Luther Seminary is a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

and the

Association of Theological Schools The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History It was founded in 1918. The as ...

. It also has theological accreditation through the ELCA as well as the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

History

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

Luther Theological Seminary

In 1917, three Norwegian-American Lutheran churches united to create the

Norwegian Lutheran Church of America The Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed from 1917, when it was founded as the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA), until 1960, when it joined two other church bodies to form the second American Luthe ...

(NLCA). Each of the three church bodies had operated a seminary. The

Norwegian Synod The Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. History In February 1853, several Lutheran ministers in ...

's Luther Seminary in

, had been founded in 1876; the

Hauge Synod The Hauge Synod (formally Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod in America) was the name of a Norwegian Lutheran church body in the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Background The Hauge Synod (Norwegian: ) wa ...

's Red Wing Seminary in

Red Wing, Minnesota Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,547 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County. This city is named for early 19th-century Dakota Sioux c ...

, 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. The NLCA took the name Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1946 and, with other churches, formed the

American Lutheran Church The American Lutheran Church (TALC) was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States and Canada that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters were in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, The ALC designated Augsburg ...

(ALC) in 1960. The presidents of Luther Theological Seminary: * Marcus Olaus Bockman (1892–1917) (United Church) * Marcus Olaus Bockman (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 The Lutheran Free Church (LFC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed in the United States, mainly in Minnesota and North Dakota, from 1897 until its merger into the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1963. The history of the church body predate ...

. It remained a separate seminary until 1963, at which time the Lutheran Free Church merged with the American Lutheran Church and 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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, in 1920 following action taken by the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the Northwest, a synod of the

United Lutheran Church in America The United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) was established in 1918 in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation after negotiations among several American Lutheran national synods resulted in the merger of three German-l ...

. 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 The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was an American and Canadian Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. It was headquartered in New York City and its publishing house was Fortress Press. The LCA's immigrant heritage came mostly fr ...

(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. The 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, which was formed by a merger of the LCA, the ALC, and the

Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) was a U.S. church body that existed from 1976 through the end of 1987. The AELC formed when approximately 250 dissident congregations withdrew from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS ...

. The seminary's name was simplified to Luther Seminary on July 1, 1994. The presidents of Luther Seminary (1982–1994 as Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary): * Lloyd Svendsbye (1982–1987) * Gib Fjellman (1987) (interim) * David L. Tiede (1988–2005) * Richard Bliese (2005–2012) * Rick Foss (2012–2014) (interim) * Robin Steinke (2014–present)

Academics

In the 2018–2019 academic year, Luther Seminary served 490 total students, employing 28 faculty. Luther offers a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) for students seeking ordination, as well as

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a sta ...

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advance ...

(D.Min.), and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(Ph.D.) 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. The seminary was planning to again offer the Ph.D. program, with classing beginning in the fall semester of 2018. 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 has affiliations with the acclaimed American theologian and author,

Frederick Buechner Carl Frederick Buechner ( ; July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an American author, Presbyterian minister, preacher, and theologian. The author of thirty-nine published books, his work encompassed different genres, including fiction, autob ...

. In addition to being a key part of the curriculum, the works of Buechner have regularly been distributed by the seminary among its students. In 2014, Luther Seminary also instituted the Frederick Buechner Prize for Excellence in Preaching.

Notable faculty

* Marcus Olaus Bøckmann * Carl Braaten * Gerhard Forde * Richard A. Jensen * John N. Kildahl *

John O. Evjen John Oluf Evjen (December 13, 1874 – January 4, 1942) was an American author, Lutheran church historian and professor of theology. Biography John Evjen was born in Ishpeming, Michigan. He was educated at Augsburg Seminary (class of 1895) and the ...

* Hans Gerhard Stub * Jacob Tanner *

Terence E. Fretheim Terence E. Fretheim was an Old Testament scholar and the Elva B. Lovell professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. His writings have played a major part in the development of process theology and open theism. Biographical Information Tere ...

Notable alumni

* Johan Arnd Aasgaard *

Lowell G. Almen Lowell G. Almen (born 1941) is a Lutheran bishop who served as the Secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America from 1988–2007. Elected to that position at the constituting convention of the ELCA in 1988 for a four-year term, Almen ha ...

Stuart E. Barstad Chaplain (Major General) Stuart E. Barstad, USAF (August 9, 1929 – August 25, 2009) was an American Air Force officer who served as Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force from 1985 to 1988. Biography Barstad was born in Colf ...

Paul Egertson Paul Wennes Egertson (February 17, 1935 – January 5, 2011) was an American Lutheran clergyman. He was Bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America from 1995 to 2001 and served as a senior lecturer at the ...

* Mark Hanson * Robert Jenson * John N. Kildahl *

M. Victor Paul M. Victor Paul (7 April 1935 – 14 October 2013) was a biblical scholar who served as President of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1993 to 1997. Early years and education Victor Paul was born on 7 April 1935 into a pastoral famil ...

* J. A. O. Preus II * Fredrik A. Schiotz * V. Trygve Jordahl

References

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1869 Seminaries and theological colleges in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Saint Paul, Minnesota Universities and colleges in Saint Paul, Minnesota Lutheran seminaries University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 1869 establishments in Minnesota