Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, currently branded as Louisville Seminary, is a

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

affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

, located in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. It is one of ten official PC (USA) seminaries, though it currently identifies as an ecumenical seminary, with recent student enrollment representing many faith traditions. Though now located in Louisville, it was founded in 1853 in

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which include ...

(the site is now

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...

) and was known as the Danville Theological Seminary. Though it thrived in its early years, the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

took a great toll and by 1870 there were only six students enrolled, and as few as one professor at times, requiring classes to be taught by the faculty of Centre College. The seminary is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as well as the Association of Theological Schools. The Seminary is located on land adjacent to the Cherokee-Seneca Parks designed by Olmsted.

History

In 1893, a seminary opened in Louisville, operating out of Sunday School rooms in Second Presbyterian Church at Second and Broadway, with 31 students and six professors initially, and an endowment of $104,000. Longtime treasurer W.T. Grant died in 1901 and left his entire $300,000 estate to the seminary, which helped finance the construction of a new Gothic-style Campus. In 1901, the still-struggling Danville seminary merged with the Louisville one. Because of the merger, it was the lone institution supported simultaneously by the northern and southern branches of the modern Presbyterian Church (USA). Faculty and students have been drawn from both denominations. The two branches, which split during the Civil War, were reunited in 1983. In the 1950s,

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gul ...

was planned to be constructed within a few feet of the seminary building. This led to a move in 1963 to a new campus off of Alta Vista Road, in the Cherokee-Seneca neighborhood. The old Gothic-style buildings eventually became the campus of Jefferson Community College, which is now a part of

Jefferson Community and Technical College Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC) is a public community college in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and the largest college in that system. JCTC was formed on July 1, 2005 b ...

. The seminary eventually acquired the Gardencourt Mansion, and integrated it into the adjacent campus.

References

External links

Official site
Educational institutions established in 1853 Educational institutions established in 1893 Presbyterian Church (USA) seminaries Presbyterianism in Kentucky Seminaries and theological colleges in Kentucky Universities and colleges in Louisville, Kentucky Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 1893 establishments in Kentucky {{seminary-stub

History

See also

References

External links