RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Theological Seminaries
Bibliography: G. C. Tanner, History of the Diocese of Minnesota, St. Paul, 1909.
8. Virginia: This divinity school, officially termed " The Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia," is situated in Fairfax Co., Va., overlooking the Potomac River, three miles west of Alexandria. It was founded in 1823, and was at first located in Alexandria, whence it was removed to its present site in 1827. It owes its inception to a resolution of the Diocesan Convention of Virginia, which met in 1815, recognizing the great necessity for a supply of candidates for holy orders, and of a school for training them. A theological class was, accordingly, established in the college of William and Mary at Williamsburg, Va., in 1821, but the students were transferred to Alexandria in 1823, when the history of the seminary really begins. Chief among its founders were the Rev. William Hawley of Washington, D. O, the Rev. William H. Wilmer of Alexandria, the Rev. William Meade (q.v.; afterward bishop of Virginia), Dr. Thomas Henderson of Washington, and Francis Scott Key, the author of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Its first professors were the Revs. Revel Keith, William H. Wilmer, and Oliver Norris. The seminary has had a most interesting history, centering to a large extent around the missionary life of the Episcopal Church. Ecclesiastically it has stood, from the beginning, for the principles known as "evangelical " in the Episcopal Church, and for simplicity in ritual and in the appointed forms of worship. But it maintains its position in no spirit of narrow exclusiveness, and recognizes that " evangelical," in its best sense, refers to the historic faith as contained in the New Testament and set forth by the ancient creeds; so that clergymen of all schools of thought have been educated within its walls. The influence of the seminary has been unquestionably great as a conservative and spiritual force throughout the Episcopal Church, holding fast, as it does, to the essential principles of the English Reformation. Its chief glory, however, is the great contribution it has made to the development of missionary work in the Episcopal Church. It has founded all its foreign missions except where, in recent years, that church with other communions has followed the flag in the colonial possessions of the United States.
The seminary has a list of more than 1,000 alumni, many of whom have held, and now hold, distinguished positions in all parts of the United States. About seventy-five have become foreign missionaries, and thirty have been consecrated bishops. Among the most noted of these are the Rt. Rev. William J. Boone of China, the first missionary bishop sent forth by the Episcopal Church in 1844; Bishops Henry C. Potter (q.v.), of New York; Phillips Brooks (q.v.), of Massachusetts; Thomas U. Dudley (q.v.), of Kentucky; and James Addison Ingle, of Hankow, China. Among living bishops, Rt. Rev. A. M. Randolph (q.v.), of Southern Virginia, holds a prominent position in his Church. The most noted professors have been the Rev. Revel Keith, the Rev. Joseph Packard, and the Rev. William Sparrow (q.v.). The seminary had in 1910 six professors and seventeen trustees, five of whom are bishops, five presbyters, and seven laymen, the
president being the bishop of Virginia. This is a self-perpetuating body, chosen from the three dioceses within the limits of the states of Virginia and West Virginia, with the exception of two who are called alumni trustees, elected by the alumni, and permitted to be residents of other dioceses. The government of the seminary is vested in the board of trustees while the general administration as relating to the students is in the hand of the dean and faculty. The present number of students is forty-six, coming from twenty dioceses. Of these, twenty-seven are from the South, ten from the Middle States, one from the North, six from the West, and one from Hankow, China. The seminary has a well-selected library, containing about 35,000 volumes. The buildings are of brick, with a beautiful chapel, the choir and chancel of which were given by the late Bishop Henry C. Potter (q.v.).
Samuel A. Wallis.
XV a. Reformed (German). — 1. Central: This institution of the Reformed Church in the United States (formerly the German Reformed Church) is located at Dayton, O., and was formed by the union of two theological seminaries, Heidelberg Theological Seminary (formerly located at Tiffin, O.), and Ursinus School of Theology (formerly located at Collegeville, Pa., and later at Philadelphia, Pa.). The former institution was founded by the Ohio Synod of the Reformed Church in the United States, after several efforts had already been made to establish a theological seminary, as at Canton, O., in 1838, with Rev. J. G. Buettner as professor, and at Columbus, O., in 1848, under Rev. A. P Freeze. Finally, in 1850, the synod decided to found Heidelberg College, at Tiffin, O., and also, in connection with it, a theological seminary which should bear a similar name. For ten years there was only one professor at a time, Rev. E. V Gerhart (q.v.; 1851-55) and Rev. Moses Kieffer (1855-61), but in 1861 another professor, Rev. Herman Rust, was added, and in 1869 Rev. J. H. Good was elected professor in Dr. Kieffer's place. Later other professors were added, among them Rev. A. S. Zerbe, Rev. D. Van Home (q.v.), Rev. E. Herbruck, Rev. J. I. Swander, and Rev. H. J. Christman, and the faculty usually had four professors. From 1853 to 1907 the seminary had graduated 345 students, the attendance being usually from twelve to twenty. Its plan contemplated five professors, and it had an endowment of about $90,000, but it had no buildings of its own as long as it was at Tiffin.
The Ursinus School of Theology was part of Ursinus College, which was located at Collegeville, Pa., and which had three departments — theological, collegiate, and academical. Instruction began about 1871, and the first class was graduated about 1873. It was organized and controlled by that element in the Reformed Church of the United States which was opposed to the liturgical tendencies of the theological seminary established first at Mercersburg, Pa., and later at Lancaster, Pa. Though it was not under the direct control of any synod of the denomination, it was officially recognized by the General Synod of the Church in 1872, and in 1878 the Eastern Synod, within whose bounds it was located, gave it a vote of recommendation. Its first pro-
Theological Seminaries