Sameiningin - 01.10.1961, Side 22

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Sameiningin
ality power he became a dominant and domineering leader. Many,
of course, resented this inwardly but did nothing mueh about it.
He was re-elected year after year, decade after decade, without
any open opposition. When after twenty years of service in the
capacity of president, he resigned, he was elected Honorary Presi-
dent, which honor he held to the time of his death.
Rev. Olafson was a brilliant speaker, particularly on festive
occasions, and as an after-dinner speaker. As president he often
represented the Synod, and the western Icelanders, at the large
conventions of the United Lutheran Church in America, and in-
variably made a most favorable impression. After one such pro-
gram on which he appeared as speaker, a man asked me: “Do you
have many pastors like him in the Icelandic Synod?” And I being
truthful had to say: “No.”
Pastor Olafson contributed extensively to papers and periodi-
cals, particularly in the Icelandic community; thus he was editor
and co-editor of the Sameiningin, the official Icelandic publication
of the Synod for twenty years. Last winter he wrote at my sug-
gestion a very interesting and scholarly article concerning the
Lutheran Church for an Encyclopedia which is soon to appear
under the sponsorship of the National Lutheran Council, Geneva,
Switzerland.
But his most monumental work in the literary field is his
translation of ÆFI JESÚ by Dr. Asmundur Gudmundsson, former
Bishop of Iceland. This book, which covers almost 400 pages, is a
very thorough and extensive piece of research, requiring the most
painstaking care in rendition, as well as equal facility in both
languages, Icelandic and English. This work becomes THE SU-
PREME LIFE in Pastor Olafson’s translation. According to the
opinion of competent scholars, the translation is very well done,
and we hope it will soon be available in printed form.
Thank God from whom all blessings flow. Rev. Olafson’s life
was a blessing to many people. We t.hank God for his labors, among
us. We thank God for his faithfulness and for the consistent testi-
mony of his life. May his memory linger with us as a challenge
and a benediction.