Priests' education vs. Protestant ministers' education: differences?

[Soma Seer]

I've know that priests obtain more religious-based education than do Protestant ministers. Can anyone explain what information priests learn that Protestant ministers do not--besides Latin and how to conduct the RC Mass?

I truly am curious to know what may put a priest above/beyond a Protestant minister in terms of education.

Thank you,

SS

 

[pdudgeon]

the answer is vastly more education for a priest than for a Protestant minister. In some denominations the Protestant minister needs no education at all beyond high school. in other denominations only two or three years at most of divinity school is quite common, and there are two degrees to choose from;
a degree in either ministry (the practical side) or a degree in theology (the biblical side).

priests on the other hand begin with 6 years minimum before ever setting foot in a pulpit or serving a parish. (not to mention that they also study the church documents, writings, and 2k years worth of church governance...) priests are indeed well formed.

and we haven't even mentioned the languages that they study!
for instance if the priest obtains their education (or even a part of it) in a foreign country,
then we have that language added on.
could be Spanish, Italian, German, English, Polish, French, etc. to their native language. and then there's the Greek (both kinds), Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, etc.

even the instruction for how the different rites celebrate the Mass is vastly complicated.
it's a wonder how they pack it all into just 6 years.

 

[Soma Seer]

In some denominations the Protestant minister needs no education at all beyond high school. in other denominations only two or three years at most of divinity school is quite common, and there are two degrees to choose from; a degree in either ministry (the practical side) or a degree in theology (the biblical side).

priests on the other hand begin with 6 years minimum before ever setting foot in a pulpit or serving a parish.[/

Does that mean that priests typically earn a Master's degree in seminary, or that they typically earn a Master's prior to entering the seminary?

(not to mention that they also study the church documents, writings, and 2k years worth of church governance...) priests are indeed well formed.

I think that this statement gets at the crux of my question.

and we haven't even mentioned the languages that they study! for instance if the priest obtains their education (or even a part of it) in a foreign country, then we have that language added on. could be Spanish, Italian, German, English, Polish, French, etc. to their native language. and then there's the Greek (both kinds), Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, etc.

I can understand how/why it is that learning multiple languages would increase the length of time one spends in seminary, but is it fair to say that many priests lose their ability to speak these languages, assuming that they don't use them--especially Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew--with great frequency "on the job"? I figure that it's like anything else: if you don't use it, you lose it. And it doesn't seem uncommon to hear of priests claiming to be "rusty" in Latin, which makes me suspect that they become "rusty" in others that are used even less frequently.

BTW, I'm not making a negative comment on the fact that priests must learn various foreign languages only to (potentially) forget them; anyone who earns a higher education--secular or religious--winds up having to learn things that s/he will never use and, thus, forgets over time.

 

[pdudgeon]

Does that mean that priests typically earn a Master's degree in seminary, or that they typically earn a Master's prior to entering the seminary?



I think that this statement gets at the crux of my question.



I can understand how/why it is that learning multiple languages would increase the length of time one spends in seminary, but is it fair to say that many priests lose their ability to speak these languages, assuming that they don't use them--especially Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew--with great frequency "on the job"? I figure that it's like anything else: if you don't use it, you lose it. And it doesn't seem uncommon to hear of priests claiming to be "rusty" in Latin, which makes me suspect that they become "rusty" in others that are used even less frequently.

BTW, I'm not making a negative comment on the fact that priests must learn various foreign languages only to (potentially) forget them; anyone who earns a higher education--secular or religious--winds up having to learn things that s/he will never use and, thus, forgets over time.

no problem. that's the beauty of learning something. even not having used the language for many years, it is still there in the back of the brain, waiting to be brought back out of mothballs. The higher up one goes in the church, the more likely that they will need to be fluent in several languages--Latin being the basic language of the Church Universal, with Greek (both kinds) Hebrew, and Aramaic being the languages of the Bible.

The 6 year masters degree is done in seminary, after the 4 years of college to earn the bachelor's degree.
most Priestly foundations will be looking for that compleated college degree unless the candidate is admitted earlier as a friar.

The 10 years of college and post college only apply if the graduates are not subsiquently tapped to work in the Vatican after seminary, or the foundation of their Order is not located in a foreign country,(and thus time is split between countries to ensure a good priestly formation)
or they elect to go to the American College in Rome for 2 years, or to study further for their degree in Cannon Law,
or further years of post grad language study if they are sent as missionaries to a foreign country.
there are all sorts of possibilities world wide for religious and priests when it comes to assignments.

so yes, 13-14+ years of further study after high school is a possibility for a priest.

 

[Davidnic]

yep 9-10 after high school is the average depending on the seminary and how they break it up. The usual is: 4 years undergrad, one year spirituality, 3 graduate, one deacon for a total of 9. They leave with a minimum of usually a Bachelors in Philosophy and a Masters in Divinity. But the type of bachelors can vary. I went to the seminary, left and got my undergrad from Penn State then got my Masters through their school of theological studies that is set up for the laity and religious.

Now some orders, working for the Vatican, getting a licentiate in canon law or other situations can increase the study, as pdudgen has said.

 

[Tangible]

Pastors in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod must first complete a bachelor's degree, then apply to seminary. Once accepted they study two years in topics such as extensive and in-depth study of Koine Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, dogmatics, patristics, hermaneutics, the Lutheran Confessions, and other suitable topics. The third year is known as the vicarage, where a pastoral candidate spends a year under the tutelage of a working pastor in a parish church. The vicar preaches, assists in administering the sacraments, and learns to perform other pastoral duties. The fourth year is spent back at the seminary analyzing what they learned on vicarage and finishing up their other studies.

So four years for a bachelor's degree, four years of seminary. LCMS pastors all have an MDiv. Some continue their studies to earn doctorates, and some even do post-doctoral work if they teach in the seminary.

Only men are admitted to the pastoral program. Women may attend seminary and follow a very similar course of study in the Deaconess program. Deacons and Deaconesses are employed in administrative positions in the denomination, in schools and service organizations.

http://www.ctsfw.edu/

http://www.csl.edu/