Concordia Lutheran Seminary (CLS) is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

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, ...

situated on the north bank of the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, the provincial capital of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. The seminary is located near the campus of

Concordia University of Edmonton Concordia University of Edmonton, is a publicly funded independent academic institution in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; accredited under the Alberta ''Post-secondary Learning Act''. Concordia offers arts, science, and management undergraduate degre ...

, and is part of the

Lutheran Church–Canada Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) is a confessional Lutheran denomination in Canada. It is the second largest Lutheran body in Canada after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Together with the ELCIC and the Canadian Association of L ...

(LCC).

History

In 1981, the convention of the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...

(LCMS) authorized its Canadian districts that ultimately became the Lutheran Church–Canada to determine what seminaries would be needed when the LCC became a separate denomination. The LCC decided that in addition to

Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, founded in 1976, is a seminary of the Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) affiliated with Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. Its primary purpose is to educate students seeking ordination in LCC, but ...

St. Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontari ...

that had been founded already in 1976 by the LCMS, a seminary was also needed in the western part of the country. The Board of Regents for the new seminary first met in September 1983, and a charter from the province of Alberta was granted on May 31, 1984. The first day of classes was held on September 10, 1984, with a faculty consisting of a professor of history theology and one of exegetical theology, and a student body consisting of six in Year 1 and four in Year 2. The seminary also took over the supervision of three Year 3 students who were serving vicarages (internships) in congregations. Classes were conducted in a house rented from Concordia College that had previously served as faculty housing and as a women's dorm. In 1987, CLS began making plans for a new permanent seminary building. It also applied to 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 associ ...

(ATS) for accreditation, and received associate membership in June 1990. The seminary moved into temporary quarters at Grace Lutheran Church in Edmonton for the 1990–91 school year while the new building was under construction. Dedication of the new building occurred on September 2, 1991. By that time, the faculty had grown to include five professors. Concordia Lutheran Seminary has been accredited by the ATS since May 29, 1998. It publishes the ''Lutheran Theological Review'' in conjunction with Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary.

Presidents

CLS has had six presidents since its founding, not counting interim presidents: * W. Th. Janzow (1983–1987) * Milton Rudnick (1987–1992) * L. Dean Hempelmann (1993–1999) * Arthur Bacon (2000–2005) * Manfred Zeuch (2007–2011) * James Gimbel (2014–present

References

External links

Concordia Lutheran Seminary website
{{authority control Seminaries and theological colleges in Canada Lutheran seminaries Universities and colleges in Edmonton Educational institutions established in 1984 1984 establishments in Alberta Lutheran buildings and structures in North America