In Memory of Fr. Peter Hocken, 1932 — 2017
By Thomas Cogdell
In 2008, our family took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe. We arrived in Herrnhut, Germany for an Antioch Network gathering after 2 weeks of traveling. We walked into the door of the Jesus Haus … and noticed that there was an elderly Catholic priest at the gathering. Since we had just been to Assisi, we produced the crosses and rosaries we had purchased there, and asked him to bless them. With half-smile and a twinkle in his eye, he complied with our request – then went on to pray and prophecy over us for almost 30 minutes!
This was our introduction to Fr. Peter Hocken.
This was our introduction to Fr. Peter Hocken.
As many of you have probably heard, Fr. Peter died on 10 June, before he could come to the final Wittenberg 2017 gathering. We are devoting this page on our website to honoring Fr. Peter’s life and impact on Wittenberg 2017. Be patient with us – it seems like a lot but we’re only touching the surface … and if you read on to the end, you may end up with Holy Spirit goosebumps!
Fr. Peter’s impact on Wittenberg 2017 cannot be overstated. He became a close friend of our family almost immediately, and encouraged us from the very beginning. In 2011, he invited Amy and me to present the vision to an international group of intercessors, then asked who would like to be involved. Along with one other powerful intercessor, Marianna Gol raised her hand – the first Messianic Jew living in Israel to join the initiative. Marianna has been to every Wittenberg 2017 gathering, and is a special representative to our International Council. The Holy Spirit used her to bring forth the 500 Days of fasting and preparing (interestingly enough, today we are on Day #365 – marking exactly a year since the end of the June meeting in Wittenberg, and the start of the 500 Days).
In his advisory capacity, Fr. Peter worked behind the scenes to help us craft and polish first the 5 Principles, then the 6 Historical Conclusions. We benefited from his keen mind, and appreciated that his vast scholarly knowledge was presented in a gentle British manner – “Well, if I were you, I would not say it quite like that …”!
Fr. Peter joined our 2015 Rome gathering. He prepared a short talk on the refusal of his own Roman Catholic church to heed the Lord’s repeated admonitions to reform herself in the 14th and 15th centuries. Nobody who was present in the cloister of St. John Lateran will forget him proclaiming: “Catholics can be thankful for Martin Luther!”
In his advisory capacity, Fr. Peter worked behind the scenes to help us craft and polish first the 5 Principles, then the 6 Historical Conclusions. We benefited from his keen mind, and appreciated that his vast scholarly knowledge was presented in a gentle British manner – “Well, if I were you, I would not say it quite like that …”!
Fr. Peter joined our 2015 Rome gathering. He prepared a short talk on the refusal of his own Roman Catholic church to heed the Lord’s repeated admonitions to reform herself in the 14th and 15th centuries. Nobody who was present in the cloister of St. John Lateran will forget him proclaiming: “Catholics can be thankful for Martin Luther!”
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by detailing the criteria for reform that the Holy Spirit brought forth through Martin Luther:
1) The absolute uniqueness of Jesus Christ
2) The absolute uniqueness of trusting faith in reception of God‘s saving Word
3) The absolute uniqueness of the Scriptures as the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the importance of putting the Scriptures into the hands of all of the people of God, not just the clergy
Another area of influence from Fr. Peter has been through the Door of the Day posts. Quotations from his books and teachings have been featured in 13 of them … more than one a month, and certainly more than anyone else. To honor his writing legacy, we have created a special Door of the Day video of these 13 videos … you can view it here: The Fr. Peter Hocken Door of the Day Collection
1) The absolute uniqueness of Jesus Christ
2) The absolute uniqueness of trusting faith in reception of God‘s saving Word
3) The absolute uniqueness of the Scriptures as the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the importance of putting the Scriptures into the hands of all of the people of God, not just the clergy
Another area of influence from Fr. Peter has been through the Door of the Day posts. Quotations from his books and teachings have been featured in 13 of them … more than one a month, and certainly more than anyone else. To honor his writing legacy, we have created a special Door of the Day video of these 13 videos … you can view it here: The Fr. Peter Hocken Door of the Day Collection
Through the years, I have personally recorded hours and hours of Fr. Peter speaking and praying (many of these recordings can be found buried in the vast treasure trove at peterhocken.org – a lasting resource that Fr. Peter has left to us). The final time I captured Fr. Peter's voice was exactly one year ago today – June 17, 2016. Fr. Peter was commenting on Lutheran pastor Burkhard Hotz’s talk on the crisis in the German Lutheran churches. He put forward some possible ways for Catholics & Lutherans to work together for Godly reforms in both of their Churches. He ended his comments with the typically realistic appraisal that this is a huge battle, and the outcome is uncertain. The room had grown darker and darker through Pastor Hotz’s talk, and at that very moment, a single powerful thunderclap rocked the meeting room of the Leucorea. Fr. Peter was unfazed and finished his thought. Then he paused, gave a characteristic chuckle, and asked: “Was that a confirmation?” Everybody laughed at his rhetorical question – we were all certain that we had experienced a sign from heaven, of God confirming Fr. Peter’s words.
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That this is the very last recording I have of his voice seems somehow significant.
We will miss your voice Fr. Peter, and look forward to hearing it again, richer and fuller and glorified for eternity.
We will miss your voice Fr. Peter, and look forward to hearing it again, richer and fuller and glorified for eternity.
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