Franz August Otto Pieper

Who was Franz August Otto Pieper?

Franz August Otto Pieper was a Confessional Lutheran theologian; born at Carwitz, Pomerania and died in St. Louis, Missouri. After studying at the gymnasium of Colberg, Pomerania, he emigrated to the United States in 1870. In 1872, he graduated from Northwestern University in Watertown, Wisconsin and in 1875 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. He was Lutheran pastor at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, professor of theology in Concordia Seminary, president of the same institution, and also president of the Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other states since 1899. He also served as editor of Lehre und Wehre, the faculty journal of Concordia Seminary.

From 1882 to 1899, Pieper served on the Board of Colored Missions for the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America. He was the Synod's president from 1899 until 1911.

As a Systematic theologian, Franz Pieper's magnum opus, Christliche Dogmatik, translated into English as Christian Dogmatics, provided the modern world with a learned and extensive presentation of orthodox Lutheran theology. It continues to be the basic textbook of doctrinal theology in Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.