Sixty-five students and five honorees were celebrated this evening at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis as part of the school’s 2026 Commencement exercises.

Of the graduates recognized, 31 earned a Master of Divinity degree, 20 earned a Master of Arts degree and two earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree. Additionally, two graduates earned a Doctor of Ministry degree and seven earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree. The Seminary also recognized three students who will earn a pastoral certificate upon completion of the Residential Alternate Route Program.

Find the full list of students and their degrees and certificates in the Commencement program.

The festivities began with the morning’s Theological Diploma Service in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. During the service, students eligible to receive a call as a pastor or deaconess in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) received their theological diplomas. Dr. Timothy Saleska, the Seminary’s Gustav and Sophie Butterbach Professor of Exegetical Theology, delivered the sermon.

“On the day that you were baptized, you became part of God’s family,” said Saleska. “You became brothers and sisters in Christ and children of God. ‘As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.’ No matter what God sees in your heart of hearts, no matter how awful your sin, God will not break that promise. He will not un-adopt you. He will not abandon you. God is greater than your heart. That is grace beyond our comprehension.”

In the evening, graduates gathered on the Seminary’s Main Quadrangle for the Commencement ceremony. Rev. Theodore Krey, regional director for the Latin America and the Caribbean region of the LCMS, delivered the Commencement address.

“Pastors, deaconesses, faculty, family and friends in Jesus, you are pilgrims at the ready with your staff in your hand, and as you go outside the gate to bear the reproach of Jesus, remember that you are the church on the march,” said Krey. “You will engage your culture, remaining faithful in your preaching of the Gospel and in your peculiar identity as people. We proclaim the Gospel, though it be foreign and strange, for there the church is at her best and there we clearly give witness.”

During the Commencement ceremony, faculty members presented the Christus Vivit Award to Kris Schuldt of St. Louis, Mo.; the Distinguished Alumnus Award to Dr. William Knippa of Austin, Texas; an honorary Doctor of Letters to Dr. Brendan Wolfe of St Andrews, Scotland; an honorary Doctor of Divinity to Rev. Kenneth Block of Seward, Neb.; and an honorary Doctor of Laws to Krey. More information about each honoree is available at csl.edu/commencement.

Seminary President Dr. Thomas J. Egger expressed gratitude for Dr. Glenn Nielsen as he recognized the acclaimed professor’s planned retirement at the end of the academic year.

Nielsen joined the faculty in 1990. As a professor of Practical Theology, he taught classes in homiletics, focusing especially on the faithful and creative communication of God’s Word. He served as the director of vicarage from 1990-23. In 2007, he also assumed responsibilities for the internship program for the Seminary’s Deaconess Studies Program. In 2017, he became the director of placement and in 2021, the director of certification. In 2023, he stepped down as the director of vicarage and internships when he became senior professor.

At the end of the Commencement exercises, Egger referred to the Seminary’s 2025-26 academic theme, “Christ the Living Stone … Building Us Together,” based on 1 Peter 2:4–5, as he addressed the students.

“By His precious blood, the Lord Jesus has ransomed us from a vain and futile life,” said Egger. “He has given us meaning and purpose, to bear fruit that will last. This high calling applies to every Christian, to the priesthood of all believers, serving our neighbor and bearing witness to our Saviour in word and deed. And certainly, then, it applies to the shared work of those going forth in the name of the Lord, to shepherd Christ’s flock, to serve His holy Church. God is building us, upon Christ, together, to be a spiritual house doing holy work, together.”

Egger closed the 187th academic year, and the assembly concordantly recited the Lord’s Prayer. The graduates departed as the clarion brass played the recessional hymn, “Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation” (LSB 909).

This year’s graduates join more than 9,000 called leaders of the LCMS around the world, and they graduated during the 100th year of the Seminary’s operations on its Clayton campus.

About Concordia Seminary

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). To learn more, visit csl.edu.