Christ College (Sydney)
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| Motto | Developing leaders who understand, communicate and live out the Scriptures in order to serve God's people |
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| Type | Private, Christian |
| Established | 1873 |
| Principal | Ian Smith |
| Location | , |
| Campus | Burwood, New South Wales, Australia |
| Website | www.christcollege.edu.au |
Christ College, formerly known as the Presbyterian Theological Centre, is the theological college of the Presbyterian Church of Australia in New South Wales. It provides theological education for ministry candidates and members of the laity. It is an approved teaching institution of the Australian College of Theology.[1]
The other theological colleges of the Presbyterian Church of Australia are the Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, the Queensland Theological College (formerly the Consortium of Reformed Colleges) in Brisbane.
History
The Presbyterian Church of New South Wales established the theological hall in 1873,[2][3] to train Presbyterian ministers in accordance with the Westminster Confession of Faith, including the Presbyterian Church of Australia's later Declaratory Statement of 1901. It was located in St Andrew's College at the University of Sydney,[2][4] and from the early 1920s co-operated with the Methodist and Congregational colleges under the United Faculty of Theology. In 1983 the Theological Centre moved to Shaftesbury Road, Burwood and expanded its scope to include training of the laity,[5] as well as elders, missionaries, deaconesses, chaplains, church planters, and youth workers.
The dean of the college in the early years in Burwood was John Davies, who served as principal and lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament exegesis. In 2010 Ian Smith took over from Davies as principal. The institution was renamed Christ College in 2014.
Degrees and programs
The College is accredited to offer the following degrees in various forms:[1]
- Certificate of Theology (CertTh)
- Diploma of Theology (DipTh)
- Diploma of Ministry (DipMin)
- Graduate Diploma of Theology (GradDipTh)
- Graduate Diploma of Divinity (GradDipDiv)
- Bachelor of Christian Studies (BChrStuds)
- Bachelor of Ministry (BMin)
- Bachelor of Theology (BTh)
- Master of Divinity (Mdiv)
- Master of Arts in Theology (MA)
- Master of Theology (MTh)
- Doctor of Theology (ThD)
Facilities
The college building, completed in early 2014, consists of a large community area and an auditorium which can set over 200. There are five purpose built class rooms and a library with over 40,000 volumes (and great views of the city of Sydney). The administration building is a restored heritage building and is connected to new building. Australian Presbyterian World Mission (APWM) also has offices in the building.
Students
The Presbyterian Theological Centre has more than 100 students, both male and female. The college also admits members of other denominations for theological training.
The Students' Representative Council represents the students of the college, with responsibility for fostering community spirit, service to each other, and improving student resources
References
- ^ a b ACT: Affiliated Colleges
- ^ a b Walter Phillips (1981), Defending "a Christian country": churchmen and society in New South Wales in the 1880s and after, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 0-7022-1539-2, p. 47.
- ^ M. D. Prentis (1984), "The Presbyterian Ministry In Australia, 1822- 1900: Recruitment and Composition," Journal of Religious History, Vol 13, pp. 46–65.
- ^ Alan Barcan (1988), Two centuries of education in New South Wales, NSWU Press, ISBN 0-86840-314-8, p. 137.
- ^ Jean-Jacques Bauswein and Lukas Vischer (1999), The Reformed family worldwide: a survey of Reformed Churches, theological schools, and international organizations, W.B. Eerdmans, ISBN 0-8028-4496-0, p. 567.