116 Contested issues in training ministers in south afriCa The unique relationship between Church and seminary Most theological training institutions in Africa have adopted an ecclesial trend where their origins can be traced back to a particular denomination. This trend, in most cases, has not only informed but also greatly influenced the character and nature of these institutions. This pattern of relationship is not only unique for African church-seminary relations, but seems to be a method

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... so accepted in the West where most theological schools were established as ministerial training centres. Emphasising this kind of relationship in the United States context, Weber (2008) shows how theological institutions were founded by denominations, reflecting the particular emphasis of such denominations. According to him, this kind of relationship between theological institutions and their establishing communities is, in the context of education, exceptional only to theological schools (Weber 2008:65):