Bethel Seminary (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ) was the Baptist Union of Sweden's

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 ...

for training pastors from 1866 to 1994.

History

The 1866 conference of the Swedish Baptists, which would eventually lead to the creation of the

Baptist Union of Sweden The Baptist Union of Sweden ( sv, Svenska Baptistsamfundet) is the oldest of several Baptist bodies in Sweden. The first-known Baptist church in Sweden was organized on September 21, 1848, in Vallersvik, where a group of people committed the firs ...

in 1889, decided to found a seminary for the new and growing movement, calling it Bethel Seminary (). It opened in 1866 and Colonel Oscar Broady of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

was the seminary's first rector. Swedish Baptist pioneer

Anders Wiberg Anders Wiberg (17 July 1816 – 5 November 1887) was a preacher, missionary, and leader of the early Swedish Baptist movement. Life Early life and influences Wiberg was born on 17 July 1816 in Vi in Hälsingtuna parish, Hälsingland, Swed ...

helped raise funds through the

American Baptist Missionary Union International Ministries is an international Baptist Christian missionary society. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States. History The s ...

to support the seminary in its early years. In 1905, the seminary had four years with about 40 students each and four regular and two adjunct professors. During the first 40 years, 400 students had attended classes. The seminary had its own library with primarily English theological literature. In the beginning, Bethel Seminary was located in , Stockholm First Baptist Church's chapel, on Malmskillnadsgatan 48 in central Stockholm, but as of 1883 the school's address was Engelbrektsgatan 18 and in 1966 the seminary moved to Bromma. From 1994, (Bethel

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;' ...

) was located in the later premises of Bethel Seminary in Bromma, Stockholm, which became on 1 February 2014. Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm (University College Stockholm) has been located next to Bethel Seminary's old premises since 2002. University College Stockholm is a kind of successor to the Bethel Seminary. It was founded in 1993 as a merger of the Bethel Seminary in Bromma and the then- Mission Covenant Church's counterpart Theological Seminary () on Lidingö. In the first year the activities were divided between Bromma and Lidingö, after which the entire school was located in Lidingö. After the college outgrew the premises there, new premises were built next to the old Bethel Seminary premises in Bromma, which were inaugurated at the start of the autumn term in 2002. In 2008, the then- (which until then had been located in Gothenburg) was also added.

Notable students

* 1869–1873 – * 1878–1882 – * 1890–1893 – * 1904–1906 –

Lewi Pethrus Lewi Pethrus (born ''Pethrus Lewi Johansson'') (11 March 1884 – 4 September 1974) was a Swedish Pentecostal minister who played a decisive role in the formation and development of the Pentecostal movement in his country. In 1964, he founded ...

* Unknown years –

Rectors

* 1958–1971 –

References

External links

* Jakobsson Byström, Jakob; Hedvall, Fredrik Emanuel (1926)
''Betelseminariet 1866-1926; porträtt och kortfattade biografiska uppgifter över lärare och elever samt ledamöter av styrelseutskottet, utg. till sextioårsjubileet den 7 juni 1926''
(PDF)

Photo of instructors and students 1918–1922
Educational institutions disestablished in 1994 Educational institutions established in 1866 Christianity in Stockholm Baptist Christianity in Sweden Seminaries and theological colleges in Sweden {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethel Seminary (Stockholm)