While president of Concordia Seminary, Tietjen and many of the Concordia faculty members faced opposition from a new, more conservative administration of the LCMS. The faculty's use of Historical-Critical Method for biblical interpretation was cast by conservatives as being at odds with the historic theological position of the LCMS. Tietjen was accused of allowing the teaching of false doctrine, and he was suspended from his duties as seminary president in January 1974.
As a result, Tietjen and the majority of the seminary faculty formed a rival seminary which they dubbed Concordia Seminary in Exile, or Seminex. Seminex existed in St. Louis until August 1983, and on the campus of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) until December 1987. Meanwhile, Tietjen and many of his supporters left the LCMS to form the more liberalAssociation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). During the early 1980s, Tietjen and the AELC organized unity talks among several other Lutheran church bodies, eventually leading to the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which today is the largest Lutheran church body in the United States.[3]
Personal lifeedit
In 1953, John Tietjen married Ernestine Catherine Dammitts (1925-2015) and had four children, Catherine, Laurence, Mary, and Sarah. He also has seven grandchildren Jessica, Jennifer, Carrie, Rachel, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Chase.[4]
John Tietjen battled lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, blood clots, and finally a brain tumor. He died in the comfort of his own home. During the last few months before his death he was working on a final book titled The Gospel According to Jesus. The original transcripts were typed, edited by his peers, and published by a private individual to create his new book.
Books by John Tietjenedit
Which Way to Lutheran Unity?: A History of Efforts to Unite the Lutherans of America (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1966) ISBN B0000CN8LC
Memoirs in Exile: Confessional Hope and Institutional Conflict (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1990) ISBN0-8006-2462-9 A first-person account of the Seminex controversy:
The Gospel According to Jesus (St. Louis: Creative Communications for the Parish, 2006).
Referencesedit
^"Rev. John H. Tietjen". Los Angeles Times. February 21, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
^ (Press release). ELCA News Service. 2004-02-17. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
^Kurt K. Hendel (February 19, 2004). (PDF). lstc.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
^"Ernestine Catherine Tietjen". Kansas City Star. February 19, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
External linksedit
for RealOne Player with Tietjen and other key figures in the formation of the ELCA
December 07, 2023
john, tietjen, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 2007,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John Tietjen news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2007 Learn how and when to remove this template message John H Tietjen June 18 1928 February 15 2004 was a Lutheran clergyman theologian and national church leader in the United States He is best known both for his role in the Seminex controversy which roiled the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod LCMS in the mid 1970s and for his efforts on behalf of Lutheran unity that resulted in the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCA 1 Contents 1 Life and work 2 Personal life 3 Books by John Tietjen 4 References 5 External linksLife and work editTietjen was born in New York City as a son of German immigrants and he attended Stuyvesant High School 2 Concordia Collegiate Institute now Concordia College Bronxville and Concordia Seminary in St Louis Missouri He also earned master s and doctorate degrees at Union Theological Seminary in New York After being ordained in the LCMS in 1953 Tietjen rose through the Synod ranks and eventually was chosen as president of its largest seminary Concordia Seminary in 1969 While president of Concordia Seminary Tietjen and many of the Concordia faculty members faced opposition from a new more conservative administration of the LCMS The faculty s use of Historical Critical Method for biblical interpretation was cast by conservatives as being at odds with the historic theological position of the LCMS Tietjen was accused of allowing the teaching of false doctrine and he was suspended from his duties as seminary president in January 1974 As a result Tietjen and the majority of the seminary faculty formed a rival seminary which they dubbed Concordia Seminary in Exile or Seminex Seminex existed in St Louis until August 1983 and on the campus of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago LSTC until December 1987 Meanwhile Tietjen and many of his supporters left the LCMS to form the more liberal Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches AELC During the early 1980s Tietjen and the AELC organized unity talks among several other Lutheran church bodies eventually leading to the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCA which today is the largest Lutheran church body in the United States 3 Personal life editIn 1953 John Tietjen married Ernestine Catherine Dammitts 1925 2015 and had four children Catherine Laurence Mary and Sarah He also has seven grandchildren Jessica Jennifer Carrie Rachel Joseph Elizabeth and Chase 4 John Tietjen battled lung cancer pancreatic cancer blood clots and finally a brain tumor He died in the comfort of his own home During the last few months before his death he was working on a final book titled The Gospel According to Jesus The original transcripts were typed edited by his peers and published by a private individual to create his new book Books by John Tietjen editWhich Way to Lutheran Unity A History of Efforts to Unite the Lutherans of America St Louis Concordia Publishing House 1966 ISBN B0000CN8LC Memoirs in Exile Confessional Hope and Institutional Conflict Minneapolis Augsburg Fortress 1990 ISBN 0 8006 2462 9 A first person account of the Seminex controversy The Gospel According to Jesus St Louis Creative Communications for the Parish 2006 References edit Rev John H Tietjen Los Angeles Times February 21 2004 Retrieved April 10 2016 Rev John Tietjen Heart of Lutheran Unity and Controversy Dies Press release ELCA News Service 2004 02 17 Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 Retrieved 2007 11 01 Kurt K Hendel February 19 2004 The Story of Seminex PDF lstc edu Archived from the original PDF on May 27 2016 Retrieved April 10 2016 Ernestine Catherine Tietjen Kansas City Star February 19 2015 Retrieved April 10 2016 External links editVideo interviews for RealOne Player with Tietjen and other key figures in the formation of the ELCA Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Tietjen amp oldid 1178429246, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
