seminaries

Future priests study

Seminaries are schools that train students for religious ministry, especially for the Christian priesthood or clergy.

The word comes from a root meaning seedbed—a place where future religious leaders are cultivated.

He spent four years at the seminary before his ordination.

In older usage, seminary could mean any school, particularly one for young women.

clergy

pastors

Church spiritual leaders

priestsOrdained religious leaders
ministersReligious leaders or officials
deaconsOrdained ministerial assistants

vicars · rectors · chaplains · bishops · abbots · friars · monks · nuns · rabbis · imams

training

ordination

Clergy appointment ceremony

priesthoodOrdained religious office
vocationDedicated career path
formationCreation or arrangement

novitiate · discernment · preparation · candidacy · internship · residency · fieldwork · mentorship · apprenticeship · commissioning

academics

theology

Study of the divine

homileticsScience of sermon-making
hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
exegesisCritical textual interpretation

apologetics · pastoral · biblical · dogmatics · ethics · church history · New Testament · Old Testament · Greek · Hebrew

spirituality

formation

Creation or arrangement

prayerAddress to deity
devotionDeep, loyal commitment
chapel servicesWorship held in small sanctuary

spiritual direction · retreat · meditation · contemplation · discipline · rule of life · community worship · vespers · matins · compline

campus

chapel

Small worship room

libraryBook collection or building
dormitoryStudent living building
refectoryInstitutional dining room

quadrangle · grounds · residence · classroom · administration · admissions · rector · dean · faculty · students

traditions

Catholic

Papal church adherent

ProtestantPost-schism Western Christian
evangelicalZealously advocating beliefs
mainlineChief railway line

denominational · interdenominational · Lutheran · Baptist · Methodist · Presbyterian · Anglican · Pentecostal · rabbinical · yeshiva

Categories

Catholic educationCatholic schools, Catholic high schools, Catholic universities, parochial schools, parish schools
Church Bodiesarchdiocese, diocese, dioceses, bishopric, parishes
Anglican historyChurch of England, Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury, English Reformation, Book of Common Prayer
British CatholicismCatholic heritage, Catholic missions, Catholic parishes, Catholic schools, Catholic education
Canadian CatholicismJesuits, Catholic parishes, separate schools, parish priests, archdioceses
German CatholicismCologne Cathedral, dioceses, parishes, archbishops, Pope Benedict XVI

Opposites

religious vs. secular education

seminariesstate universities

Government-operated higher education schools

public universities · research universities · community colleges · trade schools · liberal arts colleges

vocational direction

seminarieslaw schools

Institutions for attorney training

business schools · medical schools · military academies · trade schools · engineering schools

institutional purpose

seminariesvocational schools

Institutions teaching practical job skills

technical institutes · trade schools · military academies · finishing schools · flight schools

Family

seminarian, seminarians

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G