Theological seminar

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Theological seminar Beröa of the Federation of Free Church Pentecostal Congregations in Erzhausen
Student apartments at the Theological Seminary in Elstal (FH): Living together is an integral part of the course

A theological seminary is a training facility in which theology is taught. Depending on the seminar, admission takes place according to its own regulations, in many cases a detailed, not just formal, application is required. Some institutions charge tuition or school fees , while others pay a grant to their students.

A building, a course of study or an event can also be described as a theological seminar . The latter, together with a supplement to the subject, is especially the case for practical-theological and systematic-theological seminars .

background

In addition to the state-run seminars, there are numerous church or free seminars, institutes and educational establishments that train future theologians for church service or research at a university.

University courses in theology focus on academic training and are usually not very practice-oriented. Universities of applied sciences sometimes offer very practical courses of study. Training for a theological profession is not regulated by the state in Germany and is therefore organized through universities , private schools and institutes , among others . The term “theologian” is not protected, but there are protected academic degrees, such as Magister or a diploma in theology.

Seen worldwide, most seminars are carried and financed by the churches themselves. In Central Europe, some churches have a state promise to participate in theological training on the basis of church treaties and similar regulations. Thus in Germany the federal states are involved in the training with seminars attached to state universities. In addition, there are also independent seminars: in such seminars, internal training is mainly carried out or supplemented. Theoretical training at such a seminar is usually supplemented by internships or practical training units at a preacher's or priest seminar .

In the English and German-speaking areas, many of the state-independent theological seminars are evangelical . To this end, two umbrella organizations have been formed in Germany: In 1963, the Conference of Biblical Training Centers (KBA) was founded, which today comprises 36 theological seminars and is close to the free churches. In 1971 the Conference of Missionary Training Centers (KMA) was founded, which comprises 13 theological seminars and is recognized by the Protestant churches. The evangelical journal ideaSpektrum lists a total of 62 theological schools with around 4,300 students in German-speaking countries in 2016; 47 of these are in Germany (with around 3,300 students), 11 in Switzerland (with 700 students) and 4 in Austria (with 300 students).

Overview of theological seminars

The following overview, which does not claim to be exhaustive, names various theological seminars regardless of whether it is e.g. B. is an institution that enables a full theological course, or only enables a certain aspect of a theological training, or whether it is a so-called course or a building that bears this name.

Institutions that are essentially a theological seminar or are similar to one, but without being called that, are to be searched for below under See also or under one of the keywords mentioned there.

Surname country carrier Denomination or
conf. Alignment
founding Number of students Remarks,
special
Columbia Theological Seminary (CTS) Atlanta United States Presbyterian Church (USA) possibly 1828 0450
Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) United States Private ev.-free 1924 2084 dispensationally shaped
Eden Theological Seminary St. Louis United States United Church of Christ possibly 1850 1000+
European Theological Seminar (ETS) Germany Church of God Germany possibly Pentecostal 1958 0067
Fuller Theological Seminary United States Private possibly 1947 4000 wide and globally oriented
General Theological Seminary United States Episcopal Church in the USA anglik. 1817 (?) 0202
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Boston United States Private possibly 1969 2137 Merger of Gordon Divinity School (1889) and Conwell School of Theology (1888)
International University of Liebenzell Germany Liebenzell Mission possibly 2011 (1899) 0192 State-recognized BA courses
Intercultural Theological Academy Germany Liebenzell Mission possibly 2012 State-recognized BA courses
London School of Theology (LST) England Private possibly circa 1945 0350 until 2004: London Bible College (LBC)
Lutheran Theological Seminary - Leipzig Germany Evangelical Lutheran Free Church ev.-luth. 1953 0003 Predecessor institutions since 1876
Pentecostal Theological Seminary (PTS) United States Church of God (Cleveland) possibly Pentecostal 1975 0200
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) United States Presbyterian Church possibly 1812 0500
Regent College Vancouver Canada Private possibly 1968 0500
Rhineland Theological Seminar Germany Mission and Education Work New Life possibly 1985 0105 non-denominational
Adelshofen Theological Seminar Germany Adelshofen life center possibly 1958 0061
Bienenberg Theological Seminar Switzerland u. a. Conference of the Mennonites of Switzerland (Old Anabaptists) ev.-Mennonite 1957
High School Herborn Germany Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau possibly 1584 ThS since 1817
Theological seminar of the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches Germany Association of Evangelical Free Churches bapt. 1880 0076 Also: Theological seminar Elstal
University of Applied Sciences
Berea Theological Seminary Germany Federation of Free Church Pentecostal Congregations possibly Pentecostal 1951 0078
Theological seminar in Aidlingen Bible School Germany Deaconess House Aidlingen possibly ? 0009
Ewersbach Theological Seminar , since 2011: Ewersbach Theological College Germany Federation of Free Protestant Congregations in Germany ev.-free 1912 0063
Reutlingen Theological Seminar , since 2008: Reutlingen Theological University Germany Methodist Church ev.-meth. 1877 0065 ThS until 2008
St. Chrischona Theological Seminary Switzerland Pilgrim mission St. Chrischona possibly 1841 0108
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) Deerfield United States Evangelical Free Church of America ev.-free 1897 1231
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York United States Presbyterian Church possibly 1836 0350
Westminster Theological Seminary United States Private possibly 1929 0621 influenced by Calvinism
Nossa Senhora da Fatima Seminary East Timor Archdiocese of Dili Roman Catholic 1936
Peter and Paul Seminary East Timor Archdiocese of Dili Roman Catholic 1933

Remarks

  1. Bible schools and theological seminars in German-speaking countries. ideaSpektrum 42, 2016, pp. 26-27.
  2. Abbreviations
    • anglik .: anglican
    • bapt .: baptist
    • ev .: evangelical (either in the sense of evangelical-uniert or different evangelical denominations like presbyterian and evangelical-reformed)
    • ev.-freik .: evangelical-free church
    • ev.-luth .: evangelical-Lutheran
    • ev.-meth .: evangelical-methodist
    • Roman Catholic: Roman Catholic
  3. Website CTS ( Memento of the original from August 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ctsnet.edu
  4. ^ Website DTS
  5. ^ Website Eden Theological Seminary ( Memento of the original from September 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eden.edu
  6. ^ Gordon-Conwell website
  7. ^ Website PTS
  8. ^ Regent College website
  9. ^ TEDS website

See also