RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Theological Education
that of the Latin schools, but in these religious and theological instruction were important factors, and the lectures of the teachers in these schools, who were even termed professors of theology, graduallydeveloped into compends of dogmatics. In fact, dogmatics was the dominant subject in the theological education of the period, even to the relative neglect of the Bible. Wtirttemberg occupied a distinct position in the Lutheran lands. In 1547 Duke Ulrich, in establishing the " stipendium " at his national university, gave it the Augustinian monastery at Tubingen; and Duke Christopher transformed thirteen monasteries into cloister schools in which boys of fourteen or fifteen were received after passing the necessary examinations at Stuttgart. There they were trained in the usual courses of the Latin schools and in the rudiments of Greek, made thoroughly acquainted with the New Testament in Latin translation, introduced into the Psalter and the pericopes, and trained in singing. They then entered ope of the four monastic schools of Bebenhausen, Herrenalb, Hirschau, and Maulbronn, where they studied in addition the Old Testament, dialectics, and rhetoric. At the age of sixteen they entered the University of Tubingen, passing through the arts course in two years, and in the third devoting themselves entirely to theological training.
From the very first the Reformed laid equal stress on theological education, Zwingli changing the Grossmiinsterstift into a theological 5. The seminary and creating his so-called Reformed " prophecy," whereby he hoped to Church, revive the mutual prophetic instruction of the early Church recorded in I Cor. xiv. This " prophecy " was held twice almost daily, Zwingli presiding over the interpretation of the Old Testament in the Grossmiinsterkirche in the morning, and Myconius over New Testament exegesis at the Frauenmunsterkirche in the afternoon, while the canons, theological students, and all the clergy of the city attended. By 1532, however, more stringent rules for theological education were adopted at Zurich, these serving as models for the Reformed generally. The examining-board consisted of the antistes as president, four members of the council, the theological professors, and two pastors; and more stress was laid than by the Lutherans on a thorough knowledge of the Bible, the Reformed system of training being decidedly more practical from the start.
The Thirty Years' War brought anarchy into theological education, and conditions remained almost unchanged from the Reformation period during the seventeenth century. But after peace had again been secured, special attention was accorded the problem of the training of the clergy. It was Pietism which most insisted on better 6. Effects education of the ministry, a demand of Pietism reiterated by Philipp Jacob Spener and Ra- (q.v.), and most fully developed by tionalism. August Hermann Francke (q.v.) in his Idea studiosi theologice (Halle, 1712), in which he emphasized the necessity of a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew for true understanding of the Bible, dogmatics, polemics, symbolics, and church history. Most important of all, however, was the
insistence on the practical side, which was to be kept in mind throughout. In consequence of the views thus advanced, several national churches revised their examination requirements, among them Prussia (1718), electoral Saxony (1732), and Hanover (1735). The examination was placed at the termination of the student's university career, though it might be held by the faculty, the consistory, or a special committee. Many churches retained also the examination on the candidate's entrance upon his ministry, the second examination usually being held by the consistory. If from the Prussian requirements it may be seen how great emphasis was laid both on a wide range of theological knowledge and on personal faith, as well as on homiletic, pastoral, and catechetic ability and devotion, rationalism likewise was careful for the training of its ministers. Thus the requirements for candidates for the ministry in Baden-Durlach, drawn up in 1756, exact not only a trial sermon, but also a technical thesis in Latin, besides a knowledge of theology, church history, logic, metaphysics, philosophy, ethics, and languages. Despite these careful and exacting requirements, theological education declined during the second half of the eighteenth century; but though the reaction of rationalism against Pietism contributed to this decline, it was rationalism which earnestly labored to raise the standard of the clergy.
The present general conditions governing Lutheran theological training in Germany are as follows. Two theological examinations are required: the first, pro licentia concionandi or pro candidatura, at the close of the candidate's term of study; and the second, pro ministerio, pro rnunere, 7. Present or pro ordinatione, before appointment Lutheran to a church, though in practise it is Require- now taken a year or two after the first ments. examination. Three years' study in a university is everywhere required, except in Wurttemberg, Bavaria, and Strasburg, where four years are demanded, and in Baden, where five semesters is considered sufficient. The first examination is generally conducted by representatives of the faculty, and the second by members of the consistory or of the active clergy. The first examination is, on the whole, technical, and the second practical, though in the former examination a specimen sermon and catechizing are also required, while the final examination includes homiletics, catechetics, liturgies, and often music. The universities have recognized in increasing measure the practical side of theological training, while the development of theology itself has made additional demands on the students, as in the augmentation of exegesis by introduction and Biblical theology, or of dogmatics by the history of dogma. An important place is also taken by the written portion of the examinations; only rarely, as in Baden, is there a simple oral examination, except for the specimen sermon and the catechetical exercise. The Lutheran Church pays little heed to candidates for the ministry before they have passed their double examination, but from that time on, especially in recent years, more adequate provision is made for the furtherance of their special training. In Luther's
Theological Education