McCormick Theological Seminary is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. As of 2023, it shares a campus with the

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago, Illinois. LSTC is a member of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS), a consortium of eleven area seminaries ...

and

Catholic Theological Union Catholic Theological Union (CTU) is a Catholic graduate school of theology in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was formed in Hyde Park as a union of schools from three Catholic religious institutes and has since been sponsored by 23 institu ...

, in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. A letter of intent was signed on May 5, 2022, to sell the formerly shared campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. The agreement allows the two seminaries to lease back facilities on the campus. Although it primarily serves the Presbytery of Chicago and the Synod of Lincoln Trails, McCormick Theological Seminary also educates members of other Christian denominations.

History

Hanover Seminary was established in 1829 as a preparatory school in

Hanover, Indiana Hanover is a town in Hanover Township, Jefferson County, Indiana, United States. Located along the Ohio River, the town's population was 3,546 at the 2010 census. Hanover is the home of Hanover College, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college ...

, for prospective ministers in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., hoping to serve on the western frontier of the expanding United States. After about ten years, the seminary moved a short distance to

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It ...

, where it became the New Albany Theological Seminary. When the western frontier boundary moved, the school also moved and opened in Chicago's present-day

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

neighborhood in 1859 where the school was first known as the Theological Seminary of the Northwest. In 1886, it was renamed in honor of American industrialist

Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the Blue ...

(1809–1884), who had served as a member of the seminary's board of trustees. In 1975, facing a dire financial situation and declining enrollment, McCormick sold the Lincoln Park campus to

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

and moved to the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago. This move divested the institution of infrastructure while reinforcing its commitment to urban ministry. Sharing facilities with the

(LSTC), McCormick began to help foster important ecumenical cooperation between the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches. In 2003 McCormick reinforced and recommitted itself to its ecumenical partnership with LSTC by building a new building on the LSTC campus.

Notable faculty

* Cleland Boyd McAfee taught theology (1912–1930) * Joseph Haroutunian * Kenneth E. Bailey * Enos Pomeroy Baker (1856–1911), 1886 graduate and former president, Presbyterian College of the Southwest at Del Norte, CO. Baker was also the founding minister of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles, the oldest African American Presbyterian church in California and west of the Mississippi River. *James Gore King McClure Jr. first (President of McCormick Theological Seminary 1905–1929) *Rev. Dr. Andrew Constantinides Zenos (Dean of McCormick Theological Seminary 1920–1934) * Ovid R. Sellers (Dean of McCormick Theological Seminary 1934–1954)

Notable alumni

* David Frank Graf *

Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist, and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades, ending in 2023. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter ...

* Steven A. Schaick * Frederick Wedge

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1829 Universities and colleges in Chicago Hyde Park, Chicago Seminaries and theological colleges in Illinois McCormick family

History

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links