Union Theological College
| File:Union College.png | |
| Established | 1853 |
|---|---|
| Principal | Prof Patton Taylor |
| Address | 108 Botanic Avenue , , Belfast BT7 1JT |
| Affiliations | QUB |
| Website | http://www.union.ac.uk |
Union Theological College is the theological college for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Previously the building served as the location for the fledgling Northern Ireland Parliament.
The college offers ministerial courses for Presbyterians and non-denominational theological courses. The college is associated with Presbyterian Theological Faculty Ireland which was granted a Royal Charter in 1881 to confer academic degrees in theology similar to other universities of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at the time. These degrees are the Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Ministry and Doctor of Ministry. Degrees are also conferred by the Queen's University of Belfast for certain programmes and the college forms part of the Institute of Theology at the university.
History
The college was founded in 1853 as Assembly's College; in 1976 theological teaching at Magee College in Derry, County Londonderry ceased and the two colleges amalgamated with the new college to be known as Union Theological College, often referred to as Union College. As with the main building at Queen's, the college was designed by Charles Lanyon.
From 1921 until 1932 the newly formed Parliament of Northern Ireland met in Assembly's College while Stormont was being built. The Commons met in the Gamble Library and the Senate in the Chapel. Additionally between 1941 to 1948 the city police used the college as its own headquarters were bombed in the Belfast blitz.
One of the college professors J. Ernest Davey was the subject of a heresy trial in 1927 because of his teaching within Assembly's College. Although cleared by the Church's courts a small number of Presbyterians broke away unhappy with the decision and founded what later became the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
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