International Network in Advanced Theological Education (INATE)

3 Network Institutions and their Study Programmes

The institutions participating in the Network are all leading academic institutions in Christian theology in their contexts, not only on national levels, but also to some extent on regional levels. Though they predominantly belong to the Lutheran tradition, they are all ecumenically oriented. All of them except Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University in Budapest, Hungary offer Master programmes with contextual emphases. The main medium of education in these courses is English, except in Brazil, where classes are given in Portuguese. Both in Budapest and São Leopoldo they are, however, aiming to offer some courses in English for the benefit of the Network exchange.

The Escola Superior de Teologia is a theological education and research centre of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil. Through its six Institutes, it prepares people for several areas of Christian ministry and offers the opportunity for theological research in a Latin American context. The study of theology is based on Lutheran theology, open to the ecumenical issues, and oriented to Latin American realities.

The Ecumenical Institute for Graduate Studies in Theology - (IEPG) is incorporated in the Escola Superior de Teologia - EST and has the specific task of fostering graduate work in theology. It was founded in 1982 and offers a Master of Theology and a Doctor of Theology programme as well as specialized studies lato sensu. The emphasis is on Latin American theology and tradition, such as "Latin American Biblical Hermeneutics", "Protestantism in Latin America" and "Religious Movements within Latin America." The Master of Theology Programme was accredited by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Brazil in 1997.

The IEPG is able to make use of the services provided by the Library of the Escola Superior de Teologia in developing its academic and research activities. The library currently has a constantly growing collection of around 80,000 books and 800 periodical titles. The library has an Online Public Access Catalogue.

Master of Theology Programme

1. Bible Area of Research: Studies in Biblical Text and Context
2. Theology and History Areas of research: Ecumenical Theology, Protestantism in Latin America, Contemporary Theological Thought in Latin America and Feminist Theology
3. Practical Theology Areas of research: Pastoral Counselling, Christian Education, Christian Worship, Protestantism in the Context of Religious Movements and Theology and Music.

The duration of the Master’s programme is estimated to about 30 months (maximal 4 years), 12-18 months to complete the courses and the same time to write the thesis. The Master of Theology degree is officially recognised by the Brazilian authorities.

The general aims of the Master’s Programme are to offer the students a wide knowledge of the methods and the main themes in the chosen specialist field in a Latin American perspective and to provide an opportunity to study one of these themes in depth through the writing of a thesis.

• Academic Year:

• First semester: Primo March - ultimo June
• Second semester: Primo August - ultimo November

The history of the University of Natal goes back to 1910, when the Natal University College (NUC) in Pietermaritzburg enrolled its first 57 students. The dramatic social and political events which have unfolded in South Africa since the turn of the century have been reflected in the development of the University itself. Until 1983, persons of colour were forbidden by apartheid legislation from registering for academic study at the University. An exception was the Medical School, which was founded in 1951 and restricted to African, Indian and Coloured students. Since 1983, the University has welcomed increasing numbers of students of all races, and today the composition of the student body reflects the diverse non-racial society that South Africa has become.

The School of Theology at the University of Natal is located in an environment rich in theological and other academic resources. Besides the University and its many special programmes at the Pietermaritzburg campus, it is an integral part of the Pietermaritzburg Cluster of Theological Institutions, the only fully operating consortium of theological schools in Southern Africa. The Cluster means that students and staff have direct access to three large and several smaller libraries, providing a large stock of books for study and research. Cluster Publications produces indigenous theological works. Three Houses of Study are associated with the School of Theology: the Lutheran House of Studies, the Evangelical Theological House of Studies and the Anglican House of Studies.

Among the activities are the Contextualisation Project, a special process integral to the life of the school which is designed to help to think through, test and alter everything which is done in response to the demands of the context of the present South African situation, and the Institute for the Study of the Bible, the «living interface» with local communities, in Natal and elsewhere.

The School of Theology offers a number of alternatives for study in various fields of theology. Two undergraduate degrees are available, and several postgraduate qualifications, some focused on advanced research and others on professional development.

The Master programme has five streams:

1. Master´s by thesis alone in any discipline.
2. Master´s Course Work in the following disciplines: Systematic Theology, Old Testament, New Testament, History of Christianity, Practical Theology. The major thrust of the programme is contextual, seeking to address the theological questions of Africa in a holistic fashion, while providing advanced training in a specific theological discipline.
3. Master´s Course Work in Leadership & Development: This degree addresses the need for reconstruction and development in the Third World / Africa and the role of the Church as an agent of transformation. It examines the Biblical, theological and historical foundations of this task, as well as the theoretical and practical aspects of development (including secular development theory).
4. Master´s Course Work in Integrated African Theology offered by the African Theological Fellowship: This degree seeks to provide a contextual programme in African Evangelical Christianity, which is both cross-cultural and interdisciplinary and which promotes the development of a specifically African contribution to theology. The degree is offered in co-operation with the Akrofi - Kristaller Institute in Ghana.
5. Master´s Course Work offered by St. Joseph’s Theological Institute (Catholic): This programme focuses on the needs of the Catholic community in Southern Africa for the development of an African programme at postgraduate level for those in the religious life, but is not exclusive to those in orders.

