Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School is an American

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 ...

program founded in 2017 within

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 ...

and located in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. It is the successor institution of

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 ...

(ANTS), the oldest graduate seminary in the United States and the nation's first graduate institution of any kind. In November 2015, ANTS, affiliated with the

American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...

and the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

, announced that it would sell its campus in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...

and relocate, after a presence of 190 years on that site. In July 2017, ANTS and Yale Divinity School completed a formal affiliation to create Andover Newton Seminary within the Divinity School.

History

The former Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) in Newton Centre, Massachusetts was a product of a 1965 merger between two schools of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambrid ...

and

Newton Theological Institution Newton Theological Institution was a Baptist theological seminary founded on November 28, 1825 in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Newton adopted the graduate education model and three-year curriculum pioneered by Andover Theological Seminary, wit ...

—although the two institutions had been co-resident on the same campus in Newton Centre since 1931. ANTS took the earlier founding date (1807) of the Andover Theological Seminary for its founding year. The school created the educational model used by almost all

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

seminaries 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 clerg ...

today and pioneered many training programs for prospective clergy, including Field Education. Its faculty had historically ranked among the most distinguished in theological education, and its alumni and alumnae have included important

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

, educators, clergy, and theologians; three presidents of

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

; the founding presidents of

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

, and the

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

in New York City; one of the most important presidents of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

; and major figures in many areas of American life and culture.

Andover Newton at Yale

In May 2016, ANTS president Martin Copenhaver announced that Andover Newton would begin a process of formal affiliation with

over the following two years. In the 2016–17 academic year, a cohort of faculty relocated to

, teaching students and launching pilot initiatives focused on congregational ministry education, while Andover Newton continued to operate in Massachusetts. The aim of negotiations was a permanent affiliation (beginning in the 2017–18 academic year), resulting in a smaller Andover Newton functioning as a unit within Yale Divinity School, similar to the current arrangement with

Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, founded in 1854, is a seminaries, seminary of Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute ...

. Copenhaver projected that the sale of the Newton, Massachusetts campus would pay off debt and create an endowment for the institution at Yale. On June 29, 2017, the sale of the Andover Newton campus was finalized, and on July 20, 2017, the boards of Andover Newton and Yale Divinity School signed an agreement to formalize their affiliation.

Notes and references

External links

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Description in Yale Divinity School websiteThe Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum
The Library maintains a collection of papers of the Andover Theological School (manuscript number E 6).
ATS profile for Andover Newton Theological School
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1807 Universities and colleges established in 1965 Universities and colleges established in 2017 Seminaries and theological colleges in Connecticut Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Church of Christ Seminaries and theological colleges affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA United Church of Christ in Connecticut 2017 establishments in Connecticut Yale Divinity School