Concordia Theological Seminary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
It offers professional, master's and doctoral degrees affiliated with training clergy for the LCMS.
Contents |
[edit] History
Concordia Theological Seminary was the first 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 "theoretical" seminary. Those distinctions have long since passed.
Concordia Theological Seminary is theologically conservative, emphasizing study of the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.
The campus suffered some damage, mostly to trees, from an F2 tornado that struck Fort Wayne in May 2001.[1]
[edit] 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.[2]
- 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.
