Karl L. Barth
Lutheran minister and seminary president / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karl L. Barth (November 7, 1924 – February 16, 2020) was the eighth president of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1982 to 1992.[1][2]
Barth was born in Wisconsin on November 7, 1924.[3] His father, G. Christian Barth, was a president of Concordia College in Wisconsin and his brother, W.L. Barth, also became a Lutheran minister.[4][5][6]
He graduated from Concordia College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1943 and earned a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1947.[1] He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity by Concordia Theological Seminary in 1975.[3]
He served as a pastor in Louisiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.[7][5] He was president of the South Wisconsin District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) from 1970 to 1982.[1]
He became president of Concordia Seminary in 1981.[8] He oversaw celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the seminary.[3] In 1986, he predicted that a pastor shortage would become a problem for LCMS churches.[9]
Barth was married and had five children. He died on February 16, 2020, and was buried in Wisconsin Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wisconsin.[1]