The Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary

Teach, form, and nurture: the core values of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS). LTSS teaches, forms and nurtures the men and women for public ministry. Located in Columbia, SC, it credits itself as being the warmest seminary, both in weather and in kindness. With close to 150 students of various backgrounds and diverse backgrounds, an academic staff of 18, LTSS is one of the seminaries supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). It shares a partnership with theLutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. LTSS offers three degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Religion and Master of Sacred Theology.

The school was founded in 1830 in hopes to help educate pastors for the Lutheran Churches of the South, with the Rev. John Bachman calling for the formation of the seminary. The first person to graduate from the school was Fredrick F. Harris in 1834, and he was the sole student in his class. During this time, the campus was located in Pomaria, SC and later relocated to Lexington, SC. In 1868, the school was relocated to Walhalla, SC until it was moved to Salem, VA. In 1885, it moved to Newberry, SC. It moved once again in 1903 to Mt. Pleasant, SC. It moved for a final time in 1911 to Columbia, SC, it’s current location. In 2012, it merged with Lenoir-Rhyne University.