Federico José Pagura (February 9, 1923 – June 6, 2016) was an Argentine religious leader and champion of

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. He was born on February 9, 1923, in Arroyo Seco, Santa Fe,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Converted to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

in his adolescence, became a normal school teacher and graduated from the Facultad Evangélica de Teología in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. He did post-graduate studies in the United States and was ordained a Methodist pastor in 1950. Pagura was elected

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

at the final session of the

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Central Conference of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

in 1969 and served as Methodist bishop of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

until 1973. Returning to Argentina and to seminary teaching, he distinguished himself as a champion of human rights and

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

. Pagura served as president of the Latin American Council of Churches (1972–92). He helped refugees from the political persecution in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

after the 1973 coup that brought

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

to power. He was subsequently one of the founders of the Ecumenical Movement for Human Rights in 1976. During the Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983), Bishop Pagura joined in the silent vigils of the

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo () is an Argentina, Argentine human rights association formed in response to abuses by the National Reorganization Process, the military dictatorship by Jorge Rafael Videla. Initially the association worked to find ...

to protest the abduction of thousands of children. Pagura was elected Bishop of The Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina and served from 1977 to 1989. In 1998, he was elected to a six-year term as one of 10 co-presidents of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

. He has retained the title of Methodist Bishop Emeritus. Interested in poetry and music since his adolescence, he was the president of the editorial committee which published in 1962 an interdenominational hymnal, ''Cántico Nuevo'', for which he contributed 77 Spanish translations of hymns together with 5 original hymns. He has many written positive tangos, as opposed the fatalistalism characteristic of the genre, which speak of life and the Gospel, such as the tango ''Tenemos Esperanza'' (1979), which is emblematic of the trend among Argentine Christians to adapt popular music for religious purposes. In 2003, the Argentine Congress included Bishop Pagura in their list of "Most Noteworthy" of the country. He died on 6 June 2016 at the age of 93.Condolences on the death of Federico Pagura
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pagura, Federico Jose 1923 births 2016 deaths Argentine United Methodist bishops Converts to Methodism Argentine Methodist hymnwriters Argentine human rights activists People from Rosario Department Argentine expatriates in the United States

See also

References