Bishop David D. Daniels III, ecumenist who taught African, Pentecostal history, dies at 70

(RNS) — Bishop David D. Daniels III, a scholar and ecumenist who sought to build understanding of historical African and Black Pentecostal contributions to Christianity, has died at age 70.

Daniels, a professor of world Christianity and church history at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, died on Oct. 10 after a “courageous battle with cancer,” said the Rev. Eric Lewis Williams, director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School, who was Daniels’ colleague and former student.

The Rev. Maisha Handy, McCormick’s president, said her institution was “deeply enriched” by Daniels’ work and legacy. “His contributions to theological education are significant and timeless,” she said in a statement. “He will be missed by our village.”

Bishop J. Drew Sheard, the presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ, said in a statement that Daniels was “not only a tremendous individual in the Church of God in Christ but also an influential figure in the body of Christ.”

Sheard said Daniels’ “wisdom, scholarship, and unwavering dedication to the ministry made him one of the most astute and respected leaders among us. As a profound historian of the Church Of God In Christ, Bishop Daniels’ contributions to the preservation of our rich legacy are unparalleled.”

RELATED: Mother Mary P. Patterson, preserver of Church of God in Christ history, dies at 83

In his work, Daniels drew attention to individuals, such as the late Mother Mary P. Patterson, who preserved a sense of COGIC’s place in the United States. Patterson helped erect historical markers in the South that chronicle the denomination’s history. Daniels also highlighted the work of Sherry Sherrod DuPree, a former president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies whose Library of Congress collection includes 1930s issues of COGIC’s The Whole Truth newspaper.

Daniels, also a former SPS president, is himself known for fostering greater understanding of the denomination and other Pentecostal traditions in wider Christian circles.

“Daniels was very interested in getting Pentecostals engaged, especially Black Pentecostals, … in a number of the ecumenical dialogues,” said Williams, reached as he arrived in Switzerland for a joint consultation with leaders of the global Pentecostal movement and the World Council of Churches. “But the work was so much that he would begin to get others from the tradition engaged.”

The Chicago seminary noted that Daniels’ contributions included lecturing widely, while remaining committed to his colleagues and students in academia.

“Devastated to hear of the passing of someone who was a scholar, teacher, and mentor for so many: Bishop Dr. David D. Daniels, III,” said the Rev. Yolanda Pierce, dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School, on the social media platform X. “A loss for (the Church of God in Christ), McCormick, and so many other institutions.”

In a 2017 column published in the (Memphis) Commercial Appeal, Daniels critiqued celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation that year that often occurred “without any reference to African Christians.” In that essay, Daniels wrote about reformer Martin Luther’s interest in the Christians of Ethiopia.

“The revelation that Ethiopian Christianity possibly had links to Protestant Reformation is a game-changer for what is generally thought to be an exclusively European phenomenon,” Daniels wrote. “The admission that this cross-cultural global exchange between Africa and Europe shaped early Protestantism disrupts the narrative that the Reformation was solely the product of western civilization.”

The Rev. Iva Carruthers, general secretary of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, described Daniels’ scholarship as “brilliant” in a statement, noting his “extensive” writings will continue his teaching.

“Dr. Daniels was able to open the closed doors of truth that had long hidden the primary place of Africans in the history and development of Christianity,” she stated. “He has left us too soon. The world still needs to know more about the African presence in the Bible and the African influence on what we practice today as Christians.”

The consecration of Daniels, the former president of the COGIC Education Department, as a bishop was an unusual action by denominational leaders since he had not held a pastoral role.

“They recognized the significance of what he brought to the office,” said Williams. “It wasn’t because of what the office brought to him. It was because of what he brought to the office.”

RELATED: Pentecostals leading Democrats’ faith outreach