Ridley College (Melbourne)

Ridley Melbourne - Mission & Ministry College

File:Ridley-melbourne-logo.gif
Type	Private, Christian
Established	1910
Principal	The Revd Canon Dr Peter Adam
Students	180
Location	Melbourne , Australia
Campus	Parkville, Victoria
Website	http://www.ridley.edu.au/

This article is about the theological college in Melbourne, Australia. For the school in St. Catharines, Canada, see Ridley College.

Ridley Melbourne - Mission & Ministry College is a Christian theological college in the parklands of central Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1910, it has an evangelical foundation and outlook, and is affiliated with the Australian College of Theology and the Anglican Church of Australia. The College offers on-campus and distance learning, and provides training for various Christian ministries in a range of contexts.

History

Named after the sixteenth-century English Reformation martyr, Nicholas Ridley, Ridley Melbourne was established on 1 March 1910 to provide residential theological training. Its founders were evangelical Anglican clergy and laypeople from throughout Victoria. Ridley Melbourne's eight principals have included the prominent New Testament scholar Leon Morris (1914–2006; principal 1964–1979), known for his studies of the atonement.

For much of its past, a main feature of Ridley Melbourne was its residential college, with students accommodated mainly in the Alckin and Baker buildings. Like other residential colleges in the area, it provided its students with a range of academic, social and religious programs. Between 1965 and 2005, Ridley Melbourne was an Affiliated Residential College of the University of Melbourne and, in 1972, it became the first of the University's colleges open to both men and women. In 2005, the residential college was closed due to rising costs. The following year, it was reopened to provide accommodation specifically for international students from the surrounding universities, the University of Melbourne, RMIT University and Monash University. This residential college was closed at the end of 2007. Ridley Melbourne retains a small residential theological community in the renamed Baker building (formerly Bearham).

Education and training

Ridley Melbourne aims to provide robust Christian theological formation with a balance across three domains: ministry practice, Christian thought (theology and ethics) and biblical studies (including Greek and Hebrew languages). While the College teaches from an evangelical theological perspective, it is open to Christians of all backgrounds. It aims to equip its students for Christian ministries in a variety of settings, including a range of church denominations and cross-cultural contexts, and the College actively supports parachurch work as well as ordained and local church roles. Along with Trinity College Theological School, Ridley Melbourne also trains ordinands for ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne and other Anglican dioceses.

Leon Morris Library

Ridley Melbourne's academic resources include its library and bookshop. The Leon Morris Library has a collection with significant resources on biblical studies. The Ridley Melbourne Bookshop provides a range of theological titles from various publishers, with emphases on biblical studies, ethics and ministry. The Bookshop is also open to the public.

Ridley Melbourne is a government-recognised tertiary institution and a CRICOS provider, offering education to international students. Domestic students have access to government support for tuition fees. The College offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs and courses from the Australian College of Theology, the education provider for 20 Christian colleges in Australia. Its programs include the Master of Divinity, the Graduate Diploma of Divinity and the Bachelor of Theology.

There have been a number of recent developments at the College. In 2008, Ridley Melbourne completed a new vision for development and began restructuring its education around six learning communities. These include the College's distance learning program, eRidley, which was established in 2007. eRidley is particularly designed to provide training for Australians in remote areas, in collaboration with the Bush Church Aid Society. In June 2008, Ridley Melbourne sold the southern half of its property to residential developers, including the Alckin, Baker, Cumnock and Larcombe buildings and the octagonal chapel designed by James Stahle. The Bearham building was subsequently renamed Baker to preserve naming according to the college's principals.

Campus and community

Main quadrangle, facing Stanway (left) & dining room (right)

Ridley Melbourne is located in Parkville, a residential parkland suburb roughly three kilometres from the centre of Melbourne, Victoria. The campus is situated between Royal Park to the west and Princes Park to the east. The campus buildings surround two main courtyards:

• Babbage - Chapel; faculty offices
• Baker - Faculty offices; student recreation block; residential theological apartments
• Stanway - Classrooms and bookshop (ground); Leon Morris Library (above)
• Wade - Reception; staff offices
• Dining room with adjacent kitchen and meeting rooms

Campus life centres around lunches and chapel gatherings. The College community eats lunch together on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and dinner is provided for evening students on Wednesdays. Chapel gatherings occur on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and alternate between Anglican and open styles of worship. The chapel services are organised by the Theological Students Association along with prayer groups, student newsletters, social events and the annual Launch Camp.

Faculty

Apart from visiting lecturers, the College's faculty members are:

• The Revd Canon Dr Peter Adam - Principal; Theology; Preaching
• The Revd Rhys Bezzant - Dean of Missional Leadership; Church History
• Mrs Lisa Brown - Youth Ministry
• The Revd Richard Bruce - Youth Ministry
• The Revd Dr Tim Foster (from April 2009) - Ministry Skills
• The Revd Dave Fuller - Educational Chaplaincy
• The Revd Adrian Lane - Ministry Skills
• Mr Andrew Malone - Dean of eRidley; Greek; New Testament
• The Revd Dr Douglas McComiskey - New Testament
• The Revd Anthea McCall - New Testament
• The Revd Andrew Reid - Hebrew; Old Testament; Hermeneutics
• The Revd Richard Trist - Dean of Anglican Institute; Supervised Field Education
• The Revd Dr Lindsay Wilson - Vice-Principal; Old Testament

See also

• Trinity Theological School, Melbourne
• Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
• Presbyterian Theological College
• Bible College of Victoria

Photo gallery

• 
  Main entrance
• 
  Baker building
• 
  Dining room
• 
  Main quadrangle, facing Stanway (left) & dining room (right)
• 
  Stanway A classroom
• 
  Leon Morris Library
• 
  Leon Morris Library loft
• 
  Lounge, student recreation block, Baker

External links

• Ridley Melbourne - Mission & Ministry College
• Ridley Melbourne Bookshop
• Leon Morris Library