Theodore, Ramah (1922–2015)

Salomon Ramah Antoine Théodore (Ramah) was a lawyer, an Adventist Church elder, and a counselor who significantly impacted the development of the Adventist work in Haiti.

Early Life and Marriage

Ramah was born on August 27, 1922, and was the last of six children of Prima Théodore and Antoine Daphnis Théodore, who was a physician, a pastor, and a pioneer of the Adventist Church in Haiti.¹ Ramah received his primary education in Cap-Haïtien, Jacmel, and Jérémie, and his secondary studies at the Collège de Port-au-Prince. In 1946, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at what is now the State University of Haiti and was sworn in on August 1, 1946.

Ramah married Marie Elizabeth Maud Jérôme, a native of Jérémie, on August 18, 1953. They had three children: Guy Ramah, Jean Claude Ramah, and Martine Caroll.²

Career and Ministry

Ramah did not choose to study theology or serve as a salaried pastor like his father. Still, he allowed himself to be used by God to serve as an ambassador for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in public administration for more than four years. Thanks to his influence, the Adventist Church was spared from many tribulations under the fierce dictatorship of the Duvalier family.³

He began his professional career in March 1946 as an accountant and archivist from 1946-1957, and then he served as a general administrator of the maintenance section of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) projects from 1958-1967. He was the deputy director and director of the National Office of Tourism from 1967-1973. After he served as legal counsel for the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communications from 1980-1982, the government awarded him the National Order of Honour and Merit medal at the rank of Officer.⁴

From a young age, Ramah was introduced to missionary work. At age eight, he accompanied his father on missionary tours during his school vacations. He cleaned meeting rooms, arranged borrowed chairs, and sang to enrich the programs. He was baptized in Jacmel on August 21, 1942. As a member of the Eben-Ezer Adventist Church in Port-au-Prince, he served as the Sabbath School director and a deacon and was ordained as an Adventist Church elder on March 3, 1954.⁵

Legacy

From June 1983 until his death, Ramah devoted himself entirely to personal development and evangelistic projects. His first missionary experience was in Lévêque, a small locality near Arcahaie, where he built a small chapel. This was followed by several similar projects. In 1959, he supported Pastor F. Délile Appolon with a group in Pétion-Ville, where they built the church, Eglise Adventiste Béthanie de Pétion-Ville. In 1960, he led an evangelistic effort there.⁶

In 1963, alongside Pastor Fénelon Destin, he worked to establish the work in Fermathe. Three years later, the Eglise Adventiste de Fermathe was built. That same year, he began introducing the message in Kenscoff with the support of Dinange Louis, Mrs. Julien Craan, and Mrs. Paal Bonhomme.⁷

In the meantime, he participated with Pierre Richard Verjin in evangelistic efforts in Morne Lazarre, Peredo, a locality near Jacmel. At the mission’s request, he worked in Croix-des-Bouquets and led an evangelistic campaign at Hôtel Montana for two weeks.⁸

Ramah’s final project was the construction of the Seventh-day Adventist Church now named Philadelphie de Laboule 15, which is on par with many churches in developed countries. The construction of this church represented everything he had dreamed of for the advancement of the Adventist work in Haiti.

Ramah breathed his last on June 16, 2015, at the age of 93, after just six months of battling pancreatic cancer. His funeral service was held at the Parc du Souvenir, a cemetery in Haiti, on June 19, 2015, before a massive crowd of witnesses, most of whom had often heard him say that he was waiting for the Living Lord Jesus.

Sources

Cherenfant, Michelet Joseph. Souvenir d’un pasteur et début de l’Eglise Adventiste en Haïti. 2004.

Benjamin, Dumas. 1905-2005 Cent ans d’histoire de l’Adventisme en Haïti et en Inter-Amérique. Imprimerie de l’Université Adventiste d’Haïti, 2006.

Notes

1. Marie Elizabeth Maud Jérôme Theodore, interview by Keven Kelly Pierre, Pétion-Ville, July 18, 2019.↩

2. Ibid.↩

3. Michelet Joseph Cherenfant, Souvenir d’un pasteur et début de l’Eglise Adventiste en Haiti (2004), 16.↩

4. Dumas Benjamin, 1905-2005 Cent ans d’histoire de l’Adventisme en Haiti et en Inter-Amérique (Imprimerie de l’Université Adventiste d’Haïti, 2006), 68.↩

5. Ramah Antoine Theodore, interview by Benoit Emmanuel Clément, Pétion-Ville, October 14, 2013.↩

6. Ibid.↩

7. Ibid.↩

8. Ibid.↩