Latin-American Adventist Theological Sem.

The Adventist Education System is present in almost all countries through its Educational Institutions, of which 1,050 are of secondary level and 4,450 of elementary level, in addition to 90 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), totaling a record of 996,249 enrollments. In South America there are 26,000 students of higher education and in Brazil the System has seven HEIs located in different states, being present in most Brazilian regions.

The Latin American Adventist Seminary of Theology (SALT) was initially called the Northeast Theology Seminary. Its activities began in 1957, within the Adventist Northeastern School (ENA), inaugurated on April 21, 1943, in the city of Belém de Maria, in the forest region of the State of Pernambuco, under the leadership of Professor Artur Leitzke. In its initial operating structure, the Seminary of Theology of the Northeast offered only two years of course at ENA, and then the students moved to São Paulo, where they completed the course after studying two more years.

With the arrival in 1960 of Prof. Dean Davis, master of biblical theology and professor of biblical languages, the Seminary of Theology of the Northeast began its full four-year course at ENA. In this format, the first graduating class graduated in 1963.

By the vote of the Administrative Bureau No. 79/235 of June 24, 1979, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, due to the growth of theological education, created the Rectory of the Seminary of South America, based in Brasilia. The Seminary of Theology of the Northeast was accepted as a member of this new organizational structure, coming to be known as SALT/ENA. In 1987, due to the unhealthy circumstances of the Region of Belém de Maria, Pernambucano municipality, the Seminary was transferred to the village of Capoeiruçu, municipality of Cachoeira, State of Bahia, in the Recôncavo region. The institution that hosted the seminary was the Adventist Institute of Teaching of the Northeast (IAENE), founded on October 14, 1979. That is why the seminar came to be known as SALT/IAENE.

SALT/IAENE classes began in March 1987. The Seminar offered free courses of Bachelor of Theology (4 years), Bachelor of Religion (4 years), Teaching in Religious Education (2 years) and Biblical Instruction (2 years). Finally allocated in Bahia, SALT grew extraordinarily year after year.

From 1994 SALT began to venture into the field of literary and academic productions. With the help of Professor Joaquim Azevedo, the seminary editor was created, which was named the Biblical Literature Research Center (CEPLIB), initially intended to focus on the areas of biblical languages and exegesis. Subsequently, the range of possibilities was also opened for other thematic lines.