Born in Puerto Padre, Cuba, to Cuban parents, Dr. Abner Francisco Hernandez serves as Associate Professor of Church History at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He earned his Ph.D. in Religion with a concentration in Church History and Systematic Theology from Andrews University. His doctoral dissertation, The Doctrine of Prevenient Grace in Jacobus Arminius’ Theology, reflects his ongoing interest in the theological legacy of the Protestant Reformation and its enduring relevance for contemporary Christian thought.
An ordained minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Dr. Hernandez previously served as a local pastor in the Cuban Union, where he was actively involved in evangelism, pastoral care, and church leadership. He has also served as a professor of theology at the Cuban Adventist Theological Seminary and at Montemorelos University in Mexico, where he taught courses in historical and systematic theology, Reformation history, and Adventist heritage.
In addition to his teaching and pastoral ministry, Dr. Hernandez has held significant academic leadership positions. He served as Academic Dean of the Cuban Adventist Theological Seminary and later in the Theological Seminary at Montemorelos University, where he provided academic oversight, led curriculum development, supported faculty research, and guided institutional initiatives. His leadership included supervising accreditation processes and ensuring compliance with educational standards, contributing to the strengthening of theological education and institutional quality in both contexts.
His main research interests include the history and theology of the Reformation and post-Reformation periods, with a particular focus on the theological contributions of Jacobus Arminius, anabaptist, and Reformed history and theology. He also researches the development of Adventist theology from within the framework of Seventh-day Adventist thought and the theology of Ellen G. White.
Dr. Hernandez is the author of En búsqueda de la salvación: Vocación y misión de Elena G. White (Boise, ID: Pacific Press, 2022), a work exploring the soteriological and prophetic dimensions of Ellen G. White’s writings. He has also co-edited several volumes, including Enseñanzas bíblicas de la fe Adventista (Miami: IADPA, 2021). In addition, he has published more than twenty-five scholarly and popular articles and book chapters, contributing both to peer-reviewed academic journals and church periodicals.
He is a frequent presenter at academic conferences in the United States and internationally, participating in theological dialogues and advancing the study of Adventist identity within broader Christian history. Dr. Hernandez is currently engaged in several academic and ecclesiastical initiatives aimed at deepening the integration of historical theology with the mission and message of the global Seventh-day Adventist Church.