Zagreb, July 18, 1999 (IKA) – On Thursday, July 15, in Zagreb, Dr. Vlado Ladislav Deutsch, the bishop of the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia, died, according to a statement issued July 17 by the Zagreb Municipality of the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia.
Bishop Vlado Ladislav Deutsch was born in Legrad on July 3, 1929. Following secondary school in Murska Sobota, he studied at the school of theology in Göttingen and graduated from the school of theology in Vienna. He received a doctorate from the school of theology in Bratislava, with a dissertation on the Croatian reformer and scholar Matija Vlačić Ilirik. After first serving as a priest in Slovenia, in 1960 Dr. Deutsch became the parish priest of the Evangelical Church in Zagreb. He was selected as the senior of the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Vojvodina, and subsequently as the bishop of the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia. He was one of the founders of the Matija Vlačić Ilirik School of Theology in Zagreb, where he served for many years as the dean and professor of domagtics and Church history. Bishop Deutsch was a member of many theological and philosophical societies, in which he supported ecumenicism and understanding among the Christian churches and communities, as well as dialogue with other religious communities. Bishop Deutsch was a guest lecturer at many universities, including the Sorbonne, Upsala, Mannheim, Ljubljana etc. The official statement also mentions that Bishop Deutsch was one of the first initiators and champions of ecumenicism in the Croatian territories. He was a recognized humanitarian and served as the intermediary for humanitarian donations to the Republic of Croatia, particularly for hospitals.
The funeral service for the late bishop of the Evangelical Church. Dr. Vlado Ladislav Deutsch, will be held at the Evangelical Church of Christ the King in Zagreb on Sunday, July 25, 1999, at 10 a.m. The official statement was signed by the diocesan priest, Andrijas Lukša; the president of the Diocesan Synod, Branko Berić; and the presbyter, Enes Nidžić.