Church University of Wuppertal / Bethel

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Church University of Wuppertal / Bethel
logo
founding 1935
Sponsorship ecclesiastical
place Wuppertal , Bielefeld
state North Rhine-Westphalia
country Germany
Rector Martin Büscher
Students 125 WS 2018/19
Employee 49
Website www.kiho-wb.de

The Church University of Wuppertal / Bethel (KiHo) is a state-recognized ecclesiastical university in Wuppertal - Barmen and in Bielefeld .

history

The beginnings of the church college

The Ecclesiastical University of Wuppertal was founded on August 14, 1935 as the Ecclesiastical University for Reformation Theology, Department Elberfeld on the special initiative of the circle around Martin Niemöller ( Berlin-Dahlem ) and Karl Immer senior (Barmen) founded as a training center for theological offspring of the Confessing Church . At the same time, the Dahlem Department of the Church College for Reformation Theology was established in Berlin . The decision to found these colleges was preceded by the destruction of the theological faculties in the state universities - mainly the Bonn faculty around Karl Barth - by the National Socialists.

On November 1, 1935, the Church College for Reformation Theology in the Elberfeld district of Wuppertal was to begin teaching with 41 enrolled students. But the church college and the opening service scheduled for the evening in the Gemarker church were banned by the secret state police on the same day . The church university in Wuppertal was initially able to work as department B under the umbrella of the Elberfeld Theological School . But the Elberfeld Theological School , which was run by the Protestant Reformed Community of Elberfeld, was also banned and closed by the Gestapo on December 14, 1936. Heinrich Himmler's decree of August 29, 1937 completely prohibited theological training by the Confessing Church. Nevertheless, until May 1941 , courses could be held at various locations, initially in Wuppertal, later in Cologne and Essen . But with the Second World War , more and more students and parts of the teaching staff were called up for military service. This finally brought the teaching to a standstill.

The path of the church university after 1945

Seal of the church university until 2009
Church University of Wuppertal / Bethel
Chapel on the campus in Wuppertal
Audimax in Wuppertal

Just a few weeks after the end of the Second World War, the Wuppertal manufacturer, Willy Halstenbach, tried to reopen the church university in Wuppertal. In fact, the Wuppertal Theological School was able to resume teaching in the 1945/46 winter semester. Initially, the university was sponsored by the Old Prussian Brother Council , then by the Church University Association. The reopening of the school involved the relocation of the school from Wuppertal to the Hardtberg . This hill is popularly known as the “Holy Mountain”, as the Barmer Mission had already made its home here.

The Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal has been an institution of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland since 1976 . It cooperates with the Bergische Universität Wuppertal . The Biblical-Archaeological Institute was founded in 1999 and the Old Testament scholar and archaeologist Dieter Vieweger was appointed its director . The Biblical Archaeological Institute is located at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal and has been carrying out a highly regarded excavation project in Jordan on the Tall Zira'a since 2001 ( Gadara Region Project ).

According to the amended version of the Higher Education Act of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia of October 31, 2006, “the Church University of Wuppertal / Bethel is a state-recognized university within the meaning of this law” (Section 74, Paragraph 1). It has the same status as the corresponding faculties or departments of the state universities and also has the right to award doctorates and habilitation.

present

The regional synod of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland decided at its meeting in January 2003 to set up a theological center in Wuppertal (ThZW). In this way, the various institutions of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, in which pastors are trained and advanced, were linked. The Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal is part of this cooperative training and further education center.

With a church contract of November 17, 2005, the Wuppertal / Bethel Church University (University for Church and Diakonia) was founded by the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and the Von Bodelschwingh Foundation in Bielefeld-Bethel. On January 1, 2007, it replaced the Wuppertal Church University and the Bethel Church University .

While the Bethel division focuses on diaconal sciences, the Wuppertal division continues to train pastors.

In the 2007/08 winter semester, a new basic regulation of the Wuppertal / Bethel Church University came into force. The basic order also regulates the composition of the board of trustees , which now includes five representatives of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, three representatives of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, one representative of the Bethel Foundation and one representative of the Evangelical Church in Germany . The term of office of the Board of Trustees is four years.

The buildings were extensively renovated at the beginning of the 21st century. A new chapel was also built on campus.

Education

The Protestant theology course offered at the Wuppertal / Bethel Church University is divided into the subjects of the Old Testament ; New Testament ; Church history and dogma history; Systematic theology and ethics; Intercultural theology or missiology and religious studies as well as practical theology . The university also offers a special profile through a junior professorship for feminist theology and theological gender research , an ecumenical guest professorship and a Jewish guest professorship alternating in the summer semester, as well as international study programs that are developed in cooperation with the Institute for Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies (IITIS) and of the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) are carried out every two years.

The students have to meet the same requirements as for access to a state university. While the first theological exam leading to the parish office is taken directly by the Protestant regional churches, the church university itself can acquire a master's degree in theology (Mag. Theol.) And a doctorate in theology (Dr. theol.).

In addition to the Protestant theology course , a part-time PhD course in Diaconal Studies is offered at the Institute for Diaconal Studies and Diaconal Management in Bethel.

The Wuppertal / Bethel University of Applied Sciences is introducing a new part-time continuing education course in Protestant theology with a Master of Theological Studies (MThSt) degree in 2021 . The course is based on the new framework study and examination regulations adopted by the Evangelical Theological Faculty Conference in 2018, which the Church Conference of the Member Churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) decided as the second access to the pastoral office in all regional churches. The course is designed to be part-time and has a standard period of six semesters. The first possible start of studies is expected to be April 2021.

The Church University of Wuppertal / Bethel also has the right to habilitation .

See also

literature

  • Hartmut Aschermann, Wolfgang Schneider: Studies on behalf of the Church. The beginnings of the Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal 1935 to 1945. Series of publications by the Verein für Rheinische Kirchengeschichte 83, Cologne, 1985, ISBN 3-7927-0882-5 .
  • Henning Wrogemann (ed.): Theology in freedom and liability. Profiles of the Church University of Wuppertal / Bethel (= publications of the Church University of Wuppertal / Bethel. New series, Volume 13). Neukirchen-Vluyn 2012.

Web links

Commons : Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. https://www.kiho-wb.de/hochschule/leitungsorgane/
  2. Federal Statistical Office: Students at universities. Winter semester 2018/2019 (= Fachserie 11, Reihe 4.1), October 18, 2019, p. 70.
  3. PhD Diaconal Studies - Institute for Diaconal Studies and Diaconal Management. Retrieved May 26, 2020 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 15 ′ 55 ″  N , 7 ° 10 ′ 13 ″  E