Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the world's leading institutions for graduate theological education and home of the largest theological library in the United States. Today it is an international community with nearly 800 students, a faculty of 53, and an ecumenical and worldwide constituency. Not all the students are candidates for the ministry in the Presbyterian Church; some are candidates for ministry in other denominations, others are studying toward careers in the academy, and still others are pursing fields less directly related to theology, such as law, medicine, social work, administration and education.
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 of Congregationalist founding (with Harvard subsequently becoming Unitarian), Princeton Seminary was affiliated from the beginning with the Presbyterian Church. Also, Princeton Theological Seminary is a separate institution from Princeton University, unlike at Harvard and Yale where the divinity schools are constituent parts of the general university.
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 Jersey (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), being the largest of the ten theological seminaries of that 2.5-million member denomination.
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 seminary was made famous during the 19th and early 20th centuries for its defense of Calvinistic Presbyterianism. The college was later the center of a modernist/fundamentalist battle which ultimately led to the formation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Westminster Theological Seminary under the leadership of J. Gresham Machen.
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 (1983-2004)
- Iain Torrance (2004-)
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).
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
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
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.
Endowed Lectureships
- The Stone Lectures, brings an internationally distinguished scholar to the Seminary each year to deliver a series of public lectures. Created in 1871 by Levi P. Stone, Esq., of Orange, New Jersey, a director and also a trustee of the Seminary. Previous lecturers include Abraham Kuyper(1898), and Nicholas Wolterstorff. The 2005 Stone Lecturer is Dr. Leander E. Keck, Winkley Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology at Yale Divinity School.
- The Warfied Lectures are an annual series of lectures which honor the memory of Annie Kinkead Warfield, wife of Dr. Benjamin Breckenridge Warfield, distinguished professor of theology at the Seminary from 1887 to 1921. The 2005 Warfield Lecturer is Dr. Marilyn McCord Adams, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University. Previous distinguished lecturers include Karl Barth.
- 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
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 that 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.
Abraham Kuyper Center for Public Theology
Princeton Dead Sea Scrolls Project
Institute for Youth Ministry
Journal: Theology Today
Journal: Koinonia
Center of Continuing Education
Center of Theological Inquiry
In 1978 Princeton Theological Seminary's Board of Trustees established the Center as an independent, ecumenical institution for advanced theological research, "to inquire into the relationship between theological disciplines, [and of these with]...both human and natural sciences, to inquire into the relationship between diverse religious traditions . . . , to inquire into the present state of religious consciousness in the modern world, and to examine such other facets of religion in the modern world as may be appropriate . . ." Today, the Center has its own board, funding, mission and staff, yet maintains close relations with Princeton Theological Seminary.
Some Distinguished Princeton Scholars
- The "Princeton Theologians": Archibald Alexander (1772-1851); Charles Hodge (1797-1878); Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823-1886); B.B. Warfield (1851-1921); J. Gresham Machen (1881-1938).
- Theology: Daniel L. Migliore, Bruce L. McCormack, George Hunsinger, J. Wentzel Vrede van Huyssteen, Iain Torrance, Diogenes Allen
- Biblical Studies: Bruce Metzger, James H. Charlesworth, Choon-Leong Seow, Bernhard W. Anderson, Patrick D. Miller
- History: Jane Dempsey Douglass
- Religion and Society: Donald E. Capps, Max L. Stackhouse
Distinguished Alumni/ae
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 appears to be partly set in Princeton Seminary; his 1996 novel In the Beauty of the Lilies features the family is Clarence Wilmot, a Princeton-educated preacher schooled in the works of theologians Charles and A. A. Hodge and Benjamin Warfield.