Passing the baton in Ukraine: New Rector for Odessa Seminary

Left to right: LCC President Robert Bugbee, Rev. Dr. Norman Threinen, and Rev. Dr. Wilhelm Torgerson discuss the transition in leadership for Ukraine’s seminary.

UKRAINE – Concordia Seminary in Odessa, Ukraine is preparing to welcome a new class of students this fall. And it does so this year under new guidance, as Rev. Dr. Wilhelm Torgerson succeeds Rev. Dr. Norman Threinen as Rector (President) of the seminary.

“It is a joy to take on this new service to the church,” said Dr. Torgerson. “I’m looking forward to building on the strong foundation that Dr. Threinen has set at the Odessa Seminary, as we prepare students in Ukraine for pastoral ministry.”

Dr. Torgerson has four decades of experience in parish ministry, having served much of that time as a parish pastor in Germany. He has served as an adjunct professor with Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary (St. Catharines, Ontario) since 2011.

The transfer of authority marks a significant milestone in the history of the Odessa seminary. The seminary was founded in 1998 through the support of Lutheran Church–Canada. Dr. Threinen has supervised the seminary as Rector ever since. In total, more than 20 students have graduated from the seminary since its inception, with many now serving as pastors in LCC’s partner church the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Ukraine, as well as in Kazakhstan.

“The Odessa seminary has been dear to my heart for many years,” said Dr. Threinen. “I have great confidence in Dr. Torgerson as he takes on this new role. May God bless him and the Odessa seminary now and into the future.”

The transfer of authority from Dr. Threinen to Dr. Torgerson took place earlier this year, but September will mark the first new class of students since Dr. Torgerson took office. The last graduating class of Concordia Seminary was in 2013. The seminary had originally planned to welcome a new class of students in the Fall of 2014 but those plans were delayed as a result of political instability in the region. While tensions between Ukraine and neighboring Russia remain high, SELCU at its 2014 convention nevertheless resolved to begin classes anew in September 2015.

Lutheran Church–Canada’s President Robert Bugbee met with Drs. Threinen and Torgerson early in the summer to discuss details of the transition. “I don’t want to miss this opportunity to acknowledge the conscientious work of Dr. Threinen over these many years,” President Bugbee said. “If any number of Ukrainian pastors feel a heart-tie to their brothers and sisters in Canada despite the great distance between here and there, I think it’s because Dr. Threinen was such a patient and winsome representative of our church in his teaching and personal contacts. God bless the seeds he planted!”

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