Carl Edward Schneider

Carl Edward Schneider, born in Jefferson City, Missouri, served as Professor of Church History at Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, from 1918-54, and he was only the second professor to teach theological subjects in English. After graduating from Elmhurst College in 1909 and Eden in 1912, he was ordained at Zion Evangelical Church, Evansville, Indiana. After pastoring for one year, he pursued further studies at the universities of Leipzig and Tübingen from 1913-15, and then returned to serve three years as a pastor in Cannelton, Indiana. He went on to earn an M.A. in Sociology from Washington University in 1924, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago in 1935.

He published a version of his Ph.D. dissertation as The German Church on the American Frontier in 1939. The letters, records, and books he gathered for this volume form the core of the Eden Archives. He served on the Historical Commissions of the Evangelical Synod and Evangelical & Reformed Church and on the executive committee of the Evangelical & Reformed Historical Society. Schneider was one of the first church leaders recruited by the World Council of Churches to help with church relief after WWII, traveling in Europe in 1945 and 1948. After retiring from Eden, he returned to Europe on a Fulbright Scholarship and, while there, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Mainz in recognition of his service to the German Church. He continued to work in the Eden Archives until 1965.

Source: Eden Theological Seminary