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April 22, 2021

Moravian College and Seminary and the Lancaster Theological Seminary are exploring merger options, the two institutions in Pennsylvania announced yesterday.

The discussions are nonbinding. They are focused on providing “an ecumenical theological education on multiple campuses,” according to information about the talks  by Lancaster Theological Seminary. The talks include a commitment to retain the Lancaster Theological Seminary name.

Moravian College, located in Bethlehem, Pa., is a private institution founded in 1742 that counts itself as the country’s sixth-oldest college. Moravian Theological Seminary is a part of the college that traces its own founding back to 1807. The Moravian campus is about an 80-mile drive from Lancaster Theological Seminary, which was founded in 1825 and is one of six seminaries associated with the progressive United Church of Christ.

Moravian enrolled about 2,600 students in the fall of 2019, counting undergraduate and graduate students, according to federal data. Lancaster Theological Seminary enrolled 107, all at the graduate level. The seminary also offers classes providing continuing education credits for lay minsters, bivocational leaders and others.

Lancaster Theological Seminary made long-term financial sustainability a goal in a 2020 strategic plan, opening the possibility of a partnership with another institution. Then in February, the seminary suspended a presidential search amid discussions about a deal with Moravian. In materials explaining the talks, Lancaster Theological Seminary pointed to a long history at Moravian Theological Seminary of preparing students to serve in many denominations.

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