- Concordia Theological Seminary
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Concordia Theological Seminary 
Established 1846 Religious affiliation Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod President Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Rast, Jr.[1] Students 321 (2011)[2] Location Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA Website www.ctsfw.edu Coordinates: 41°8′21.6″N 85°6′32.8″W / 41.139333°N 85.109111°W The Concordia Theological Seminary is an institution of theological higher education of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), located in Fort Wayne, 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 and deaconesses for the LCMS.
Contents
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, 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, where it functioned alongside its sister seminary, Concordia Seminary until 1875. In that year, due to increased enrollments in both institutions, the seminary moved to Springfield, Illinois. It remained there until the Missouri Synod merged the program of Concordia Senior College 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.
Concordia Theological Seminary was at one time considered the practical seminary of the LCMS while Concordia Seminary in St. Louis was considered the academic seminary.
Concordia Theological Seminary is theologically conservative, emphasizing study of the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. The seminary is a liturgical community following the practice of praying the divine offices each day, including Matins, Vespers and Compline 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.[3]
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.[4]
- 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, 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.
- "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, Johann Gerhard, F. C. D. Wyneken, C. F. W. Walther, Walter A. Maier, and Robert Preus.
Faculty
Charles A. Gieschen, Professor of Exegetical Theology
References
- ^ http://www.ctsfw.edu/Page.aspx?pid=241
- ^ "CUS enrollment hits new record high of 28,421". http://reporter.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=19358. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
- ^ National Weather Service
- ^ Eyewitness account by Robert E. Nylund, CTS student, 1989-92
External links
Categories:- Education in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Seminaries and theological colleges in Indiana
- Lutheran seminaries
- Educational institutions established in 1846
- National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities members
- Eero Saarinen structures
- North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
- Buildings and structures in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
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