The Beeson Divinity School of

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United S ...

is an

interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

divinity school 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, ...

located in Birmingham,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The current dean is

Douglas A. Sweeney Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

. Though located on the campus of a

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

university, Beeson is interdenominational. The school offers the

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree and the

Master of Arts in Theological Studies The Master of Arts in Theological Studies'' (MATS or MAT) satisfies a variety of broad academic and vocational purposes. It can be suited to the pastor, layman or beginning academic as an entry-level master's degree in theology or the professional ...

degree. It houses an Institute of Anglican Studies. In 2013 it began offering a Certificate of Anglican Studies and in 2021 a Certificate of Wesleyan Studies.

Founding

Beeson Divinity was established on February 9, 1988. It is named for

Ralph Waldo Beeson Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

(1900–1990), who gave one of the largest donations (70 Million USD) in Samford history to create the first divinity school at a Baptist college in the US, and for his father, John Wesley Beeson. Ralph Beeson wanted the donation to remain anonymous, but relented to the naming of the school after his father at the suggestion of Samford's board of trustees.

Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel

The focal point of the divinity school is Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel, dedicated in 1995 and named in honor of

Andrew Gerow Hodges Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

in 2002. Though an original design by Neil Davis of Davis Architects, it was inspired by

Il Redentore The Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore ( en, Church of the Most Holy Redeemer), commonly known as Il Redentore, is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church located on Giudecca (island) in the ''sestiere'' of Dorsoduro, in the city of Venice, Italy. It ...

in Venice designed by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of ...

. The interior features three cycles of iconography. In the

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a ...

are sixteen prominent figures from Christian history representing a variety of theological traditions. It was inspired by a passage in chapter 12 of

Hebrews The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and ...

. in the transept apses are ten painting depicting days or seasons of the Christian year, beginning with

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

and ending with

Reformation Day Reformation Day is a Protestant Christian religious holiday celebrated on 31 October, alongside All Hallows' Eve (Halloween) during the triduum of Allhallowtide, in remembrance of the onset of the Reformation. According to Philip Melanchtho ...

. Both of these cycles were painted by the Romanian artist Petru Botezatu. The third cycle are six busts in cultured marble of 20th-century Christian

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

s from each of the six inhabited continents. These were made by Martin Dawes of Cherrylion Studios. These are in the crossing and aisles.

Deans

Timothy George Timothy George (born 9 January 1950) is an American theologian and journalist. He became the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School at the school's inception in 1988 and was the dean from 1989–2019, now serving as Research Professor of Divinit ...

, 1989–2019 #

Douglas A. Sweeny Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

, 2019–present

Notable faculty

Gerald Bray Gerald Lewis Bray (born 16 November 1948) is a British theologian, ecclesiastical historian and priest in the Church of England. Teaching Born in Montreal, Quebec, on 16 November 1948, Bray holds a BA from McGill University and a MLitt and DLitt ...

, historical theology *

, historical theology, founding dean *

Paul R. House Paul R. House (born 1958) is an American Old Testament scholar, author, and seminary professor who served as 2012 president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, an interdenominational se ...

, Old Testament, Hebrew

Conferences

In the early twenty-first century, Beeson has hosted a number of theology conferences, including "The Will to Believe and the Need for Creed" (2009), "J.I. Packer and the Evangelical Future" (2006), and "God The Holy Trinity" (2004). Lectures from these conferences were published by Baker Academic Publishing as the Beeson Divinity Studies series.

References

External links

Beeson Divinity School website

Guidebook for Hodges Chapel

Video tour of Hodges Chapel
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1988 Seminaries and theological colleges in Alabama Samford University Universities and colleges in Birmingham, Alabama University subdivisions in Alabama 1988 establishments in Alabama