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DALLAS (SMU) – Perkins School of Theology at ÃÛÌÒ½´Methodist University welcomes the Rev. Dr. Medardo Gomez, Bishop of the Lutheran Church of El Salvador, as guest preacher for a worship service honoring the memory of Archbishop Oscar Romero on Wednesday, March 25, at 11:30 a.m. in Perkins Chapel.

Bishop Medardo Gomez (right) at a baptism in El Salvador with Perkins Professor Harold (Hal) Recinos (second from left)

At 7:00 p.m. March 24, Bishop Gomez will also present a public lecture in Room 106 of Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall, in conjunction with the Embrey Human Rights Program at SMU’s Dedman College.

Bishop Gomez’s commitment to defending human rights in El Salvador has made him a repeat nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. During the Salvadoran Civil War, Bishop Gomez received numerous death threats and was detained and tortured. According to Bishop Gomez, the persecution of the Salvadoran Lutheran Church stirred him to greater faith in the power of the gospel of peace, and to a deeper public engagement of the church in favor of the poor. Today, in different conditions, Bishop Gomez continues to lead the church as it speaks for the voiceless people of society.

Bishop Gomez earned his Bachelor’s degree in Science and Letters at Colegio Oriental in San Miguel, El Salvador, before earning a theology degree at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores y Seminario Luterano Augsburgo in Mexico City. Honorary degrees conferred on Bishop Gomez include the Doctor of Divinity from Lutheran Trinity Seminary in Ohio (1984), Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania (1993), and Christian Theological Seminary in Indiana (2008), as well as the Doctor of Humanities from Augsburg College in Minnesota (2008).

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Bishop Gomez has presided over the Lutheran Synod in El Salvador since his consecration as bishop in 1986. Additionally, he holds the office of Presidente, Iglesias Luteranas en Centroamérica y Panamá (President, Lutheran Churches in Central America and Panama). He has received numerous awards and honors for his commitment to human rights, and has led several human rights organizations across Central and South America. He was also the founder and rector of Universidad Luterana Salvadoreña (Lutheran Salvadoran University) in San Salvador.

Sponsors for Bishop Gomez’s visit, which is funded in part by the , include: the Center for the Study of Latino/a Christianity and Religions at Perkins School of Theology; the ; and L@s Seminaristas at Perkins School of Theology.

For more information about Bishop Gomez, contact Dr. Harold Recinos, Professor of Church and Society at Perkins School of Theology, hrecinos@smu.edu, 214.768.1773. For a map of the ÃÛÌÒ½´campus, visit smu.edu/maps. 

Perkins School of Theology, founded in 1911, is one of five official University-related schools of theology of . Degree programs include the Master of Divinity, Master of Sacred Music, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Arts in Ministry, and Doctor of Ministry, as well as the Ph.D., in cooperation with The Graduate Program in Religious Studies at SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.