World renowned Reformation scholars will present a day of lectures on Tuesday, March 27, at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, as part of a four-seminary lecture tour titled "The Book of Concord for the Twenty-First Century." The lectures are designed to highlight the publication of "The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church" by Fortress Press in 2000 and companion resource books scheduled for publication in 2001.

The lectures will be free of charge and open to the public. No tickets will be issued, and seating will be handled on a first-come, first-seated basis in the Seminary's Wyneken Auditorium. Lunch is available at the Seminary for a nominal charge.

Charles P. Arand and Robert A. Kolb, professors at Concordia Seminary and contributors to the new "Book of Concord," will provide lectures on March 27. Others giving lectures include Irene Dingel, occupant of the chair of church history and history of dogma at the University of Mainz, Germany; Timothy J. Wengert, professor of the history of Christianity at The Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Penn., and James A. Nestingen, professor of church history at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.

Wengert and Kolb served as co-editors for the translation of the new "Book of Concord." Arand translated the "Apology of the Augsburg Confession" for the new "Book of Concord." His translation is the first one based upon a different text--the "octavo text." Nestingen and Kolb are editing a volume of source and context documents related to the Lutheran Confessions and writing a historical introduction to the "Book of Concord." Both volumes are scheduled for publication later this year.

"We are pleased to serve as one of the host sites for this prestigious lecture series, and we invite all who have an interest in Lutheran confessional studies to join our Seminary community for these lectures," commented Dr. Andrew Bartelt, professor of exegetical theology and vice president for academic affairs at Concordia Seminary. "Professors Arand and Kolb provided major contributions to the new "Book of Concord," and it is fitting that Concordia Seminary encourage the use of this significant new resource by students of the Lutheran Confessions."

The schedule for the day's activities is as follows:

For more information, contact Seminary Relations, Concordia Seminary, 801 DeMun Ave., St.Louis, MO 63105; 314-505-7370. Information is also available on the Seminary's web site (www.csl.edu).