Andover Theological Seminary by J Kidder

Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

on the campus of

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover, Massachusetts, Andover , stat ...

. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in Cambridge. It then collocated to Newton with Newton Theological Institution (NTI). Andover Theological Seminary and NTI formally merged in 1965 to form the

Andover Newton Theological School Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) was a graduate school and seminary in Newton, Massachusetts. Affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It was the product of a merger between Andover Theological ...

(1965–2018). In its original and merged forms, it is the first and thus the oldest theological seminary founded in the United States. The seminary continues as Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School launched in 2017.

History

Andover Theological Seminary traces its roots to the late 18th century and the desire for a well-educated clergy among Congregationalists in the United States. That desire was expressed in the founding of

in 1778 for "the promotion of true Piety and Virtue". In 1806, a growing split within the Congregational churches, known as the Unitarian Controversy, came to a full boil on the campus of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

. The Hollis Chair of Divinity sat empty at Harvard for two years owing to tensions between liberal and more orthodox

Calvinists Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John ...

. This theological battle soon divided many of the oldest churches in Massachusetts and began to impact church polity and the hiring of ministers. When the

Harvard Board of Overseers The Harvard Board of Overseers (more formally The Honorable and Reverend the Board of Overseers) is one of Harvard University's two governing boards. Although its function is more consultative and less hands-on than the President and Fellows of Ha ...

appointed well-known liberal Henry Ware to the Hollis Chair in 1805, the Calvinists withdrew to organize and establish a new school in 1807, Andover Theological Seminary on the campus of

(est. 1778) in

. This act, covered widely in the national press, was one of the significant events that contributed to the split in the denomination and to the eventual founding of the American Unitarian Association in 1825 (which joined the Universalists, founded in 1793, to become the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, both ...

in 1961). Andover was founded by the joint efforts of traditionalist, "Old Calvinists" and the adherents of the New Divinity (also known as

New England theology New England theology (or Edwardsianism) designates a school of theology which grew up among the Congregationalists of New England, originating in the year 1732, when Jonathan Edwards began his constructive theological work, culminating a little b ...

) which was more revivalistic. Leonard Woods, Moses Stuart, and Edward Dorr Griffin were early faculty. Between 1886 and 1892, a theological dispute known as the "Andover Controversy" broke out between the conservative "New England Calvinism" of the founders and the liberal theology of many on the faculty. President E. C. Smyth was investigated and dismissed for his liberal views in 1887, but in 1891 his dismissal was reversed, on technical grounds, by the Massachusetts Supreme Court, and the matter was dropped the following year.

Relocations and merger

In 1908,

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

and Andover attempted to reconcile, and the seminary moved its faculty and library to the Harvard campus (and soon into Andover Hall

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 911 ...

. Plans for a formal affiliation between the academies were made, but the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts disallowed the alliance since Andover's endowment is designated for a Christian theological education. Andover, therefore, relocated to the campus of Newton Theological Institution in 1931. Andover Theological Seminary and the Newton Theological Institution formally merged in 1965 as the

(ANTS). Newton Theological Institution began instruction in 1825 at Newton Centre, Massachusetts as a graduate seminary formally affiliated with the group now known as

American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainl ...

, the oldest Baptist denomination in America. As the institution developed, it adopted Andover's curricular pattern and shared the same theological tradition of loyalty to the evangelical Gospel and zeal for its dissemination. In November 2015, ANTS announced that it would sell its campus and relocate to

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

, after a presence of 190 years on that site.

Historical influence on Protestant missions

Prior to the founding of Andover and Newton, the model for the training of clergy was based on an undergraduate degree (actually the basis for the founding of most of the early colleges in the United States). The graduate model and the three year curriculum with a resident student body and resident faculty pioneered at Andover and Newton has become the standard for almost all of the 140 Protestant theological schools in the country. Reflecting that zeal, the modern missionary movement began in this country through a group of Andover students known as the Brethren. Both Andover and Newton quickly assumed leadership in the modern mission movement, drawing the two schools into close association of people and ideas. Graduates such as Luther Rice and Hiram Bingham pioneered in Christian missions around the world.

Adoniram Judson Adoniram Judson (August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was an American Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Judson was ...

, an 1810 Andover alumnus, is best known for his work in Burma, where he translated the Bible into Burmese and produced the first Burmese-English dictionary.

Notable alumni

Alumni of Andover Theological Seminary include the following notables, listed in order of their last year at the Seminary. *

, class of 1810, one of the first U.S. missionaries sent by the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

; later became a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

missionary to

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, then known as Burma. *

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America, and he bec ...

, class of 1814. * Hiram Bingham, class of 1816, leader of the first group of missionaries to Hawaii; helped devise the first alphabet for the Hawaiian language. * David Brown, attended 1823, member of the Cherokee Nation, author o
"Address in Favor of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of North America"
*

Samuel Worcester Samuel Austin Worcester (January 19, 1798 – April 20, 1859), was an American missionary to the Cherokee, translator of the Bible, printer, and defender of the Cherokee sovereignty. He collaborated with Elias Boudinot (Cherokee) in Georgia ...

