Dr. H. Armin Moellering, an associate professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary from 1978 until his retirement in 1990, died Sunday, July 26, at his home in Olivette, following a brief illness. He was 79 years old.
Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Kriegshauser Mortuary West, 9450 Olive Blvd., on Wednesday, July 29. The funeral will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 30, at The Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus, on the Seminary campus in Clayton, with interment following at Our Redeemer Cemetery in Affton, MO. The officiant and preacher for the service is the Rev. Prof. Richard Warneck of the Seminary faculty.
Moellering was born April 20, 1919, in Arapahoe, Neb., the son and grandson of LCMS pastors. He attended St. John’s College in Winfield, Kan. He received his bachelor of arts degree in 1944 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and his master of divinity degree in 1948 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
Moellering received a masters degree from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Tex. (1949); and a Ph.D. from Columbia University, New York (1962). He also received an honorary doctorate from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1991.
He was the pastor of Lutheran churches in Evansville, Ind. (1944); Omaha, Neb. (1945-46); Grand Prairie, Tex. (1946-49); and Palisades Park, N.J. (1949-78); before joining the Seminary faculty.
Moellering was also a widely-known author in the church. He wrote Plutarch on Superstition (Christopher Publishing House, Boston, 1963) and Concordia Commentary-The Pastoral Epistles (Concordia Publishing House, 1970), as well as numerous articles for the Concordia Journal, The Lutheran Witness, and other church and professional journals.
He authored a preliminary study for the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) on the doctrine of the ministry and presented it to the Council of Presidents and joint seminary faculties in March 1978. He pursued an ongoing study project, “Art and Gospel Proclamation” under several grants from AAL.
At various times he served on several Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod boards and committees. He was a member of the CTCR Hermeneutics Study Subcommittee (1966-70); a member of the Exegetical Subcommittee, Commission on Church Literature (1969-72); a member of the Fact Finding Committee (1970-71); a member of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (1973-78); and a member of the Advisory Commission on Doctrine and Conciliation (1976-77).
He also served on a committee in Palisades Park, N.J., concerned with the problem of drug abuse among high school students.
Moellering was a member of the Canadian Classical Association, The Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature.
Among the survivors are his wife, Trudy (nee Haass) of St. Louis; a son, Stephen Moellering of Falls Church, Va.; and a daughter, Linda Soleta of St. Louis. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Stephanie Soleta, and Gretchen and Erik Moellering.
Memorials may be sent to Utility Health Hospice, 13645 Shoreline Dr., Earth City, MO 63045, or Concordia Seminary, 801 De Mun Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105.