Columbia Theological Seminary is a

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 ...

Decatur, Georgia Decatur () is a city and the county seat of DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

. It is one of ten theological institutions affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

History

Columbia Theological Seminary was founded in 1828 in Lexington, Georgia, by several

ministers. In 1830, the seminary was moved to

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

(taking its name at that location), and in 1927, to its current location in suburban

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the seminary became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of the Confederate States of America, renamed the Presbyterian Church in the United States after the war. The school became a battle ground in the debate over the

theory of evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certai ...

in the PCUS during the 1880s, due to the controversial views of James Woodrow, an uncle of President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

and seminary science professor, who aligned with evolution, a controversy which led to the school not operating during the 1887–1888 academic year. In 1830, Columbia, South Carolina, became the first permanent location of the seminary. The school became popularly known as Columbia Theological Seminary, and the name was formally accepted in 1925. The decade of the 1920s saw a shift in population throughout the Southeast. Atlanta was becoming a commercial and industrial center and growing rapidly in its cultural and educational opportunities. Between 1925 and 1930, President Richard T. Gillespie provided leadership that led to the development of the present facilities on a fifty-seven-acre tract in Decatur, Georgia. Because the early years in Decatur were difficult, the future of the institution became uncertain. Columbia, however, experienced substantial growth under the leadership of J. McDowell Richards, who was elected president in 1932 and led the seminary for almost four decades. Columbia was one of the several PCUS seminaries that joined the PC (U.S.A.) following the 1983 PCUS and United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. merger. It upholds its historic covenants with the Synods of Living Waters and

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

Presidents

*1911–1921 Thornton Whaling *1921–1924 John M. Wells *1925–1930 Richard T. Gillespie *1932–1971 J. McDowell Richards *1971–1976 C. Benton Kline *1976–1987 J. Davison Philips *1987–2000 Douglas Oldenburg *2000–2009 Laura S. Mendenhall *2009–2014 Stephen A. Hayner *2015–2022 Leanne Van Dyk * 2022–present Victor Aloyo

Notable people

Frederick Buechner

Columbia's affiliation with the acclaimed American theologian and writer,

Frederick Buechner Carl Frederick Buechner ( ; July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an American author, Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies ...

, is centered on the Presbyterian values shared between school and author. In the interest of promoting these shared values, the Seminary has regularly distributed copies of Buechner's works among its students. Columbia Theological Seminary also awards student prizes for Excellence in Preaching and Excellence in Writing named in honor of the author. Winners of the prize are selected by faculty in recognition of their significant achievements in these areas. Additionally, Buechner enjoys a long-lasting friendship with

Walter Brueggemann Walter Albert Brueggemann (March 11, 1933 – June 5, 2025) was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociop ...

, Old Testament Professor Emeritus at the Seminary. Both men were contemporaries at Union Theological Seminary.

Thomas Goulding

One of the founding Presbyterian ministers and the first president of the early Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1830, Thomas Goulding was born in Midway, Liberty county. Ga., March 14, 1786. He was ordained January 1, 1816 and served as its minister for 6 years before resigning his charge, where he helped to build the community that later would become the Seminary and was elected by the synod of Georgia and South Carolina to be its first, and at the time, only professor. Goulding, by appointment of the General Assembly, opened the first session of the Synod of Georgia, which met in Macon on the 20th of November, 1845, with a sermon from Acts xx:28, and was elected its first Moderator.

References

*History of Columbia Theological Seminary by George T. Howe; Presbyterian Publishing House, Columbia, South Carolina; 1884. *Columbia Theological Seminary and The Southern Presbyterian Church by William Childs Robinson, AM, ThD, DD; Dennis Lindsey Printing Co., Inc., Decatur, Georgia; 1931. *Colored Light by Louis C. LaMotte, MA, ThM; Presbyterian Committee of Publication, Richmond, Virginia; 1937. *As I Remember It by J. McDowell Richards; Columbia Theological Seminary Press, Decatur, Georgia; 1985. *Time of Blessing, Time of Hope by J. Davison Philips; Columbia Theological Seminary Press, Decatur, Georgia; 1994. *To Count Our Days: A History of Columbia Theological Seminary by Erskine Clarke; University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina; 2019.

External links

Official website
{{authority control Presbyterian Church (USA) seminaries Educational institutions established in 1828 Presbyterianism in Georgia (U.S. state) Seminaries and theological colleges in Georgia (U.S. state) Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges in DeKalb County, Georgia Decatur, Georgia Presbyterian Church in the United States 1828 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)