It was the dawning of the Renaissance, the middle of the fourteenth century. Edward III sat upon the throne of England, directing the opening victories of his nation’s Hundred ears’ War against France. Emperor Charles IV was emerging as the dominant figure in Germany, consolidating the power of his princes in the famous Goden Bull of 1356. It was yet 100 years before Europe was to be shaken by the Protestant Revolt of Martin Luther.
It was also a time of artistic rebirth, a flowering of man’s creativity which had lain all but dormant through the Dark Ages.
It was in this time and against this historical background that the Von Boetticher crucifix was “born.” Where, when, by whom was it created? The answers remain veiled in history, although all indications are that the crucifix was created in Germany, most probably in the year 1358, by an unknown craftsman.
One might be forgiven for feeling that the precise facts of its birth are, in fact, not important. They would serve but to mark the exact beginning of a fascinating odyssey that has carried the crucifix from Germany and the dawn of the Renaissance to West Virginia Wesleyan College and the Twentieth Century.
Research indicates that the crucifix has traveled most of its journey in the possession of the Von Boettichers, a Prussian family which has contributed many of its sons to the service of both God and country. It was within this family that the crucifix was passed, from father to son, down through the centuries.
And it was from this family that the crucifix was to go forth on the ocean-spanning portion of its journey, fittingly in the hands of one of this institution’s most devoted graduates.
Dr. Edward Louis Boetticher (Class of 1926) was a curious man. It was this curiosity that led the Pennsylvania minister to the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., and to its military attache, Lt. General Frederick Von Boetticher. The year was 1938.
From Gen. Von Boetticher, a cousin, Dr. Boetticher was to learn the history of his German ancestors. And it was from this German militarist that Dr. Boetticher was to first pick up the trail of his German relatives — a trail that was to lead the minister to pleasant meetings with then unknown cousins in post-war Germany.
It was during one of these meetings — in 1952 — that Dr. Boetticher received the crucifix. Actually the ancient artifact was but a small token of the von Boetticher family’s rich religious heritage.
More notable, historically, was the family’s Martin Luther goblet. The crystal cup, inscribed “This is to remind us that we are as fragile as glass,” was first given to a Von Boetticher by the architect of the Protestant Revolution. Later presented to germany’s Kaiser, the goblet became one of the many important displays at the Nordhauser Museum.
But its tradition was to remain in the family. A replica of the famed goblet is still presented to each Von Boetticher on his wedding day.
Dr. Boetticher returned from his European travels with the crucifix. It remained in his home until his death in 1963 when his widow, Mrs. Gayzelle Rusk Boetticher, decided that it more appropriately should be placed in the new chapel of the couple’s beloved alma mater.
Thus, on this 29th day of October, 1967, the Von Boetticher crucifix completes its odyssey.
Transcribed by Paula McGrew, October 14, 2018.
An addendum was with the dedication remarks which was a brief biography of Dr. Edward Louis Boetticher. I transcribe it here as well. (PLM)
Dr. Edward Louis Boetticher was born December 20, 1903, at Gilmore, Ohio, the son of Dr. and Mrs. William E. Boetticher.
He was graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan in 1926, received his Bachelor of Sacred Theology Degree from Boston University in 1929 and his Master of Arts Degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1930.
West Virginia Wesleyan conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity on Edward Boetticher in 1942. He repaid this many fold during the 14 years that he served as a member of the college’s board of trustees.
Dr. Boetticher served Methodist pastorates in Pittsburgh, Monessen and New Kensington before becoming District Superintendent of the Blairsville District in 1956. Dr. Boetticher became Executive Secretary of the Board of Missions and Church Extension of the Western Pennsylvania Conference in 1962, a post he held until the time of his death on December 14, 1963.