The Rev. Canon Carlson Gerdau died May 27 of heart failure. He was 84. Gerdau served as canon to two presiding bishops: the Most Rev. Frank Griswold during his tenure and the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori during her transition into office.
“Carl defined ‘loyal son’ for General Seminary,” said the Very Rev. Kirk Dunkle, General’s dean, on hearing of Gerdau’s death. “His lifelong devotion to his seminary was legend. He was my good friend and mentor from my first days as a canon to the ordinary and a tremendous friend to our institution. He has left a lasting mark on the Episcopal Church. We will all miss him.”
Gerdau was superior general of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd, an international Anglican order that he joined in 1964. One of the oratory’s most senior members, he was the longtime prior of the United States College and served as the oratory’s superior between 2005 and 2011.
Gerdau was born in 1933 in New York City. He was a graduate of Harvard before attending General. He found his vocation in the church in 1949 by serving as a counselor to Brantwood Camp in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1959.
His funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 31 at his ancestral church, St. Luke’s Lutheran, 308 West 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. There will be a private burial at Woodlawn.
Adapted from General Theological Seminary
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
