Finding a Balance between Church and Academia: Baptist Theological Education in Estonia
At the end of the nineteenth and at the beginning of the twentieth century, Estonian Baptists were convinced that theological education should directly serve the church’s mission work. After Estonia had received its political independence in 1918, Baptists began to dream of their own theological sem...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Princeton Theological Sem.
2006
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| In: |
Religion in Eastern Europe
Year: 2006, Volume: 26, Issue: 3, Pages: 17-43 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | At the end of the nineteenth and at the beginning of the twentieth century, Estonian Baptists were convinced that theological education should directly serve the church’s mission work. After Estonia had received its political independence in 1918, Baptists began to dream of their own theological seminary, which existed – with substantial help from American and British Baptists – from 1922-1940. In the 1930s, attempts were made to raise the academic level of the seminary training. However, Baptist theological training was not self-evident or guaranteed. During the Soviet years, all formal avenues of offering theological education were prohibited. In spite of this, the leaders of Estonian Evangelical Christians-Baptists found informal ways of organising and encouraging pastoral training: semi-illegal distance courses, informal study groups, and self-instruction. Only in 1989, during the period of political and religious liberation in the Soviet Union, was the Baptist theological seminary re-established in Estonia, and a goal was set to offer a four-year theological programme. Estonian Baptists continue to make efforts to keep in balance the academic and ecclesial demands on theological education. |
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| ISSN: | 1069-4781 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion in Eastern Europe
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