RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Theological Seminaries
gregational, Protestant Episcopal, Baptist, and Methodist Episcopal Churches.
The principles underlying the foundation of the seminary were expressed by the preamble composed by Dr. Erskine Mason and adopted by the board at its first meeting on Jan. 18, 1836. They were as follows. In the first place, the founders expressed their belief that a great city furnishes peculiar facilities and advantages for conducting theological education. In the second place, while providing for instruction in the doctrine and discipline of the Presbyterian Church, of which they were members, they declared their purpose to furnish the means of a full and thorough education in all the subjects taught in the best theological seminaries in this and other countries. In the third place, they emphasized the importance of practical training for an efficient ministry. They believed that it was not enough to be pious and scholarly; one must know how to express his faith and apply his knowledge in action. Accordingly, they proposed that their students identify themselves with the various churches of the city, actively engage in their services, and become familiar with all the benevolent efforts of the city and of the time. In the fourth place, they proposed to train men not only for the Christian ministry, but for every form of Christian service, whether educational, philanthropic, or religious. Finally, they wished to provide an institution of truly catholic spirit, or, in other words, to use their own memorable language, one around which " all men of moderate views and feelings, who desire to live free from party strife and to stand aloof from all extremes of doctrinal speculation, practical radicalism, and ecclesiastical domination, may cordially and affectionately rally." The charter provides that " equal privileges of admission and instruction, with all the advantages of the institution, shall be allowed to students of every denomination of Christians." In fact, instruction is given not only in the doctrine and polity of the Presbyterian Church, but also in those of other leading Protestant churches. The student body at the present time is made up of members of eighteen different Christian bodies. All of these are urged to retain their original connection, and to enter the ministry of their respective churches. The endeavor is made to provide them all with what they need for effective service to their own people.
The first seminary building was at No. 9 University Place, and was dedicated Dec. 12, 1838. Four professors' houses were also erected on Greene Street, but, owing to the financial embarrassments of the institution, these houses were sold some four years later. Two of these, together with the house and lot adjoining at the corner of Greene and Eighth Streets, were subsequently acquired in order to provide the students with dormitories. In 1884 the seminary moved to its second home on Lenox Hill, where its important group of buildings, with the main entrance at 1200 (afterward 700) Park Avenue, was dedicated Dec. 9, 1884. The generous benefactions of ex-Governor Edwin D. Morgan, supplemented by large gifts from D. Willis James, Morris K. Jesup, and others, made this move possible. In 1910 the seminary moved, for the third
time, to its present quarters on Morningside Heights. This removal was made possible through the princely generosity of D. Willis James, then vice-president of the board, to which, after his death, Mrs. James made large additions. The work of constructing the building was begun in 1908; the building was opened for instruction in Sept., 1910; and the formal service of dedication took place Nov. 29, 1910. The buildings, which are of English perpendicular Gothic, occupy the double block bounded by Broadway, Claremont Avenue, 120th and 122d Streets, and form a large rectangle enclosing a quadrangle of approximately 360 feet long and 100 feet wide. They consist of an entrance tower, an administration building, a library building, a memorial chapel given by Mrs. James in memory of her husband, a dormitory for students, a house for the president, and an apartment house with accommodations for ten professors.
The library of the seminary, on account both of its great size and the value of its collections, offers unusual opportunities to scholars and investigators. On May 1, 1909, it contained about 97,000 volumes, 55,000 pamphlets, and 186 manuscripts. The beginning of it was the library of Leander Van Ess, consisting of over 13,000 volumes, including such rare and valuable works as 430 incunabula, from 1469 to 1510 a.d.; 1,246 titles of Reformation literature, in original editions; 37 manuscripts; 4,209 volumes in church history, patristics, canon law, etc.; and about 200 editions of the Vulgate and of German Bibles (the earliest being 1470). Valuable additions have been made from the collections of the late Drs. Robinson, Field, Marsh, Gillett, Smith, Adams, Hatfield, Hitchcock, Schaff, Prentiss (qq.v.), and others.
Special mention may be made of a collection of nearly 800 Greek Testaments gathered by the late Dr. Isaac H. Hall (q.v.), and presented in 1898 by Mr. David H. McAlpin; of the hymnological library of Prof. Frederick M. Bird (q.v.), consisting of some 5,000 volumes, presented in 1888 by the late Henry Day, Esq., and of an almost exhaustive collection of Zwingliana presented in 1901 by the Rev. Prof. Samuel Macauley Jackson, D.D., LL.D. The Gillett Collection of American History (endowed in 1884 by the late David H. McAlpin), and the Field and other collections of pamphlets contain useful material for the study of the civil and religious history and the theology of America. Most valuable of all is the McAlpin Collection of British History and Theology (endowed in 1884 by Mr. McAlpin), gathered under the supervision of Professor Brig'- - It contains thousands of rare and important be ,.s and pamphlets relating to the early Puritans, to the Westminster Assembly, and to the deistic, trinitarian, and ecclesiastical controversies of the eighteenth century, as well as a large collection of general and local histories of Great Britain and her churches.
The original plan of the seminary contemplated the meeting of the necessary expenses by an annual subscription from the friends of the institution, but this proved impracticable. The first permanent fund was obtained in 1843 by the gift of $25,000 from Mr. James Boorman for the endowment of the
Theological Seminaries