Selected from about 200 applicants from across the world, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Master of Divinity (M.Div.) student Joshua Armstrong received one of 14 available 2024 Seminary Fellow of Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE).

He joined the other fellows, who are graduate students from other seminaries or who are in the fields of medicine or journalism, for a two-week program of intense study set in Germany and Poland, including a visit to the site of the infamous Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp. The program ran from June 21-July 5.

“I was thrilled to participate in this immersive interdisciplinary experience alongside students from diverse institutional backgrounds,” Armstrong said. “Before attending the Seminary, I had an interest in how individual laity and clergy responded to Nazi-era policies and I appreciated the opportunity to dig into these issues with this cohort of FASPE fellows.”

According to FASPE, the fellowship program for seminary students addresses the complicity of clergy in the execution of Nazi policies. Topics to be discussed include clergy members who failed to speak out against atrocity, postwar confession, apologies and reconciliation, and the right and responsibility of religious leaders to be ethical educators. FASPE provides a holistic curriculum that looks beyond dogma and norms to focus on ethical problems faced by individual leaders in the contemporary pastoral or academic setting. After the program, each fellow submits an essay focused on a contemporary ethical issue of his or her choice. Select essays are published in the annual “FASPE Journal,” which showcases the work of the fellows.

Before attending Concordia Seminary, Armstrong spent a decade leading U.S. Air Force special warfare ground forces as a special tactics officer. He is an analytical thinker formed by a wide range of operational experiences in combat, international training exercises and humanitarian missions. Armstrong currently is serving as a vicar at Living Savior Lutheran Church, Fairfax Station, Va., in the LCMS Southeastern District.

“Joshua Armstrong was an excellent representative of Concordia Seminary as a fellow for the FASPE,” said Dr. Joel Elowsky, professor of Historical Theology and dean of Advanced Studies. “His disciplined approach to scholarship, coupled with his experience in military leadership, are a potent combination in demonstrating the importance of ethical leadership in the life of the church and the world. As I mentioned in my letter of recommendation, when I think of Joshua, I think of a leader who will do well in service to the church and the world in whatever he pursues.”

Armstrong is the fourth Concordia Seminary student to be selected for the fellowship program. Rev. Jess Biermann, who currently serves as associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran Ministries in Edwardsville, Ill., was awarded the fellowship in 2019. Ph.D. student Christian Einertson received the fellowship in 2018. Rev. Paul Flo, a 2017 recipient, currently serves as the assistant to the director of the Center for Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary.