THE PRIEST SEMINARY STUTTGART
The first Priest Seminary of the Christian Community was consecrated in 1933 in Stuttgart. Stuttgart lies in a region, which like the Ruhr District is one of Germany's main industrial centres. Industrial goods are exported from here throughout the world. Moreover, this area has always had a particular significance for the country's spiritual life, also with respect to anthroposophy. One of the region's main hallmarks is this strong polarity between its spiritual and economic life.
There are usually between 40 and 50 students from all over the world studying at the Priest Seminary. The Course of Study comprises three years of training, the last of which is a practical year in a congregation. After this comes a six-month period of preparation for the ordination. The usual time for the completion of the course until the ordination is therefore three and a half years. However, this varies from individual to individual, depending on previous experience and training.
The training at the Priest Seminary in Stuttgart rests upon three pillars: studying together, shared religious striving and communal living. The common experience of worship every day in the Seminary chapel within the Act of Consecration of Man accompanies the shared path of study. The communal living in both houses of accommodation belonging to the Seminary allows the students to practise community life, by bridging differences in personal and cultural background. In this way, social competence, a pressing need of our time, is nurtured.
In its independent capacity as a place of training the Priest Seminary needs to be financially self-supportive. This is enabled partly through student fees. For financial support during the time of study one can apply (as a German national) to the funding body, 'Bundesausbildungförderungsgesetz' (or BAFöG, in abbreviation). To a limited extent, a scholarship fund on a loans basis can also be of assistance.
Orientation weeks offer the possibility of gaining an impression of the normal daily life at the Seminary and getting to know it from the inside.
A basic requirement for the course of study is the completion of studies at secondary education level, or the completion of a professional qualification, or indeed work experience over a number of years, as well as an admission's interview.
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