Rev. Rodriguez to speak at D&E
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ELKINS -- Davis & Elkins College will host the Rev. Rubén Rosario Rodríguez for the annual William E. Phipps Religion & Philosophy Interdisciplinary Lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4 in Senate Commons inside the Myles Center for the Arts. The event is free and open to the public.
Rosario Rodríguez, professor of systematic theology and director of graduate programs at Saint Louis University, will present "Adventurers, Pirates, and the Inca Princess: Tracing the Reformed Presence in Colonial Latin America."
The lecture will explore the early presence of Protestantism in Latin America and the Caribbean, tracing its origins to the earliest period of European colonization in the 16th century. Among the examples is a French colony established in Brazil in 1555 that served as a refuge for persecuted Huguenots. Supported by the Reformed Church in Geneva under John Calvin's leadership, the colony challenges the assumption that evangelization in colonial Latin America was exclusively Roman Catholic.
Rosario Rodríguez also will examine the lesser-known role of piracy in spreading Protestantism throughout the region during the 16th and 17th centuries.
"D&E is fortunate to continue building on the excellent interdisciplinary conversations that Dr. Doug Ottati and Dr. Anne Marie Mingo have brought to campus for the past two years," said Dr. Franklin Tanner Capps, D&E's Benfield-Vick chaplain. "Dr. Rosario is a fantastic scholar who embodies the very best of what the Phipps Lecture represents for a Presbyterian Church (USA) institution like ours."
"We are delighted that the Reverend Rubén Rosario Rodriguez will be this year's lecturer at the William E. Phipps lecture series," said Anna Phipps Engh, daughter of William Phipps. "His perspective on the history of Protestantism in Latin American and the Caribbean and the role of piracy would have been of great interest to Dr. Phipps, who taught D&E students for many years about world religions and their origins. The intriguing topic of Dr. Rodriguez's lecture aligns well with Dr. Phipps' passion for questioning myths about religion and inviting vibrant dialogue on theological subjects."
The annual lecture bears the name of William E. Phipps, who taught religion and philosophy at Davis & Elkins College.