Global Ministries is Saddened to Learn of the Death of Rev. Dr. Carmelo E. Alvarez

published on Nov 6, 2025

Global Ministries is saddened to share the news of the passing of Rev. Dr. Carmelo E. Alvarez on Sunday, October 12, 2025.

Carmelo E. Alvarez was born on July 30, 1947, in Puerto Rico. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master of Divinity degree from the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico. He was ordained to Christian ministry on February 13, 1972. He continued his theological education at Emory University as a Disciples Overseas Ministries scholarship recipient, and then at Free University of Amsterdam where he earned a PhD. His dissertation was titled: “Sharing in God’s Mission: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela, 1960-1980.”

Rev. Dr. Alvarez’s legacy of service with Global Ministries spanned more than four decades. He and his wife, Rev. Raquel E. Rodriguez, were appointed mission co-workers to Latin America and the Caribbean in 1975. They worked with the Latin American Council of Churches and the Departamento Ecumenico de Investigaciones (DEI) in San Jose, Costa Rica. In 1993 they returned to the United States, and Rev. Dr. Alvarez was appointed Missionary in Residence at Christian Theological Seminary (CTS). He then joined the CTS faculty and served as Dean of Students until 2002.

In 2002, Rev. Dr. Alvarez and Rev. Rodriguez returned to the Global Ministries staff as mission co-workers to Venezuela. They worked with the Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela (UEVP) and the Latin American Pentecostal Commission (CEPLA). In his role, Rev. Dr. Alvarez facilitated theological training across five countries: Nicaragua, Cuba, Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela.

Rev. Dr. Rick Lowery, former president of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, remembers a March 2014 trip to Cuba with Rev. Dr. Alvarez: “Carmelo was so well respected by our partner church there,” Rev. Dr. Lowery said. “He was a brilliant, loving, spiritual man – totally committed to the liberating, healing power of the gospel.”

Upon their retirement as mission co-workers, Rev. Dr. Alvarez and Rev. Rodriguez continued to serve as Longterm Volunteers to Venezuela until 2020.

In a report to Global Ministries during his service with CEPLA, Rev. Dr. Alvarez shared that his greatest satisfaction was preaching, teaching, advising, counseling, and mentoring. He wrote: “Being in direct communication with people is the greatest!”

Rev. Dr. Alvarez was preceded in death by his wife Rev. Raquel E. Rodriguez. He is survived by their two daughters, Nina and Margarita Raquel Alvarez. His family is planning to hold a celebration of life in Puerto Rico at his home church, though the details have not been finalized at this time.