Petrus Diergaardt

Petrus Diergaardt (* 1935 ; † October 24, 2006 in Windhoek ) was a Namibian Evangelical Lutheran theologian . From 1995 to 2001 he was bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), the second largest Evangelical Lutheran church in Namibia with around 350,000 members .

Diergaardt has been pastor of various Evangelical Lutheran congregations in Namibia since the 1960s . His theological convictions and his commitment to humanity brought him into conflict with the South African colonial rulers and the apartheid regime on several occasions. In 1980 he was elected General Secretary of the ELRCN. He held this office until he was elected Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia in 1995.

Diergaardt's tenure as bishop was marked on the one hand by internal church disputes as well as ethnic and personal conflicts that have burdened the ELCRN since the failed bishopric election in 1993. On the other hand, under Diergaardt's leadership there was an increasing openness between the three Lutheran churches of Namibia. Diergaardt spoke out several times in favor of the formation of a United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia.

In 1999, under the leadership of Bishop Diergaardt, the ELCRN concluded its extensive AIDS program, which was finally able to start work in July 2001. His successor in the episcopate was the former Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Namibia, Dr. Zephania Kameeta .

After his retirement, Diergaardt largely withdrew from the public. On the afternoon of October 24, 2006, Petrus Diergaardt died in Katutura Hospital in Windhoek after a brief illness. Diergaardt was married and had three children.