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The Evangelical Church of the River Plate, Waldensian Church of the River Plate, Church of the Disciples of Christ, United Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina signed the letter of intent as a precursor to a more formal agreement to reopen the collection for students in humanities and religious sciences, as well as to the general public.
The proposal has been articulated by the churches that constitute the Ecumenical Network of Theological Education (REET).
The collection, which is both bibliographic and documentary, was formerly housed in the library of the Superior Evangelical Institute of Theological Studies (ISEDET), one of Latin America’s leading ecumenical theological institutes, which closed in 2015.
For Pastor Leonardo Schindler, president of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate, “the signing of this letter of intent is an important step in order to recover a heritage that is not your own but is a historical legacy of enormous value.”
He added: “To recover this historic library and to put it at the service of the development of the theological and humanistic education is an enormous contribution that we as historical churches—heirs of Protestant and Evangelical Reformation—make in favor of public education.”
Methodist Bishop Américo Jara Reyes said: “We are pleased with the progress made and we pray that the project will soon become a reality, that it capitalizes on this wealth inside and outside the churches in the service of research and thought production.”
Prof. Elvira Romera of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina, a retired university professor and widow of David Arceute, who for many years was director of the ISEDET library, said: “This library is well known in Latin America, and also in the academic environment of Argentina. I am glad that the former students have valued this treasure, and that it will be of absolute service to the churches and to the people in general.”
WCC member churches in Argentina
Learn more about the work of the WCC on Ecumenical Theological Education
