Samuel H. Moffett

Samuel Hugh Moffett (April 7, 1916 – February 9, 2015)^[1] was Professor Emeritus at the Princeton Theological Seminary.^[2] He was well regarded as a leading scholar on Christianity in the Far East, and was the author of numerous publications, including multiple volumes of A History of Christianity in Asia.^[3]

Biography

Born and raised on the Korean Peninsula, Moffett's parents were missionaries in Pyongyang (now the capital of North Korea) when he was born in 1916. His father, Samuel Austin Moffett, lived and worked in Pyongyang from 1890 to 1936.^[4]

Moffett followed in his parents footsteps, both in his spiritual life and his regional work. After graduating from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1942, he began a career in the ministry, and later returned to Princeton as a faculty member at the Seminary from 1953–1955.^[5] In 1955, he and his new wife Eileen moved to South Korea to work as missionaries, beginning in the rural area of Andong.^[4] He remained a professor and dean of the graduate school with Princeton, and became the co-president of the Korean Presbyterian Seminary. While in Korea, he was appointed the director of the Asian Center for Theological Studies and Mission from 1974 to 1981. Following that, he returned to the campus of his alma mater as Professor of Ecumenics and Mission from 1981–1986.^[5]

Moffett died at his home in Princeton, New Jersey on February 9, 2015 at the age of 98.^[6]

References