Concordia Theological Seminary
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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 offers professional, master's and doctoral degrees affiliated with training clergy for the LCMS.
[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, IL. 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.
