A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of higher education for educating students (seminarians) in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, sometimes at the postgraduate level, to prepare students for ordination as clergy or for other ministry. The English word is taken from the Latin seminarium, translated as seed-bed, the image from the Council of Trent document Cum Adulescentium Aetas which call...
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A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of higher education for educating students (seminarians) in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, sometimes at the postgraduate level, to prepare students for ordination as clergy or for other ministry. The English word is taken from the Latin seminarium, translated as seed-bed, the image from the Council of Trent document Cum Adulescentium Aetas which called for the first modern seminaries. As such, in the West the term historically referred to Christian educational institutes, but has widened to include American Jewish institutions.
Since at least the 4th century there have been seminaries for the training of clergy. The first known group of seminarians was gathered by St. Basil of Ancyra. The term dropped out of general use in the Middle Ages, when most theological training was in monasteries, and later, in the universities.
The establishment of modern seminaries resulted from Roman Catholic...
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