Bern/ Switzerland, 25.01.2012/APD: On February 27, Dr. Christoph Berger (45) will succeed Dr. Winfried Vogel (57) as the General Director of the Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen, at St. Peter am Hart / Austria. Funded in 1949, this learning center is supported financially by the 2,300 German-speaking Swiss Adventists and the 3,900 Austrian Adventists. This institution provides ministerial training and other educational opportunities for students coming from both countries, but also from elsewhere around the world.
Dr. Christoph Berger has a degree in theology from the former Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Marienhöhe, Darmstadt / Germany, and a Master of Arts (MA) and Doctor of Ministry (D. Min.), both from the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), in the Philippines. He was a pastor and youth director in Germany and Italy, Vice President of the Asia Pacific International University in Thailand. He leads also the "Plant Academy," a course for mission and church growth at the Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen. Berger is married with Stefania Mazza and has two daughters, Sharon and Charlotte.
Dr. Winfried Vogel resigned for personal reasons. He chaired the Seminar since 1997. Winfried Vogel is married and has three grown sons. He was a pastor in Germany, a lecturer in theology at the Theological Seminary Marienhöhe, Darmstadt, and Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at the Seminary in Austria.
The Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen also teaches elementary and secondary school for grades 1 to 8, with 44 students and one senior secondary school for grades 9 to 12, with 87 students. The matriculation examination (Matura) is nationally recognized and valid throughout Europe. At the Theological Seminary, with currently 38 students, you may obtain a de
gree comparable to a Bachelor's degree in a period of four years. The Language Institute has departments for Hebrew, Greek and German as foreign languages. The German department, currently with 14 students, will grant an Austrian Language Diploma after a nine-month-course. The "Plant Academy", the latest training course with seven graduates and lasts one year, teaches knowledge and practice with focus on mission and church planting.
The second German-language training facility of the Adventist church is the Theological College Friedensau in Magdeburg / Germany, founded in 1899 and officially recognized since 1990. At present 178 students are enrolled. It offers comparable to Bachelor's and Master's programs, in the fields of Theology and Christian Social Work according to the Bologna Process European Degrees. The following courses are available at Friedensau: Bachelor of Arts in Theology (BA - six semesters), Master of Arts in Theology (MA - four semesters), Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MTS - in English, four semesters), Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BA - six semesters), Bachelor of Arts in Health and Nursing Sciences (BA - nine semesters with professional training), Master of Arts in Counseling (MA - four semesters), Master of Arts in International Economics (MA - in English, four semesters) and Master of Arts in Social and Health Management and a Master of Arts (MA) in music Therapy, both for six semesters with professional training.
Adventists in Austria meet for worship in 49 churches. They run a publishing house, a nursing home, an elementary school with four grades, and four elementary and secondary schools with eight grades.
