advice, kind encouragement, and active participation in HDS life.
As HDS Dean a generation ago, Krister helped to turn student protest
into real change. The creation of a fellows program for women's studies
in religion, for example, brought gender issues into the study of
religion and ended up doing much to create a whole new field of study
that is a strength of the Divinity School today. And Krister's
dedication to scholarship and activism that fought Christian
anti-Semitism, as well as his encouragement of the study of
non-Christian traditions globally, was unwavering.
Krister Stendahl was remarkable to the end for the quality of his
scholar's mind and for his ever-humane response to issues of justice in
the world. We shall miss him at every turn.
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