Concordia Theological Seminary
Encyclopedia
The Concordia Theological Seminary is an institution of theological higher education of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), located in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...

, dedicated primarily to the preparation of pastors for the congregations and missions of the LCMS (and, when appropriate, of its partner churches). It is the Synod's practice and policy to ordain men only for the ministry in accordance with Biblical teachings.

It offers professional, master's and doctoral degrees affiliated with training clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

 and deaconesses for the LCMS.

History

Concordia Theological Seminary is a seminary of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. It was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1846 by Wilhelm Sihler
Wilhelm Sihler
Wilhelm Sihler was a German American Lutheran minister. A proponent for Christian education, Wilhelm Sihler founded Concordia Theological Seminary, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.-Biography:...

, to meet the need for pastors to German Lutheran immigrants to the United States. To protect its students from the draft during the American Civil War, the seminary moved to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, where it functioned alongside its sister seminary, Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary is located in Clayton, Missouri, an inner-ring suburb on the western border of St. Louis, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod . The current president of...

 until 1875. In that year, due to increased enrollments in both institutions, the seminary moved to Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...

. It remained there until the Missouri Synod merged the program of Concordia Senior College
Concordia Senior College
Concordia Senior College was a liberal arts college located in Fort Wayne, Indiana and affiliated with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod...

 of Fort Wayne with Concordia University, Ann Arbor in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1976, the seminary returned home to Fort Wayne, where it inherited the Senior College's award-winning campus, designed by Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...

.

Concordia Theological Seminary was at one time considered the practical seminary of the LCMS while Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary is located in Clayton, Missouri, an inner-ring suburb on the western border of St. Louis, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod . The current president of...

 in St. Louis was considered the academic seminary.

Concordia Theological Seminary is theologically conservative, emphasizing study of the Scriptures
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 and the Lutheran Confessions
Book of Concord
The Book of Concord or Concordia is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since the 16th century...

. The seminary is a liturgical community following the practice of praying the divine offices each day, including Matins
Matins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...

, Vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...

 and Compline
Compline
Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...

 as well as celebrating the Lord's Supper each week.

The campus suffered some damage, mostly to trees, from an F2 tornado that struck Fort Wayne in May 2001.

Musical Groups

Throughout its history, the seminary has had a variety of musical groups to participate in special services on the campus and to serve as an outreach to surrounding areas.

The primary musical organizations in recent years have been the Schola Cantorum and the Seminary Kantorei.
  • The Schola Cantorum is a mixed voice choir drawn from students, faculty members, spouses of students and faculty, and members of the community. The choir has frequently performed major choral works with an orchestra of professional musicians, as well as professional solosits, and participated in special choral services several times each year in Kramer Chapel, the seminary's on-campus worship facility. The chapel is a large, concrete, A-frame structure with a renowned pipe organ.

  • The Seminary Kantorei is a 16-voice select choir of seminary students, founded by Kantor Richard C. Resch in 1978. The all-male choir performs shorter choral works, sometimes accompanied by organ, harpsichord, or other instruments. It also leads special choral services in Kramer Chapel, as well as going on a major tour each January to various parts of the U.S. and shorter tours in the Midwest at other times. Resch has made special arrangements of traditional hymns and commissioned composers to write original works or arrangements for the group. The Kantorei has made numerous compact discs, which are available through the seminary's bookstore.

Publications

The seminary publishes a journal for professional theologians, a magazine for laity and for the seminary community, and books.
  • Concordia Theological Quarterly
    Concordia Theological Quarterly
    Concordia Theological Quarterly is a peer-reviewed academic journal of theology published for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod by the faculty of Concordia Theological Seminary . It continues The Springfielder and is published in January, April, July, and October...

    , a continuation of The Springfielder, is a theological journal of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, published for its ministerium by the faculty of the seminary. CTQ is published in January, April, July, and October, and is indexed by the ATLA Religion Database
    ATLA Religion Database
    The ATLA Religion Database or ATLA RDB, is an index of academic articles in the area of religion. It is updated quarterly by the American Theological Library Association . The database indexes journal articles, essays and book reviews related to a wide range of scholarly fields related to religion...

    .
  • "For the Life of the World" is the official magazine of Concordia Theological Seminary.
  • Concordia Theological Seminary Press has published numerous books, including works by Martin Luther
    Martin Luther
    Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

    , Johann Gerhard
    Johann Gerhard
    Johann Gerhard was a Lutheran church leader and Lutheran Scholastic theologian during the period of Orthodoxy.-Biography:He was born in the German city of Quedlinburg...

    , F. C. D. Wyneken
    F. C. D. Wyneken
    Friedrich Conrad Dietrich Wyneken was a missionary, pastor and the second president of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod....

    , C. F. W. Walther
    C. F. W. Walther
    Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther was the first President of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and its most influential theologian...

    , Walter A. Maier
    Walter A. Maier
    Walter A. Maier was a noted radio personality, public speaker, prolific author, university professor, scholar of ancient Semitic languages and culture, Lutheran theologian and editor...

    , and Robert Preus
    Robert Preus
    Robert David Preus was an American Lutheran pastor, professor, author, and seminary president.-Biography:...

    .

External links

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