Christ College, formerly known as the Presbyterian Theological Centre, is the

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

of the

Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA), founded in 1901, is the largest Presbyterian and Reformed denomination in Australia. The PCA is the largest conservative, evangelical and complementarian Christian denomination in Australia. The Presby ...

in New South Wales. It provides theological education for ministry candidates and members of the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

. It is an approved teaching institution of the

Australian College of Theology The Australian University of Theology (AUT), formerly known as the Australian College of Theology (ACT), is an Collegiate university, collegiate Theology, theological university based in Sydney, New South Wales. The university delivers awards i ...

.ACT: Affiliated Colleges
The other theological colleges of the Presbyterian Church of Australia are the Presbyterian Theological College in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, the Queensland Theological College (formerly the Consortium of Reformed Colleges) in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

History

The Presbyterian Church of New South Wales established the theological hall in 1873,Walter Phillips (1981),
Defending "a Christian country": churchmen and society in New South Wales in the 1880s and after
', University of Queensland Press, , p. 47. to train Presbyterian ministers in accordance with the

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it becam ...

, including the Presbyterian Church of Australia's later Declaratory Statement of 1901. It was located in St Andrew's College at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

,Alan Barcan (1988),
Two centuries of education in New South Wales
', NSWU Press, , p. 137. and from the early 1920s co-operated with the Methodist and Congregational colleges under the United Faculty of Theology. In 1987 the then Presbyterian Training Centre moved to Shaftesbury Road Burwood, was renamed as the Presbyterian Theological Centre, Burwood and expanded its scope to include training of the laity, as well as elders, missionaries, deaconesses, chaplains, church planters, and youth workers. The dean of the college in the early years in Burwood was John Davies, who served as principal and lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament exegesis. In 2010 Ian Smith took over from Davies as principal. The institution was renamed Christ College in 2014.

Degrees and programs

The College is accredited to offer the following degrees in various forms. The following are the flagship programs at the College. * Diploma of Theology (DipTh)/ Diploma of Ministry (DipMin) *

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...

(Th.B.)/ Bachelor of Ministry (B.Min.) * Graduate Diploma of Theology (GradDipTh)/ Graduate Diploma of Divinity (GradDipDiv) *

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 ...

(M.Div.) *

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Theology (MA) *

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

(Th.M.) *

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is a doctorate in religious ministry. It often includes an original research component, and may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in ministry. It is categorized as an advanced doctoral de ...

(D.Min.) *

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

(Th.D.) *

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(Ph.D.) For the training of candidates for ordination in the Presbyterian Church of Australia, the College offers a 4-year training program that goes beyond the typical Master of Divinity program. The College is also in partnership with a number of groups and organisations to offer ministry skill-specific training. * Redeemer City to City: Incubator Program for the training of church planters * Jericho Road: Chaplaincy Program for the training of chaplains working in hospitals, school, army, and the like * Ministry Training for Women

Guest lecturers

The college also hosts annual intensives taught by eminent pastor-theologians. Some of these include Chad Van Dixhoorn, Scott Rae, Michael Horton, D.A Carson, Timothy Witmer, Bryan Chappell, and Carl Trueman.

Facilities

The college building, completed in early 2014, consists of a large community area and an auditorium which can seat over 200. There are five purpose built class rooms and a library with over 45,000 volumes (and great views of the city of Sydney). The administration building is a restored heritage building and is connected to new building. Australian Presbyterian World Mission (APWM) also has offices in the building.

Students

The Presbyterian Theological Centre has more than 150 students, both male and female. The college also admits members of other denominations for theological training. The Students' Representative Council represents the students of the college, with responsibility for fostering community spirit, service to each other, and improving student resources

References

{{Australian College of Theology Educational institutions established in 1873 1873 establishments in Australia Education in Sydney Australian College of Theology Seminaries and theological colleges in New South Wales Theological colleges of the Presbyterian Church of Australia