, class of 1823, American pastor and Cherokee missionary; plaintiff in the

Worcester v. Georgia ''Worcester v. Georgia'', 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832), was a landmark case in which the United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester and held that the Georgia criminal statute that prohibited non-Native Americans from bei ...

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

case. *

David Oliver Allen David Oliver Allen (1800–1863) was an American missionary to India and an author. Life Allen was born in Barre, Massachusetts to Moses and Mahitable Allen. His father relocated the family to Princeton, Massachusetts while David Allen was an in ...

, class of 1824, American

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

. *

Walter Colton Reverend Walter Colton (May 7, 1797 – January 22, 1851) was an American clergyman and writer from Vermont who served as the first American Alcalde (mayor) of Monterey, California. He worked as an editor for newspapers in Washington, D.C. and Ph ...

, class of 1825, U.S. Navy chaplain, first American alcalde (mayor) of Monterey, California, co-publisher of California's first newspaper * John William Yeomans, class of 1827, Presbyterian pastor and second president of

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

* Nehemiah Adams, class of 1829, clergyman and author. * Bela Bates Edwards, class of 1830, Andover Theological Seminary faculty, 1837-1852; editor of ''American Quarterly Observer'', ''Biblical Repository'', and ''

Bibliotheca Sacra ''Bibliotheca Sacra'' (colloquially referred to as "BibSac") is a theological journal published by Dallas Theological Seminary, first published in 1844 and the oldest theological journal in the United States. It was founded at Union Theological ...

''. * William Adams, class of 1830, one of the founders of the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York and later its president. *

Asher Wright Asher Wright (September 7, 1803 – April 13, 1875) was an American Presbyterian missionary, who worked among the people of the Seneca Nation, of the native Iroquois of the northeastern United States from 1831 to 1875. His most notable work was t ...

, class of 1831, missionary to the

Seneca people The Seneca () ( see, Onödowáʼga:, "Great Hill People") are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west ...

, and a linguist who developed a Seneca alphabet and translated large portions of the bible and other texts. *

Caleb Mills Caleb Mills (July 29, 1806 – October 17, 1879) was an American educator who served as the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Indiana and was the first faculty member at Wabash College. He played a central role in designing the public educa ...

, class of 1833, first professor of

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cu ...

and father of the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

public education system. * Samuel Francis Smith, class of 1834, Baptist minister who wrote the words to " My Country, 'Tis of Thee" while a seminary student. * Samuel Harvey Taylor, class of 1837, 6th Principal of

1837-1871 * Edward A. Lawrence, Sr., class of 1838, Congregational pastor, professor, author * George Frederick Magoun, class of 1847, co-founder and first president of Grinnell CollegeGrinnell College Libraries
Presidents of Grinnell College: George Magoun
. Accessed May 10, 2008. * George Park Fisher, class of 1851, ecclesiastical historian, president of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

in 1898 * Charles Augustus Aiken, class of 1853, Faculty at Dartmouth College and Princeton Theological Seminary; president of Union College. *

Laurenus Clark Seelye Laurenus Clark Seelye (September 30, 1837 – October 12, 1924), known as L. Clark Seelye, was the first president of Smith College, serving from 1873 to 1910. He graduated from Union College (NY) in 1857 with Phi Beta Kappa honors and membership ...

, attended 1858-59, first president of

Smith College Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's coll ...

* George Washburn (educator), class of 1859, professor of philosophy (1886), acting president (1870-1877) and later president (1877) of

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a highly selective, independent, co-educational high school in Turkey.The Turkish education system divides schools ...

, Constantinople (now Istanbul), founding principal of

American College, Madurai The American College, often referred to as American College, is one of the oldest colleges in India, located in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1881 by American Christian missionaries. The red-brick buildings, in the Saracenic style, ble ...

(1881). *

Henry F. C. Nichols Henry Franklin Clough "F. C." Nichols (1833–1890) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Biography Nichols was born on February 9, 1833, in Kingston, New Hampshire. He graduated from Pembroke Academy in Pembroke, New Hampshire. In 18 ...

, class of 1864, member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, e ...

* William Jewett Tucker, class of 1866, Andover Theological Seminary faculty, 1879-1893; editor of ''Andover Review''; founder of Andover House; president of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

. * James Griswold Merrill, class of 1866, president of

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

(1901-1908). He graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educati ...

. * George Trumbull Ladd (1842 – 1921), class of 1869, was an American philosopher, educator and psychologist. He was the first foreigner to receive the Second (conferred in 1907) and Third (conferred in 1899)

Orders of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge featu ...

. * Joseph Hardy Neesima, attended 1870-72, 1873–74, but did not graduate. Founder and president of Doshisha University in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. * Albert Edward Winship, educator * William Scott Ament, class of 1877, controversial Congregational missionary to China criticised by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

* Thomas Davidson Christie, class of 1877, Civil War Veteran, missionary in Turkey, President of St. Paul's College in Tarsus, papers at MNHS.org * Claude Black, class of 1943, noted pastor of Mt. Zion First Baptist Church, civil rights icon, politician.

References

External links