John H. Tietjen (June 18, 1928 – February 15, 2004) was 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 ...
clergyman,
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, and national church leader in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. He is best known both for his role in the
Seminex
Seminex is the widely used abbreviation for Concordia Seminary in Exile (later Christ Seminary-Seminex), which existed from 1974 to 1987 after a schism in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). The seminary in exile was formed due to the ong ...
controversy which roiled 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) in the mid-1970s, and for his efforts on behalf of Lutheran unity that resulted in the formation of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
(ELCA).
Life and work
Tietjen was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
as a son of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
immigrants, and he attended
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School (pronounced ), commonly referred to among its students as Stuy (pronounced ), is a State school, public university-preparatory school, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school ...
, Concordia Collegiate Institute (now
Concordia College, Bronxville
Concordia College (CCNY) was a four-year liberal arts college in Bronxville, New York. Concordia College was sponsored by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and was a member of the Concordia University System. It was chartered by th ...
), and
Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Founded in 1839, t ...
in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. He also earned master's and doctorate degrees at
Union Theological Seminary in New York. After being ordained in the LCMS in 1953, Tietjen rose through the Synod ranks and eventually was chosen as president of its largest seminary, Concordia Seminary, in 1969.
While president of Concordia Seminary, Tietjen and many of the Concordia faculty members faced opposition from a new, more
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
administration of the LCMS. The faculty's use of
Historical-Critical Method
Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...
for
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
interpretation was cast by conservatives as being at odds with the historic theological position of the LCMS. Tietjen was accused of allowing the teaching of false doctrine, and he was suspended from his duties as seminary president in January 1974.
As a result, Tietjen and the majority of the seminary faculty formed a rival seminary which they dubbed Concordia Seminary in Exile, or Seminex. Seminex existed in St. Louis until August 1983, and on the campus of the
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago, Illinois. LSTC is a member of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS), a consortium of eleven area seminaries ...
(LSTC) until December 1987. Meanwhile, Tietjen and many of his supporters left the LCMS to form the more
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) was a U.S. church body that existed from 1976 through the end of 1987. The AELC formed when approximately 250 dissident congregations withdrew from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS ...
(AELC). During the early 1980s, Tietjen and the AELC organized unity talks among several other Lutheran church bodies, eventually leading to the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which today is the largest Lutheran church body in the United States.
Personal life
In 1953, John Tietjen married Ernestine Catherine Dammitts (1925-2015) and had four children, Catherine, Laurence, Mary, and Sarah. He also has seven grandchildren Jessica, Jennifer, Carrie, Rachel, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Chase.
John Tietjen battled
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
,
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
, blood clots, and finally a
brain tumor
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...
. He died in the comfort of his own home. During the last few months before his death he was working on a final book titled ''The Gospel According to Jesus''. The original transcripts were typed, edited by his peers, and published by a private individual to create his new book.
Books by John Tietjen
* ''Which Way to Lutheran Unity?: A History of Efforts to Unite the Lutherans of America'' (St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House
Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the synod's official monthly magaz ...
, 1966) ISBN B0000CN8LC
* ''Memoirs in Exile: Confessional Hope and Institutional Conflict'' (Minneapolis:
Augsburg Fortress, 1990) A first-person account of the Seminex controversy:
* ''The Gospel According to Jesus'' (St. Louis: Creative Communications for the Parish, 2006).
References
External links
Video interviewsfor RealOne Player with Tietjen and other key figures in the formation of the ELCA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tietjen, John
Clergy from St. Louis
Christian writers
20th-century American Lutheran clergy
1928 births
2004 deaths
Deaths from brain tumor
Seminary presidents
Stuyvesant High School alumni
History of Christianity in the United States
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod people