Geneva Reformed Seminary is a small theological school in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

, accredited by the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries and supported by the

Free Presbyterian Church of North America The Free Presbyterian Church of North America (FPCNA) is a Presbyterian denomination in the United States and Canada with mission works in Liberia, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and Kenya. Originally consisting of North American congregations unde ...

. The seminary offers B.D. and M.Div. degrees. Initially called ''Whitefield College of the Bible'' after a companion school in

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, the seminary was renamed in 2002 to avoid confusion in the United States where Bible schools and seminaries prepare students at different academic levels. Faith Free Presbyterian Church of Greenville, South Carolina, the first constituted congregation of the Free Presbyterian Church in the United States (1977), had from its inception a vision of becoming the progenitor of other Free Presbyterian churches in North America. In 1982, Alan Cairns, an Ulsterman and the first pastor of the Greenville church, was commissioned by the Free Presbyterian Church to become the first professor of the new theological school, with teachers from Northern Ireland assisting on an adjunct basis. Training was limited to men preparing for the ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church. Both the Church and its seminary acknowledge 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 ...

and its exposition of

Reformed theology Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

, which they believe to be taught by the Bible. Nevertheless, they modify the Westminster Standards by permitting liberty of conscience regarding

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

and

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrah ...

. In an advertising brochure published in 2008, the seminary declared its intent "to avoid the lamentable abuses" of covenant theology by pursuing "a strongly fervent evangelistic mission.... biblical, fundamental, separatist, evangelistic, and Reformed ministry."

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...

, the former moderator of the

Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctrinally, the church describes itself as Fundam ...

, had a long-standing relationship with

Bob Jones University Bob Jones University (BJU) is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. It is known for its Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical cultural and religious posit ...

, also located in Greenville, and by February 2007, every GRS faculty member was both a graduate of Bob Jones University and a minister or licentiate minister of the Free Presbyterian Church. In 2001 the Presbytery Commission appointed Michael Barrett, who had earned a Ph.D. in theology from BJU, as president. Admission to the seminary was thereafter opened to members of other denominations. In May 2008, the presbytery approved a certificate program for laypersons, some evening classes, and the introduction of online courses, and by the fall of 2010, eighteen courses were available for online credit or audit.''Inside GRS'' eminary newsletter 2.1 (May 2008), 1, 3; Inside GRS, 4.2 (October 2010), 2. Barrett said that the online program had "made an enormous contribution to the outreach of the seminary." GRS therefore represents a

Calvinistic Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

branch of separatist

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguis ...

in the United States, in contradistinction to Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, another conservative Presbyterian institution just a few miles away.

References

External links

Geneva Reformed Seminary
{{authority control Presbyterian universities and colleges in the United States Presbyterianism in South Carolina Seminaries and theological colleges in South Carolina Education in Greenville, South Carolina Buildings and structures in Greenville, South Carolina 1982 establishments in South Carolina Educational institutions established in 1982

See also

References

External links