22.12.2006
South African Lutheran Pastor Kistner Dies
South African Lutheran pastor Wolfram Kistner, died on 4 December aged 83. Kistner was well known for his role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.Born as the son of a German missionary in Hermannsburg, in what is now the South African province of KwaZulu Natal, Kistner studied history at the University of Pretoria and in the Netherlands. After receiving his doctorate, he studied theology in Germany.
Ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1952, Kistner served churches in South Africa and Germany, and directed the Hermannsburg mission school. Subsequently, he worked as a lecturer at the theological seminary of the then University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg.
He joined the South African Council of Churches in 1976 as director of the Division of Justice and Reconciliation. He remained in that post until his retirement in 1988, when he joined in the establishment of the Ecumenical Advice Bureau, which became an important resource in intensifying the struggle against apartheid.
In April this year, Kistner was awarded one of South Africa's highest awards, the presidential Order of the Baobab in Silver, in recognition of his "contribution to the fight for justice, equality and democracy in South Africa."(202 words)
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