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Luther Seminary

Type	Seminary
Established	1869
Affiliation	Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Endowment	$90.3 million[1]
President	Robin Steinke
Academic staff	28[2]
Students	490[2]
Location	St. Paul , Minnesota
Website	www.luthersem.edu

Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions.^[2] It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the Association of Theological Schools. It also has theological accreditation through the ELCA as well as the United Methodist Church.^[3]

United Church Seminary
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	2481 Como Avenue Saint Paul, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°59′5″N 93°11′47″W / 44.98472°N 93.19639°W / 44.98472; -93.19639Coordinates: 44°59′5″N 93°11′47″W / 44.98472°N 93.19639°W / 44.98472; -93.19639
Built	1900
Architect	Didrik A. Omeyer; Martin P. Thori
NRHP reference #	85003437[4]
Added to NRHP	October 31, 1985

History

Luther Seminary is the result of a series of mergers that consolidated what at one time were six separate institutions into one seminary.

Luther Theological Seminary

In 1917 (which was the 400th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation) three Norwegian-American Lutheran churches united to create the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA). The NLCA changed its name to the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) in 1946. and became part of The American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1960, the first inter-Lutheran consolidation in North American to involve denominations of differing national origin..

Each of the three churches in the NLCA operated a seminary: the Norwegian Synod's Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, had been founded in 1876; the Hauge Synod's Red Wing Seminary in Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1879; and the United Norwegian Lutheran Church's United Church Seminary in Saint Paul, in 1892. The merged seminaries occupied the site of the United Church Seminary because it was the most developed and elaborate, and retained the name of the oldest of the three schools, namely, Luther Theological Seminary.

Presidents of Luther Theological Seminary

• 
  Marcus Olaus Bøckmann 1892–1917 (United Church)


• Marcus Olaus Bøckmann 1917–1930


• T. F. Gullixson 1930–1954


• 
  Alvin Rogness 1954–1974


• 
  Lloyd Svendsbye 1974–1982

Augsburg Theological Seminary

Augsburg Theological Seminary, later renamed Augsburg University, was founded in 1869 at Marshall, Wisconsin, later moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in 1897 became the seminary of the Lutheran Free Church. It remained a separate seminary until 1963 when the Lutheran Free Church merged with the American Lutheran Church three years after that body's formation. At that time, Augsburg Seminary was merged with Luther Theological Seminary. The merged institution took the Luther Theological Seminary name and the 1869 founding date of Augsburg Seminary.

Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary

Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary traces its origin to the Chicago Lutheran Divinity School, begun in Chicago, Illinois, in 1920 following action taken by the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the Northwest, a synod of the United Lutheran Church in America. In 1921, the seminary was moved to Fargo, North Dakota, and the following year to Minneapolis. From 1921 to 1982, its name was Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary. Located in north Minneapolis from 1922 to 1940 and in south Minneapolis from 1940 to 1967, it moved near the campus of Luther Theological Seminary in Saint Paul in 1967. At the time of the formation of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) in 1962, Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary was placed under the jurisdiction of two supporting synods: the Minnesota Synod and the Red River Valley Synod.

Presidents of Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary

• Joseph Stump 1920–1935


• Paul Roth 1935–1950


• Jonas Dressler 1950–1957


• Clemens Zeidler 1957–1976


• Lloyd Svendsbye 1976–1982

Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary

Desiring to make witness to a shared mission in theological education, Luther and Northwestern seminaries were functionally unified in 1976, beginning with a single administration. After a period of six years, the two seminaries formally merged on July 1, 1982, as Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary.

On January 1, 1988, Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary became affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) formed by a merger of the LCA, the ALC, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches. The seminary's name was simplified to Luther Seminary on July 1, 1994.

Academics

In the 2018–2019 academic year, Luther Seminary served 490 total students, employing 28 faculty.^[2] Luther offers a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) for students seeking ordination, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.), and Doctor of Philosophy degrees for other students. In the fall of 2013, Luther Seminary suspended new admissions to the Ph.D program for at least three years as part of budget cuts.^[5] The seminary was planning to again offer the Ph.D program, with classing beginning in the fall semester of 2018.^[6]

As in most seminaries, M.Div. students complete three years of theological education, divided into a junior year (first), middler year (second) and senior year (final). A full year of internship, usually in a parish, is an integral part of pastoral training, and a degree requirement for ELCA M.Div. students. While individual situations may vary, internship typically begins after two-thirds of coursework has been completed. Thus, most students complete internship between their middler and senior year. The internship requirement is unique to the ELCA among the other mainline denominations in the U.S.

Frederick Buechner

Luther Seminary teaches works by the novelist Frederick Buechner. In 2014, Luther Seminary created the Lutheran Buechner Prize for Preaching.

Notable faculty

• Marcus Olaus Bøckmann


• Carl Braaten


• Gerhard Forde


• Richard A. Jensen


• John N. Kildahl


• John O. Evjen


• Hans Gerhard Stub


• Jacob Tanner


• Terence E. Fretheim

Notable alumni

• Johan Arnd Aasgaard


• Lowell G. Almen


• Stuart E. Barstad


• Paul Egertson


• Mark Hanson


• Robert Jenson


• John N. Kildahl


• M. Victor Paul


• J. A. O. Preus II


• Fredrik A. Schiotz


• V. Trygve Jordahl

See also

• Norway Lutheran Church

References

External links

• 
  Official website