Princeton Theological Seminary

File:Princeton logo.jpg

Princeton Theological Seminary is one of the world's leading institutions for graduate theological education and home of the largest theological library in the United States. Like other elite theological institutions, such as Harvard Divinity School and Yale Divinity School, Princeton Seminary has roots in a distinctive denominational heritage. Whereas Harvard and Yale are Unitarian and Episcopalian foundations, respectively, Princeton Seminary was affiliated from the beginning with the Presbyterian Church and the wider Reformed tradition, though it is today a school with an ecumenical and worldwide constituency.

File:Princetonsteeple.jpg

The steeple of Alexander Hall

History

The Seminary's beginnings are in the early 19th century, when higher-level professional education was beginning to be separated from the general education taught at many universities in the United States. The Theological Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey, was established by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1812, with the support of the directors of nearby College of New Jersy (later to be re-named Princeton University), as the first graduate theological school in the United States. The Seminary remains an institution of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

File:Alexpts.jpg

Alexander Hall

In 1812, the Seminary boasted three students and the Reverend Dr. Archibald Alexander as its first professor. By 1815 the number of students had gradually increased and work began on a building: Alexander Hall was designed by John McComb, Jr., a New York architect, and opened in 1817. The original cupola was added in 1827; it burned in 1913 and was replaced in 1926. The building was simply called "Seminary" until 1893, when it was officially named Alexander Hall. Since its founding, Princeton Seminary has graduated approximately 14,000 men and women who have served the church in many capacities, from pastoral ministry, to missionary work, to pastoral care, to Christian education, to leadership in the academy and business.

The Town of Princeton

Rich in history and with an important colonial past, the town of Princeton has been home to the likes of Jonathan Edwards, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, and Albert Einstein. Still in essence a small town, yet only an hour from both New York City and Philadelphia, Princeton has an uncommon breadth of cultural and educational resources.

The sixth president of Princeton Theological Seminary, the Very Rev. Dr. Iain Torrance, gives the benediction at his inauguration, March 11 2005. The inauguration took place in Princeton University’s gothic chapel, built in 1923, and the venue for the Seminary's annual Commencement Service. The combined choirs of Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton University, and Westminster Choir College sang at the inauguration.

Presidents of Princeton Seminary

• Francis Landey Patton (1902-1913)
• J. Ross Stevenson (1914-1936)
• John A. Mackay (1936-1959)
• James I. McCord (1959-1983)
• Thomas W. Gillespie (1983-2005)
• Iain Torrance (2005-)

Note: prior to 1902, when the office of President was created, the Seminary's faculty governed under the leadership of a Principal: Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) was the founder and first Principal (1812-1840); xxx was the second principle (1840-1851); Charles Hodge (1797-1878) was the Siminary's third principal (1851-1878); Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823-1886) was the fourth principal (1878-1886); and Benjamin Breckinridge (B.B.) Warfield (1851-1921) was the fifth principal (1887-1921).

Degree Programs

• Master of Divinity (M.Div.)
• Masters of Arts (M.A.)
• Master of Arts (Theological Studies)
• Master of Theology (Th.M.)
• Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
• Dual M.Div./M.A. in Education or Youth Ministry

File:Millerchapel.jpg

Miller Chapel

Miller Chapel

Built in 1834, Princeton's chapel was named to honor Samuel Miller, the second professor at the Seminary. Originally located beside Alexander Hall, it was moved in 1933 toward the center of the campus, its steps now leading down onto the Seminary's main quad. Miller Chapel underwent a complete renovated in 2000, with the addition of the Joe R. Engle Organ.

Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries

The Seminary's libraries comprise the largest theological collection in the United States, second only in the world to the Vatican Library, with over 500,000 bound volumes, pamphlets, and microfilms. It currently receives about 2,100 journals, annual reports of church bodies and learned societies, bulletins, transactions, and periodically issued indices, abstracts, and bibliographies. The Libraries are:

• Speer Library, opened in 1957 and named in honor of the renowned missionary statesman Robert E. Speer, has space for 400,000 volumes and 200 readers
• Henry Luce III Library, dedicated in 1994 and named in honor of a distinguished trustee, Henry Luce III, 350,000 volumes and 250 readers

Center for Barth Studies

The Center for Barth Studies was established at Princeton Seminary in 1997 and is administered by a board of seminary faculty. The Center sponsors conferences, research opportunities, discussion groups, and publications which seek to advance understanding of the theology of Karl Barth (1886-1968), the Swiss-German professor and pastor widely regarded as the greatest theologian of the 20th century. The Karl Barth Research Collection, part of Special Collections in the Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries, supports the scholarly activities of the Center for Barth Studies. The Karl Barth Research Collection is acquiring an exhaustive collection of writings by and about Karl Barth. Although many volumes are still needed, the Research Collection has already acquired Barth's most important works in German and English, several first editions, and an original hand-written manuscript by Karl Barth.

Endowed Lectureships

• Stone Lectures
• Warfied Lectures
• The Frederick Neumann Memorial Lecture
• Students´ Lectureship on Missions
• Women in Church and Ministry Lecture
• The Alexander Thompson Lecture
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture
• Abraham Kuyper Prize and Lecture

Books about or featuring Princeton Seminary

• Princeton Seminary, 2 volumes, by David B. Calhoun is the now standard history of the Seminary
• John Updike's 1986 novel Roger's Version is partly set in Princeton Seminary

External links

• Princeton Theological Seminary website
• Maps of Princeton Seminary
• Princeton University
• Center for Barth Studies