The question was asked: Who was Jaroslav Pelikan, and why does his work remain so important for serious Christian scholarship today?
First Things published this essay of Timothy George, “The Legacy of Jaroslav Pelikan”: http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/01/jesus-on-safari
Pelikan was a seminal and inviting thinker. He did his work as a ministry and not merely making his academic career and name known. Faith and reason had a great proponent in JP. Thanks to Timothy George for a fine essay!
Dr George writes: “Jaroslav Pelikan had a love for all things human and humane, and his work still enrichs every person who looks at the world with intellectual curiosity and moral imagination. But his legacy shines especially bright among those who follow Jesus Christ, belong to his church, and see the world through the eyes of the Savior’s love.”
I seem to have been a drawn to what Jaroslav Pelikan did for the Christian faith, particularly my Catholic faith. On a personal note, Dr Pelikan is buried here in New Haven at the famed Grove Street Cemetery. Periodically, I pass by his grave to pray for him. May God grant him mercy!