Wikipedia's first sentence called it “specialized university -like institution for the purpose of instructing students in religion”. Today it says “educational institution for educating students”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Institution for educating students in theology Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary , Fort Worth, Texas Southeastern Baptist Theological”. It now reads “Theology education institution”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
A seminary is a specialized university -like institution for the purpose of instructing students in religion , often in order to prepare them to become members of the clergy. This usually, though not always, applies to Christian education. Roman Catholic seminaries usually have their degrees conferred by a Pontifical University . Although the primary purpose of a seminary is to prepare and equip candidates for religious service in the church , nowadays many people not intending to become involved in church leadership may study in seminaries. Qualifications may be obtained majoring in pastoral work and similar fields, as well as in the more academic disciplines. Many monks , nuns and church workers attend a seminary to enhance their qualifications. It is also quite common for lay people to study in a seminary to enhance their spiritual life, to explore academic interests, or to prepare for non-ordained ministries (for example, choir director or Sunday school teacher ).1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16211486.
The opening as it stood in 2010 7 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A seminary , theological college , or divinity school is an institution of higher education for educating students (sometimes called seminarians ) in theology , generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry .The English word is taken from the Latin seminarium , translated as seed-bed , the image from the Council of Trent document Cum Adulescentium Aetas which called for the first modern seminaries.As such, in the West the term historically referred to Christian educational institutes, but has widened to include American Jewish institutions.XXIII Session, Council of Trent , ch.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 363145519.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A seminary , theological college , divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians ) in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry .The English word is taken from the Latin seminarium , translated as seed-bed , an image taken from the Council of Trent document Cum adolescentium aetas which called for the first modern seminaries.In the West the term now refers to Roman Catholic educational institutes and has widened to include other Christian denominations and American Jewish institutions. XXIII Session, Council of Trent , ch.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 663719816.
The opening as it stood in 2020
A seminary , school of theology , theological seminary , or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians ) in scripture , theology , generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, in academics, or in Christian ministry . The English word is taken from the Latin seminarium , translated as seed-bed , an image taken from the Council of Trent document Cum adolescentium aetas which called for the first modern seminaries. In the West, the term now refers to Catholic educational institutes and has widened to include other Christian denominations and American Jewish institutions. In the U.S., the term is currently used for graduate-level institutions, but historically it was used for high schools. XXIII Session, Council of Trent , ch.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 955511138.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Institution for educating students in theology Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary , Fort Worth, Texas Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary , Wake Forest, North Carolina A seminary , school of theology , theological seminary , or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians ) in scripture and theology , generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy , in academics, or mostly in Christian ministry .The English word is taken from , translated as 'seed-bed', an image taken from the Council of Trent document which called for the first modern seminaries.In the United States, the term is currently used for graduate-level theological institutions, but historically it was used for high schools . XXIII Session, Council of Trent , ch.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175949599.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Institution for educating students in theology For other uses, see Seminary (disambiguation) .Fuller Theological Seminary , in Pasadena, California , United States Saint-Sulpice Seminary , in Issy-les-Moulineaux , France A seminary , school of theology , theological college , or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians ) in scripture and theology , generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy , in academics, or mostly in Christian ministry .The English word is taken from Latin : seminarium , translated as 'seed-bed', an image taken from the Council of Trent document Cum adolescentium aetas , ' Since the age of adolescence ' which called for the first modern seminaries. In the United States, the term is currently used for graduate-level theological institutions, but historically it was used for high schools . XXIII Session, Council of Trent , ch.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297434503. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “specialized university -like institution for the purpose of instructing students in religion”. Today it says “educational institution for educating students”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Institution for educating students in theology Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary , Fort Worth, Texas Southeastern Baptist Theological”. It now reads “Theology education institution”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
specialized university -like institution for the purpose of instructing students in religion
Now
educational institution for educating students
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