• Academic Year:

• First semester: Ultimo February - ultimo May
• Second semester: Ultimo July - medio November

3.3 Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute Chennai (Madras), India

Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute in Chennai (Madras), India offers a variety of options on Master’s level. The primary purpose of the programme is «to equip men and women at a higher academic level for the various ministries of the Church, particularly relating to contemporary challenges that the Church in India faces in the context of religious awakening and cultural pluralism, the issues of poverty and justice and the concerns raised by liberation movements.» Its most original focus drawn from the Indian context is the development and study of Dalit theology - theology of the untouchables, the casteless. The challenges raised to Christian theology by the presence of other living faiths are also reflected in its curriculum.

Gurukul Lutheran Theological College is a theological institution of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India. Its history goes back to 1927 when the Triennial Conference of the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (now UELCI) which met at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, felt the need for starting a United Lutheran Theological College. Initially supported by the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church, Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran Mission and Church of Sweden Mission, Gurukul was in full swing by 1953.

The word «Gurukul» is peculiarly Indian. It is a Tamil form of the Sanskrit word guru (teacher) and kula (family). In the Vedic system of education, the students used to live with the teacher as a family. This intimate relationship between teacher and student is a feature of Gurukul even today. Theological education, which is offered in this milieu, addresses issues of poverty, caste, gender, ecological concerns, inter-faith relations etc., which mark the Indian Church and Society. Dalit Theology, Women's Studies, Communication, Social Analysis, and Theology of Human Development continue to be the main thrusts of Gurukul.

Gurukul is pre-eminently an ecumenical institute. The faculty and students are drawn from various churches in India. Gurukul campus has become a highly recognised national ecumenical centre for several ecumenical programmes and activities in the country.

The college is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College and offers a 4-year Bachelor of Divinity course and 2-year Master of Theology courses.

The Master of Theology Programme:

1. Old Testament
2. New Testament
3. Systematic Theology
4. Religion
5. Communication
6. Women's Studies

Gurukul has now emerged as one of the leading institutions in theological education in India. With its well-equipped library, with a total collection of 40 000 volumes and 350 Journals and with its multi-faceted programmes, Gurukul is a fascinating place to be where knowledge and praxis meet.

• Academic Year:

• First term: Medio June - ultimo August
• Second term: Medio September - medio December
• Third term: Medio January - ultimo March

The aim of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong, China, is according to its self-presentation «to nurture learners from Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan and other parts of the world to be faithful servants of the church, both as clergy and lay people, being concerned with society and being interested in continuous self-growth.» Through its Master of Theology programme the LTS provides specialised training in any field of leadership in the Christian ministry, whether in pastoral ministry or in theological research and teaching.

Beautifully situated on a green hill in Hong Kong´s New Territories, the Lutheran Theological Seminary seeks to serve the entire Church by training leaders in both scholarly research and spiritual development. LTS has a long history in China and Hong Kong, is deeply rooted in this area, and emphasizes both contextualised theology and Western theological traditions while also embracing China and the whole world. Eighteen of the twenty-five full-time faculty members have earned doctorates, and professors come from Hong Kong, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United States, Denmark and Canada.

With about 250 students from all over Asia and the world, the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong sees its mission as providing quality theological education in a pluralistic world. The students come from over 65 different denominations or independant churches, with only about 25% with a Lutheran background. While most students are from Hong Kong, many come from other countries such as Cambodia, China, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Nepal, Korea, Taiwan, Nigeria, the Philippines, Germany and Canada.

To help provide quality theological education, LTS seeks and receives support from local Christian individuals, organisations, and congregations, as well as from various Mission agencies in Europe and the United States. Tuition and other fees paid by the students can only cover around one quarter of the actual operational costs.

The LTS library contains over 50 000 volumes, more than half in English or other Western languages and the rest in Chinese, the titles of which are on an electronic catalogue which also provides access to the libraries of several other theological institutions in Hong Kong. Through this Ecumenical Information Network, the LTS library is part of the largest Chinese language collection of theological books in the world. The library has a home page on the World Wide Web which is linked to a large number of theological seminaries all over the world.

Accreditation for the degree programmes is provided by the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA), of which LTS is a charter member. LTS is also a charter member of the Asia Theological Association (ATA), the Association for the Promotion of Chinese Theological Education (APCTE), and the Hong Kong Theological Education Association (HKTEA).

LTS offers several academic courses for Bachelor´s, Master´s and Doctor´s degrees.

At the Master level the following degrees are offered:

1. Master of Divinity
2. Master of Religious Education
3. Master of Ministry
4. Master of Christian Studies
5. Master of Theology

If the Master of Theology student wishes to take appropriate courses which are offered by LTS at the Master of Divinity level, the regular course work must be supplemented with extra reading, at least one extra paper, and direct consultation with the professor of the course through which the student can explore the subject more deeply.

