John Tietjen

John H. Tietjen (June 18, 1928 – February 15, 2004) was a Lutheran clergyman, theologian, and national church leader in the United States. He is best known both for his role in the Seminex controversy which roiled the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) in the mid-1970s, and for his efforts on behalf of Lutheran unity that resulted in the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Life and work

Tietjen was born in New York City as a son of German immigrants, and he attended Stuyvesant High School, Concordia Collegiate Institute (now Concordia College, Bronxville), and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He also earned master's and doctorate degrees at Union Theological Seminary in New York. After being ordained in the LCMS in 1953, Tietjen rose through the Synod ranks and eventually was chosen as president of its largest seminary, Concordia Seminary, in 1969.

While president of Concordia Seminary, Tietjen and many of the Concordia faculty members faced opposition from a new, more conservative administration of the LCMS. The faculty's use of Historical-Critical Method for biblical interpretation was cast by conservatives as being at odds with the historic theological position of the LCMS. Tietjen was accused of allowing the teaching of false doctrine, and he was suspended from his duties as seminary president in January 1974.