The Changing Nature of theological education

The Episcopal Church is very aware of the changing nature of theological education. In recent months, we have heard about the decision of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific to focus on a Hybrid MDiv experience and also the decision of Episcopal Divinity School to disaffiliate from Union Theological Seminary and focus instead on non-degree programming around the vitally important themes of racial justice.

As GTS navigates the complexity of this moment, it is worth remembering that we are not alone. Plenty of other institutions are making comparable decisions. The Pusey Report which was called “Ministry for Tomorrow” was published in 1967 argued that four seminaries would suffice in the Episcopal Church. And this report is being vindicated. They wanted a process of reorganization that was managed; instead, the market has, rather brutally, done the work.

Living through the first year of this affiliation has been hard. The financial realities are still significant. But the affiliation has one major advantage over other models of merger and “houses of study” inside other insitutions; the affiliation is seeking to safeguard this beautiful campus. Let us see if we can do this.

The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary