Johann Christoph Arnold
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Johann Christoph Arnold | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 14, 1940 England |
| Died | April 15, 2017 |
| Occupation | Pastor |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British-American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Subjects | Conflict resolution Death anxiety Marriage Parenting |
| Spouse | Verena Arnold |
| Relatives | Eberhard Arnold (grandfather) |
Johann Christoph Arnold (November 14, 1940 – April 15, 2017)[1] was a Christian writer[2] and pastor. He was the elder of the Bruderhof Communities between 1983 and 2001.[3][4] Arnold authored 12 books.[5]
Arnold is the son of Annemarie (née Wachter) and Johann Heinrich Arnold (1913–1982), and grandson of Eberhard Arnold (1883–1935), who co-founded the Bruderhof Communities in 1920.[6] Arnold was born in the Cotswolds, where the Bruderhof fled from Nazi Germany. He traveled with his parents to Paraguay but then moved to New York in 1954.[7] He lived in Rifton, New York, until his death in 2017.[8] On May 22, 1966, he married Verena Meier with whom he had eight children.
Arnold helped found Breaking the Cycle of Violence, a conflict resolution program in the wake of the Columbine high school massacre.[9] Through the program he spoke to school students and adults about the importance of forgiveness in the US, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Rwanda and other places.[10] He traveled and spoke extensively with Steven McDonald, a US police officer who was shot and paralyzed, and who contributed to Arnold's book on forgiveness.[11]
Arnold had a wide circle of friends and co-workers. On September 11, 2017, an event was held in New York City to commemorate his life. Speakers at the event included First Things editor R. R. Reno, veteran civil rights activist John M. Perkins, Professor Robert P. George of Princeton University, and others.[12]
