Appointment of Dr. Igor Lorencin as Professor of New Testament Studies

At the festive anniversary event ‘125 Years Friedensau’ on 19 November 2024, the Rector of Friedensau Adventist University (FAU), Prof. Roland Fischer, presented his colleague Dr. Igor Lorencin with the certificate of appointment as Professor of New Testament. Prof. Dr. Igor Lorencin has been teaching New Testament at the university's School of Theology since 2015. He habilitated in 2024 at the Debreceni Református Hittudományi Egyetem (Debrecen Reformed Theological University) in Hungary.

Igor Lorencin was born in 1973 in Sisak (Croatia). He graduated from high school in Belgrade in 1992. His academic CV is international and begins with his theological studies in Germany, which he completed from 1994 to 1999 at Friedensau Adventist University and graduated with a diploma. He then continued his studies in the USA at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. There he wrote his dissertation on ‘Hospitality Versus Patronage: An Investigation of Social Dynamics in the Third Epistle of John’. This earned him a Philosophical Doctorate (Ph.D.).

He gained practical experience as a pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Elk Grove Village, Chicago (Illinois, USA) from 2003 to 2007. He was then called to Zagreb (Croatia) as a senior pastor and from 2007 to 2011 also took on additional duties as a lecturer in Maruševec (Croatia) and Belgrade (Serbia) at the respective Adventist Theological Colleges. From 2011 to 2013, he was vice dean at the Adriatic Union College in Maruševec (Croatia) and dean from 2012 to 2015. In 2015, he was appointed lecturer for New Testament at Friedensau Adventist University. He completed his habilitation on the topic of ‘Expectation and ritualised hope of the early church: The supporting role of Christian rituals in the course of the parousia delay’ at the Debrecen Reformed Theological University. This paved the way for his application for a professorship in New Testament Studies, which he successfully completed. The list of his academic publications is diverse and can be found on the university website: https://www.thh-friedensau.de/mitarbeiter/igor-lorencin/

His expertise in research and teaching relates to the New Testament books, in particular the book of ‘Revelation’, and to New Testament Greek – he teaches these subjects at the university. Igor Lorencin is an ordained pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He passes on his research findings and experience in Adventist churches throughout Germany. He lives with his wife Milana on the university campus in Friedensau (Text: Andrea Cramer).