
A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an
educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in
scripture and
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
, generally to prepare them for
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
to serve as
clergy, in academics, or mostly in
Christian ministry
Christian ministry is the vocational work of living and teaching about faith, in the hopes of increasing the population of God's people done by the church, church officials, congregational members, and Jesus followers. The '' Cyclopedia of Bib ...
.
The English word is taken from , translated as 'seed-bed', an image taken from the
Council of Trent document which called for the first modern seminaries.
In the United States, the term is currently used for
graduate-level theological institutions, but historically it was used for
high schools.
History
The establishment of seminaries in modern times resulted from Roman Catholic reforms of the
Counter-Reformation after the
Council of Trent. These Tridentine seminaries placed great emphasis on spiritual formation and personal discipline as well as the study, first of philosophy as a base, and, then, as the final crown, theology. The oldest Catholic seminary in the United States is
St. Mary's Seminary and University in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
founded in 1791. In the United States, Protestant institutions also widely adopted the term 'seminary' for independent graduate schools (separate from a university) to train their ministers. The oldest such Protestant seminary in the United States was founded in
Andover, Massachusetts, in 1807 as the
Andover Theological Seminary and was affiliated with the
Congregationalist Church. After two mergers and a number of relocations, Andover is now part of the
Yale Divinity School, in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
.
Roman Catholicism
General guidelines for seminary formation are set out in the governing document as of 2016 is ''Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis'', 1992's ''
Pastores dabo vobis'', and the ''
Code of Canon Law''. Seminaries are overseen by regional
conferences of bishops. In the United States, the governing document is ''Program of Priestly Formation: in the United States of America (6th Ed.)'', published by the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2022.
Seminaries in the Catholic Church are divided into
minor seminaries for teenagers and major seminaries for adults, including both college seminaries, sometimes also known as minor seminaries, for undergraduate students and post-graduate seminaries for those who already have a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
. There are also seminaries for older adults who are well out of school, such as the
Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Wisconsin, and for other more specialized purposes.
All seminaries are run either by
religious orders or by
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
s or other similar structures. Often a seminary will train both that particular order's or diocese's priests and the priests of other orders or dioceses that select that particular seminary for its priests. For instance,
Saint John's Seminary in Boston, Massachusetts trains priests for many of the other dioceses in New England which are
suffragan dioceses of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Either way, a man who seeks to enter a seminary to become a priest must be sponsored by either a diocese or by a religious order.
Often a diocese might be attached to or affiliated with a larger Catholic college or university so that the larger college and its faculty provides more general education in history or theology while the seminary focuses on topics specific to the needs of future priests, such as training in
canon law
Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
, the
sacraments, and
preaching, or specific to the particular order or diocese. For instance the
Theological College in
Washington, D.C., is part of
The Catholic University of America.
Further, in Rome there are several seminaries which educate seminarians or already ordained priests and bishops and which are maintained by orders or dioceses from outside of Italy. Many countries have their own
pontifical seminary in Italy, usually very close to the Vatican. For instance, the
Pontifical North American College, which trains priests from the United States and elsewhere, is supported by the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. These colleges usually award degrees to seminarians and priests pursuing further education and specializing in specific fields such as
Scripture,
hagiography,
moral theology, or
Canon Law
Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
, among countless others. In addition to civil degrees, these pontifical seminaries confer ecclesiastical degrees (
Baccalaureate of Sacred Theology,
Licentiate of Sacred Theology, and
Doctorate of Sacred Theology), which are backed by the Holy See. Only some
Catholic universities may bestow these degrees; these are called