Russell E. Richey, Dean Emeritus and William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Church History Emeritus at Candler School of Theology as well as Fellow of the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition and faculty at Duke Divinity School, Duke University, died at his home in Durham, NC, United States, on January 19, 2025, at the age of 83, after a long illness.
A native of Asheville, in the state of North Carolina, USA, Russell “Russ” Richey received his BA degree from Wesleyan University (Connecticut) in 1963, a BD from Union Theological Seminary in 1966; and his MA and PhD degrees from Princeton University in 1968 and 1970. He then taught and served in administrative positions at Drew University, Duke University Divinity School, and at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where he served as Dean until 2006. Upon his retirement, he taught at Duke Divinity School and Fellow of the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition.
Professor Richey was internationally known as a church historian specialized in American Methodism. He was widely known for The Methodist Experience in America, Vol. 2: A Sourcebook (2000) and The Methodist Experience in America: A History (2010), but published many other books such as Marks of Methodism: Practices of Ecclesiology (2005), Extension Ministers: Mr. Wesley’s True Heirs (2008), Doctrine in Experience: A Methodist Theology of Church and Ministry (2009), and Methodist Connectionalism: Historical Perspectives (2010). After his retirement, he was able to dedicate his time to research Methodist history and author or co-author a series of other important books: Denominationalism Illustrated and Explained (2013), Formation for Ministry in American Methodism (2014), Twenty-first Century Challenges and Two Centuries of Problem-Solving (2014), Methodism in the American Forest (2015), A Church’s Broken Heart: Mason-Dixon Methodism (2021), American Methodism: A Compact History, Revised and Updated, with Ashley Boggan, Kenneth E. Rowe, and Jean Miller Schmidt (2022). He was also a member of the editorial board of the journal Methodist History and one of founding general editors of Methodist Review: A Journal of Methodist and Wesleyan Studies.
He was an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church also served the church and academy in many committees and initiatives such as the Board of Ordained Ministry of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC), the UMC Task Force to Study the Episcopacy, the national Episcopal-United Methodist bilateral dialogue, the General Commission on Archives and History, the Wesley Works Editorial Project, the UMC Committee on Faith and Order, and the Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies. Russ Richey worked collaboratively with the various general agencies of the United Methodist Church: the General Commission on Archives and History, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, General Board of Global Ministries, and General Board of Discipleship. This extensive record of scholarship and service, together with his modesty and humility, pedagogical commitment, and commitment to connectionalism, made him one of the most important contemporary Methodist leaders able to connect academy and church.
Russell Richey is survived by his wife, Merle Bradley Richey; his daughter, Elizabeth Richey Thompson, and son, William McMurry Richey, and their spouses, and his grandchildren as well as his brothers Tom Richey and Doug Richey. Tributes to his life and legacy were published on the website of Candler School of Theology (https://candler.emory.edu/remembering-russ-richey/) and by the United Methodist News Service (https://www.umnews.org/en/news/richey-influential-historian-remembered), among many other places. The International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities expresses its deepest appreciation and gratitude for the life and legacy of Dr. Russell Richey.