• Academic Year:

• First semester: Medio January - medio May
• Second semester: Primo September - medio December

3.5 Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University Budapest, Hungary

Through the participation of the Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University (EVANGÉLIKUS HITTUDOMÁNYI EGYETEM) in Budapest, Hungary, the rich experiences of churches and communities in the rapidly changing situation of the former Eastern Block countries in Europe are brought into the Network co-operation. The Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University offers a five year programme of theological studies concluding with a university diploma. Although it does not at present offer a Master Programme, and its classes are given in Hungarian, this University will work towards meeting the challenges that full participation in the Network activities poses. This means that it will offer at least some courses in English, and facilitate in other ways the reception in Budapest of students and teachers from the other Network institutions.

The beginning of the Lutheran theological training goes back as far as the early decades of the Reformation. In the Latin school of Sopron the Old Testament Hebrew language was already taught in 1557, and this school became one among three other sites of 17th century Lutheran Theological training in Hungary. The Academy in Sopron has offered a full theological training of pastors since the end of the 19th century, and became the Theological Faculty of the University in Pécs in 1923. After the Communist take-over of 1948, theological faculties of all denominations were separated from their respective universities. The Lutheran Faculty became a Theological Academy, and because of the nearby Western border it had to leave for Budapest. The theological training has continued without interruption even during the Communist period. After the collapse of the Communist regime in 1990 the Hungarian Parliament recognised it as a University, although being only one faculty.

There are 140 young people studying at the institution, most of them preparing for the ministry, and about 27 of them are training to become teachers of religion. In addition to this regular training, there is also training for graduate teachers who wish to become teachers of religion. In co-operation with three colleges of education elsewhere, a third way of training is supervised by the staff of the University.

The training of pastors takes 5 years (10 semesters) plus an additional year of practice in one of the parishes. The teachers of religion have a training of 5 years parallel to their full training as teachers of a particular subject at another university. The general interest in attending the courses of other universities is steadily increasing.

At the Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University there is a chair for the Old Testament, New Testament, Church History, Systematic Theology, Practical Theology, Religion and Society, and for Church Music. Sociology, Psychology and Pedagogy are represented by guest lecturers from other universities. In addition to Hebrew, Greek and Latin German or English is also compulsory for every student.

The accreditation of the Doctor Degree (Ph.D.) Programme by the state authorities is in progress at the time of writing. There is no formal Master Degree Programme. The diploma is recognised by the Hungarian Law on Higher Education as equivalent to an MA in Theology. Nevertheless, efforts are being made to enable the institution to offer at least one course in Contextual Theology in English for the International Network in Advanced Theological Education. In the extreme case of having only 1-2 students this course could be managed not in the usual way of teachers´ presentations but in a tutorial system. Since 1992 a Protestant Postgraduate Course has been offered every summer for graduates.

In the main building a library of about 50 000 volumes (most of them in German and English) and a reading room is available for teachers and students. The Lutheran Students Home has 90 beds as well as kitchen and dining-room. The University has a long tradition of having guest students at the institution.

• Academic Year:

• First semester: Primo February - medio June
• Second semester: Medio September - ultimo January (Christmas holiday included)

3.6 Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo, Seminary of Practical Theology, University of Oslo, Diakonhjemmet College, Oslo, Norway

Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo participates in the Network jointly with Seminary of Practical Theology, University of Oslo and Diakonhjemmet College, Oslo. All three of them are experienced institutions in the fields of theological and diaconal education.

The Faculty of Theology is one of the original faculties at the University of Oslo. The University dates back to 1811 and is today a bustling community of almost 40000 people, of whom more than 36000 are students. The Faculty is an integral part of the university structure and has its premises located on the university campus at Blindern. The number of students at present amounts to about 470. Throughout its history the faculty has played an important part in the encounter between church, culture and society.

The Faculty is associated with Church of Norway, which is the established Lutheran (State) Church. Approx. 90% of the Norwegian population belong to Church of Norway and take part in baptism, confirmation, weddings and funerals in the Church. Thus the Church has a very broad contact with the population. The Faculty is committed to an understanding of the Church as open and ecumenical, and welcomes students of all denominations, or none.

The Faculty has three Departments;

• the Department of Biblical Studies,
• the Department of Church History and
• the Department of Systematic Theology.

The library is the heart of the Faculty and is situated in the Faculty building complex. It houses some 40 000 volumes and a large section of periodicals, approx. 400. At the library you will get information about new literature and expert advice on how to use the database for searching literature.

The Faculty of Theology offers the following main fields of study:

1. Courses in Christian Religion at all levels lead to a Cand.philol. degree in conjunction with other faculties,
2. Professional Course in Theology leads to a Cand.theol. degree,
3. Master of Philosophy in Contextual Theology and Master in Health Science, Specialisation in Diaconal Studies,
4. Doctoral studies lead to the degree of Dr.theol.

Master´s Programme

The programme contains two main components:

1. A taught component with four courses.
2. A written thesis on a topic chosen in consultation with an advisor.

• Academic Year:

• First semester: Medio January - primo June
• Second semester: Medio August - medio December

Diakonhjemmet College is an institution training diaconal candidates, i.e. nurses, social workers and deacons. The College carries out research in areas such as theology and diaconal ministry, nursing care and health policy, religion and society, and social work and social policy. The College consciously combines professional and academic aspirations with their practical application.

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