LAKELAND (Jan. 24, 2012) – Prof. Miroslav Volf, a scholar whose personal experiences of persecution have shaped his understanding and his writings about peace and reconciliation, will deliver the 2011-2012 Warren W. Willis Lecture in Religion at Florida Southern College.

Volf, the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale University Divinity School, will deliver the lecture at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 in the Hollis Room on the FSC campus. The title of his lecture is “Remembering Wrongs Rightly: On Memories of Victims and Perpetrators.” The lecture will mark a return to FSC for Volf, who delivered the 2007-2008 Willis Lecture.

Volf, a native of Croatia, is the son of a Pentecostal minister who refused compulsory military service under the former communist regime in Yugoslavia. His family endured hardships as a result, yet Volf has written extensively about the nature of forgiveness, reconciliation and peacemaking.

Volf studied under Jürgen Moltmann, the eminent German theologian, who was scheduled to deliver the Willis Lecture on Oct. 31 but was forced to cancel due to a family illness.

“We are excited about Miroslav Volf’s return to Florida Southern as the Willis Lecturer,” said W. Waite Willis, Jr., Edward J. Pendergrass Professor of Religion at FSC. “He is one of the most influential theologians of our time. Volf’s insights into conflict and reconciliation are much needed in today’s world of national and international tumult. It is appropriate that he is taking the place of Jürgen Moltmann, because Volf’s lecture was written in honor of Moltmann’s 85th birthday.”

About the Warren W. Willis Lecture… A long list of distinguished scholars has visited Florida Southern to deliver the Willis Lecture, including historian Martin Marty, theologian Stanley Hauerwas, and biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan. The lecture is made possible by a generous endowment in honor of the late Dr. Warren W. Willis, a longtime leader in youth work in the United Methodist Church.