Tuesday, December 2, 2025

It is the 2nd of December 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

It seems almost mandatory to speak of Ivan Illich as enigmatic and iconoclastic. These two words work for one of the 20th century’s most fascinating public thinkers who spent time as both a feted celebrity and a canceled pariah.

But first- two things: his name is spelled “Illich”, not “Ilyich”, as in the titular character from the Leo Tolstoy short story about the judge with a terminal illness. Secondly, the historical Illich (who died on this, the 2nd of December in 2002) is almost always referred to as an “iconoclast,” which, when talking about church history, requires clarification. A literal “iconoclast” is a destroyer of images used in worship. We sometimes come across these. And then there is the “iconoclast” in the modern sense- the sense in which Illich is referenced, and that is one who is known for attacking cherished beliefs. Ivan Illich was a semi-defrocked Catholic priest whose ideas attacked the foundations of modern society and had an uneasy relationship with the modern church.

Ivan was born to Ivan Peter Illich and Ellen Rose on September 4th 1926 in Vienna Austria. His father was a Croatian diplomat, and the family was always on the move. His parents would divorce, and he was raised by his mother in Vienna. Once World War II began, he would be classified as a “half jew” on account of his mother’s heritage. They escape to Florence, and there are reports of the young Ivan working for Allied counter-intelligence. His ability to pick up languages had a practical and academic application.

As World War II ended, he finished high school in Florence and then went to Salzburg, where he earned his PhD. Wanting to be of service to the church, he would enroll at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he would meet Jacques Maritain. As he would with others, Maritain sparked a love of Aquinas in the young Illich. Illich was ordained in 1951 and celebrated his first Mass in the catacombs.

He could have stayed in Rome and been the next young superstar in the Catholic Church, but he wanted to travel to America and study at Princeton. But once here, he would serve as an assistant at a parish in Washington Heights, where he came face to face with the immigrant Puerto Rican church. He became so ensconced with the Puerto Ricans that he was made vice rector of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico at only 30 years old.

 His focus would be on the problem of the global south, or “third world,” primarily Latin American countries, that he believed were done a disservice by missionaries. He would be forced to resign from the University in 1960 over his support of the governor's birth control policies and would found a missionary training center in Cuernavaca, Mexico.  

His critique of Western empires and modernity that touched on aspects of the Catholic Church had him face an inquisition in Rome in 1967, and he voluntarily suspended his own ministry. His 1968 speech “to hell with good intentions” made him a minor celebrity in the counterculture, and the 1970s saw his most significant literary output. He often worked in paradox and with what might seem like contradictory theses. His 1971 “Deschooling Society” argued that our modern education system, parallel to our economic system, was designed to make winners and losers and ultimately created a depressed and uneducated society. His 1973 “Tools for Conviviality” argued against the techno-utopia’s being presented, and his 1974 “Energy and Equity” argued that our transportation systems (cars, highways, etc) kept us bound and dependent. His 1975 Medical Nemesis argued that the modern healthcare system made us sicker and more dependent. These made him something of a countercultural hero- but his work on Gender made him a pariah amongst some.  

He argues that modernity, capitalism, and market pressures have helped to erode the existential differences and capabilities of male and female and have instead collapsed all of humanity under the auspices of the productive worker. This argument in favor of gender differences did not find receptive ears among some of his adoring fans on the left. This is part of what made him an iconoclast and difficult to pin down. He would shut down his own missions institution as it succumbed to what he believed were the dangers of any institution. He would wander and teach, holding jobs at Penn State and back in Germany. When he wasn’t critiquing modern society, he was writing about Aquinas or the Medieval church. Towards the end of his life, he would be diagnosed with cancer, but, ever a man with his own convictions, would not submit to the therapeutic or palliative care options and died, suddenly in his study, on the 2nd of December in 2002. Ivan Illich, iconoclast priest and critic of modern society, was 76 years old.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and from Hebrews 11:

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 2nd of December 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man from West Lafayette, happy to forget football season with the number one ranked boilermakers in college basketball- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who was thinking about alliterative and assonant names like Ivan, only to realize- mine is too… I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.