Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon
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Lutheran Theological Seminary is a degree-granting theological school affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan. It is owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the largest and most liberal Lutheran denomination in Canada, and the Canadian sister church to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
[edit] History
The Seminary is the result of the work of Lutheran pioneers in Western Canada. In 1913 the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Manitoba and Other Provinces founded the Lutheran College and Seminary in Edmonton and a year later moved it to Saskatoon. In 1939 the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America established Luther Theological Seminary, first on the campus of the Lutheran College and Seminary and then in 1946 on a separate campus in Saskatoon. For almost twenty years Lutherans in Western Canada maintained two theological schools with varying degrees of cooperation between them. The goal of a single theological seminary was realized in 1965 when the two schools were merged into the present Lutheran Theological Seminary. In 1968 the school moved to its present location on the University of Saskatchewan campus. From 1973 to 1984 the Lutheran Church Canada (Missouri Synod) was involved in formal cooperation at the Seminary. During the years between 1965 and 1985 the Seminary was jointly owned and supported by The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada and the Lutheran Church in America’s Central Canada and Western Canada Synods. The current status of the Seminary dates back to January 1, 1986, when the two supporting churches merged into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC).
[edit] Academics
The Seminary instructs students are training for ordination as pastors as well as those who wish to pursue theology as an academic field for its own sake. It offers Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Studies, and Master of Sacred Theology degrees accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. It also offers a Bachelor of Theology for mature candidates for the ministry and certificate programmes for prospective diaconal ministers and for candidates for the ministry who hold an MDiv from a non-ELCIC-endorsed seminary. The Seminary uses Inclusive language in worship, and operates a residence open to all University of Saskatchewan students. It is a member of the Saskatoon Theological Union, along with the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad and St. Andrew's College. It also has a formal relationship with Central Pentecostal College.
