Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg
 Prospective Students  Students  Alumni  Friends/Supporters  Faculty/Staff  Lifelong Learners 
 Directories  Resources  Make a Gift  Events 
Faculty/Staff > Directory > The Rev. Dr. Kirsi I. Stjerna

Information about faculty members and staff
 

The Rev. Dr. Kirsi I. Stjerna

The Rev. Dr. Kirsi I. Stjerna

Professor of Reformation Church History and Director of the Institute for Luther Studies
E-mail: kstjerna@Ltsg.edu
Phone: 717.334.6286 ext. 2155

Biography:

Kirsi Stjerna is a native of Finland and came to Gettysburg via Rome, Boston, Cape Cod, and Oak Park, Ill. She has served in the Lutheran church in both Finland and the U.S., taught at the college and seminary level, practiced the skills of writing and translating, and raised her children. Before moving to Gettysburg in 2000, she worked as the Associate Director for Theological Education of the ELCA.

As the director of Gettysburg Seminary's Institute for Luther Studies, Stjerna has the pleasure of ongoing conversations with an international network of Luther and Reformations scholars, and it is always a highlight to host esteemed scholars in the field at our annual Luther Colloquy (offered the last Wednesday in October each year) to present their current research. These public lectures are often made available in Seminary Ridge Review (see http://www.ltsg.edu/SRP/Seminary-Ridge-Review for more information, see bschramm@Ltsg.edu). The Luther Colloquy and the Institute for Luther Studies seek to sponsor ongoing interest and research in Luther and the Reformation studies and to nurture future scholars in the field, for the benefit of church and academia (see  http://www.ltsg.edu/Programs/LutherStudies).

In addition to participating in the work of the Sixteenth Century Society & Conference, and the International Congress for Luther Studies (Helsinki 2012, seminar with Brooks Schramm “Martin Luther and the Old Testament”), she celebrated her 20th anniversary of membership in the American Academy of Religion as a member and a co-chair (with Deanna Thompson) of the steering committee for the “Martin Luther and Global Lutheran Traditions.”


Recent grants

2010-11  The Lilly Theological Scholars Collaborative Research Grant, Association of Theological Schools, USA and Canada, with Dr. Brooks Schramm.
2009  Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, Stipendiat, „Archives and Relations“,  Summer.
2004-05  The Lilly Theological Scholars Grant, Association of Theological Schools, USA and Canada

Education: B.A., Lysion Lukio College, Mikkeli, Finland, 1982
M.T.S., University of Helsinki, 1988
Ph.D. Boston University, 1994

Courses:  In addition to the regular offerings on Luther, the Reformations, Lutheran theology and the Confessions, and Christianity in Ancient and Medieval Worlds (aka history of Christian thought), Stjerna teaches such electives as Christian Mysticism and Spirituality, Women’s Voices in Christian History and Thought, Theology of Baptism, and Augustine and Rome are a joy to teach. Occasionally she teaches online (Lutheran Confessions) and leads travel seminars (Rome) with her colleague and spouse, the Rev. Dr. Brooks Schramm.

Publications:

In progress:

Martin Luther, the Bible, and the Jewish People, with Brooks Schramm. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. (Forthcoming, 2012.)
Luther’s Works: American Edition. Edited by Christopher B. Brown. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. Introductions and annotations to: Luther’s foreword to Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg’s Letter against the Constitution of Clerical celibacy (1520)  (Volume 737.1) and Luther’s foreword to On the Clerical Marriage, of the Reverend Herr Licentiate Stephan Klingebeil (1528) (Volume 584.1) (Forthcoming.)
Reformaation Naiset (revised translation of Women and the Reformation). Helsinki: Kirjapaja. (Forthcoming, March 2011).
Reading Christian Theology in the Protestant Tradition. Edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Melanie Webb.  Stjerna: “Sixteenth Century Christiantity.” T&T Clark. (Forthcoming.) 
Biographical History of Women Biblical Interpreters. Ed. Marion Taylor. Grand Rapids: Baker Academics. (Forthcoming, 2011.)
Women and Theological Writing During the Reformation. (Forthcoming.)
 

Books:

Women and the Reformation. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405114223.html
No Greater Jewel: Thinking of Baptism with Luther. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2009. http://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/item.jsp?clsid=195047&productgroupid=0&isbn=0806680083
Spirituality: Towards a 21st Century Lutheran Understanding. Edited by Kirsi Stjerna and Brooks  Schramm. Minneapolis: Lutheran University Press, 2004. 
The Role of the Bishop, Changing Models for a Global Church. Edited by Maria Erling and Kirsi Stjerna.  Minneapolis: Kirkhouse Publishers, 2002.
 

Translations:

Mannermaa, Tuomo. Two Kinds of Love. Martin Luther’s Religious World. Epilogue by Juhani Forsberg.  Fortress Press, 2010.
Mannermaa, Tuomo. Christ Present in Faith:  Luther’s View of Justification. Fortress Press, 2005.
Nissinen, Martti. Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A Historical Perspective. Fortress Press, 1998.
Birgit Klockars’ Works on Birgitta, from the Swedish originals: Birgitta och böckerna; Birgitta och hennes  värld, with ed. Dr. Kari E. Borresen, Oslo/Rome. (Forthcoming)
 

Encyclopedia contributions:

The Witnesses of Faith. Reformation Churches. Ed. Günther Gassmann. Roma: Citta Nuova, 2010.
The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History/Reformation. Ed. Carter Lindberg. Westminster John Knox,  Fall 2008.
The Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Ed. Hans Hillerbrand.  Routledge, 2004.
 

Festschrift contributions:

“Models of Interpretation: Psalm 51 in the Hands of Katharina Schütz Zell and Martin Luther.”  In Oppi ja Maailmankuva. Professori Eeva Martikaisen 60-vuotisjuhlakirja. [Doctrine and Worldview. Festschrift for Professor Eeva Martikainen.] Edited by Tomi Karttunen. Helsinki: Suomalainen Teologinen Kirjallisuusseura, 2009, 37-52.
“The Case of Women: New Perspectives, New Interests in Luther and Reformation Studies.” Festschrift for Dr Eric Gritsch. Edited by Ashley Hall. [Publication in-progress.]


Miscellaneous

“Finnish Sleep-Preachers: An Example of Women’s Spiritual Power.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative And Emergent Religions 5/1 (2001) 102-120.
“Grief, Glory and Grace: Insights on Eve and Tamar in Luther’s Genesis Commentary.” Seminary Ridge Review  6/2 (Spring 2004) 19-35.
“Re-thinking Lutheran Spirituality.” The Sewanee Theological Journal (December 2002) 29-47.
“Spiritual Models of Medieval Mystics Today: Rethinking the Legacy of St. Birgitta of Sweden.” Studies in Spirituality 12 (2002) 126-140.
 “The Unbearable Lightness of Teaching Luther and the Confessions.” Seminary Ridge Review (Spring 2002) 15-27.B
 

Examples of book reviews: 

Merrie Wiesner-Hanks, http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7404708
Sherry Jordon, Lutheran Quarterly, Summer 2010 Issue, Volume XXIV, Number 2.
Mary Elizabeth Anderson http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb050/is_3_78/ai_n35667214/
Rebecca Giselbrecht, http://www.irg.uzh.ch/personen/giselbrecht.html
Cathy Hampton, http://jts.oxfordjournals.org/content/61/1/407.extract
Mary Jane Haemig, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-0922.2009.01387_71.x/abstract
Martha Skeeters, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7196/is_201006/ai_n54367869/

Other Links Institute for Luther Studies