Martins, Altino Venâncio (1917–1997)

Altino Venâncio Martins, pastor, teacher, and administrator, was born May 29, 1917, in the city of Serra Azul, near Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo, Brazil. His parents were Virgílio Venâncio Martins and Antonina do Nascimento, both of Portuguese descent. Altino and his thirteen brothers were raised in a wealthy Catholic family of coffee planters, on the Santo Antônio farm, Serra Azul. At the local school, Altino concluded his elementary education in 1929. In the same year, a deep world crisis affected the coffee production industry in Brazil, as a result of the New York stock market crash in the United States. The Martins family were impoverished and had to abandon the coffee farm, moving to the city of Ribeirão Preto.¹

In the midst of this crisis, Altino’s brother Cásio found refuge in religion, becoming a Seventh-day Adventist. Cásio suffered severe persecution from his family, including Altino, who was especially sarcastic. In Ribeirão Preto, Altino entered secondary education at Colégio Progresso, graduating in 1936. Desiring a higher education, in 1937 Altino attended a one-year professional course at Escola Normal de Ribeirão Preto. His ultimate goal was to achieve a bachelor´s degree in Medicine.²

Meanwhile, observing his brother’s testimony, Altino Martins began to think that being a Christian could perhaps be a good way to live, and that maybe when he grew old, he could become one. One Friday evening Altino joined his brother’s Sabbath sundown worship, where Cásio earnestly prayed for his brother’s conversion. From that moment on Altino’s life was changed. At the end of 1937, at 19 years of age, he was baptized into the Adventist faith.³

Altino longed to study theology to prepare himself to become a pastor. In 1938 he entered the Seminary at Brazil College (known today as UNASP-SP), in São Paulo city. Besides theology, he completed two professional courses in business and nursing, graduating in 1940.⁴ While at college he met Lívia Sampaio, whom he married on December 18, 1940, in the campus church.⁵ From their relationship were born Marízia Lívia and Virgílio Ricardo Sampaio Martins.⁶

Martins entered the pastoral ministry in January 1941 as a licensed missionary at the São Paulo Conference. There he assisted Pastor Vandir Arouca as a Bible instructor at Central São Paulo Church. They attended the churches of Belém, Vila Matilde, Lapa, and Pinheiros districts, and evangelized the Ipiranga and Vila Prudente districts.⁷

From 1943 to 1944 Martins pastored the Santos district, state of São Paulo, serving there until he took up leadership of the Youth and Education departments in the São Paulo Conference in 1944.⁸ He left the office in 1946, when he accepted a call to pastor the São José do Rio Preto district, state of São Paulo, where he founded the churches of Votuporanga, Populina, and Fernandópolis.⁹

Altino was ordained to the ministry on January 24, 1948.¹⁰ From 1950 to 1951 he pastored the Campinas district, which covered a vast area, up to Jundiaí. There Altino and a group of Bible instructors did door to door evangelistic work, offering Bible studies.¹¹ In 1952 Altino once again was called to lead the Youth and Education Departments in the São Paulo Conference, contributing to the construction of new Adventist schools in that state.¹²

In 1954 Altino accepted the call to be an evangelist pastor in Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, pioneering the work in the region and organizing churches until 1955. The following year he served as pastor of the Santo André district, carrying out evangelistic activities in the cities of São Caetano and São Bernardo do Campo. At the end of that year, the South American Division voted to send him to the United States to study English at one of the Adventist colleges.¹³

In the United States, Martins married his second wife, Melita Ruth Otto (1927-1993), on December 20, 1956, in Los Angeles. From their union were born Altino Roberto Otto Martins, Edgar Enes Otto Martins (1959-), Oscar Moreci (1962-), and Edvyrges.¹⁴

After a six month stay financed by the church, Altino decided to stay awhile longer in the U.S. He began to work in a watch factory, alongside his wife, and almost abandoned the ministry.

Altino, Melita, and their first son Altino Roberto returned to Brazil in 1957. Soon after, he accepted a call to teach in the Theology department at Peruvian Union College. He taught there until 1962, when he was called to pastor the Miraflores Central Church in Lima, Peru, where he stayed from 1963 to the beginning of 1965. In 1965 he received a call to return to Brazil, to be ministerial secretary for the East Brazil Union. There he led the team of evangelists of the Botafogo district.¹⁵

Altino served as president of the Northeast Brazil Union Mission from 1967 to 1970.¹⁶ In 1971 he and his family moved to Porto Alegre, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where he was a district pastor for seven years. There many churches were organized through his evangelistic work, such as Viamópolis, Vila Jaci, Santo Onofre, Vila Augusta, and others.¹⁷

Altino retired September 3, 1977. However, as requested by the South American Division, he continued working at the Rio Grande do Sul Conference as the director of the Civic Duties Department, where he served until 1981.¹⁸ After leaving that post, he moved to the district of Viamão, in Porto Alegre, working as a teacher at an Adventist School up to the year 1984. Following this, Altino moved to the city of Artur Nogueira, serving as an elder at the Central Church for five years, when he had to step away from that duty due to health issues.¹⁹

Altino Martins died on December 24, 1997, at 80 years old. His funeral was led by Pastor Otávio Costa.²⁰ Altino rendered a great contribution to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, working for 44 years as a district pastor, department director, teacher, ministerial secretary, and president of a union mission.

Sources

Estefani, Rui and da Silva, Elias Martins. “Vida e Obra de Altino Martins.” Monography, Brazil Adventist College.

“Igreja comemora 40 anos de existência.” Revista Adventista, January 1990.

“Melita Ruth Otto Martins.” Revista Adventista, January 1993.

“Pastor Altino Martins.” Revista Adventista, March 1998.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. Various years.

Notes

1. Rui Estefani and Elias Martins da Silva, “Vida e Obras de Altino Martins,” Monography, Brazil Adventist College, 5, 31; and Luciano Valente, “Vida e Obra do Pastor Altino Martins,” Monography, Brazil Adventist College, 1996, 2.↩

2. Estefani and Silva, 5-10; and Valente, 2-4.↩

3. Ibid.↩

4. Valente), 5; Estefani and Silva, 13; “Pastor Altino Martins,” Revista Adventista, March 1998, 29.↩

5. Valente, 7.↩

6. Ibid, 8.↩

7. “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1941, 145; and Estefani and Silva, 18.↩

8. “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1945, 153; “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1946, 160; and Rui Estefani e Elias Martins da Silva, “Vida e Obras de Altino Martins,” Monography, Brazil Adventist College, 18.↩

9. Valente, 8; Estefani and Silva, 19; “Igreja comemora 40 anos de existência,” Revista Adventista, January 1990, 27.↩

10. Estefani and Silva, 33; and “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1949, 168.↩

11. Valente, 9; and Estefani and Silva, 19.↩

12. Valente, 10; Estefani and Silva, 20.; “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1953, 175.; “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1954, 177.↩

13. Valente), 10.; and “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1955, 147.↩

14. Valente, 11.; and “Melita Ruth Otto Martins,” Revista Adventista, April 1993, 27.↩

15. Valente, 11.; and Estefani and Silva, 23.↩

16. “Northeast Brazil Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1968, 203; and “Northeast Brazil Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1971, 225.↩

17. Valente, 12-13.↩

18. Ibid., 13,15; “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1978, 271; and “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1982, 290.↩

19. Valente, 13, 15.↩

20. “Pastor Altino Martins.”↩