Audio Archive

Bouman, Walter

Walter Bouman, was a prominent Lutheran theologian and lecturer, retired professor of systematic theology and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

He earned a bachelor's degree and master of divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and a doctorate in theology from University of Heidelberg. In 1956, he was ordained in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and served as pastor of two LCMS congregations before joining the faculty of Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, Illinois in 1963.

In 1971, Bouman began teaching systematic theology at the former Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary (ELTS), Columbus, Ohio. He became a pastor of the former American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1977. In 1978, ELTS merged with the Hamma Divinity School, Springfield, Ohio, to create Trinity Lutheran Seminary.

He served on the Lutheran-Episcopal dialogues that led to a full-communion relationship for the ELCA and Episcopal Church. Bouman was a member of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission, and a consultant to the Anglican-Lutheran dialogue in Canada and to the conversations between the Anglican churches of Britain and Ireland and the Scandinavian and Baltic Lutheran Churches.

He retired in 1999 but continued to teach at Trinity as professor emeritus until April 2005.

Bouman was author or co-author of 12 books, the most recent a book of reflections and prayers on the Augsburg Confession. He contributed to three encyclopedias and 10 books, including Exploring and Proclaiming the Apostles' Creed, and was the author of more than 200 journal articles, reviews, audiotapes and courses on videotape.

He passed away in August, 2005 of cancer.

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