St Mellitus College is an English

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 ...

established in 2007 by the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

and the

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. It was created on 23 January 1914 from part of the Diocese of St Albans. It covers Essex and part of East London. Since 1984 it is divided into three ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. It has campuses in

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, and Nottingham, with growing links with other churches, colleges and dioceses throughout the United Kingdom and beyond. The president is Graham Tomlin,

Bishop of Kensington The Bishop of Kensington is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Bishop of Kensington is responsible for a part of Greater London, including Kensington, ...

, and the dean is Russell Winfield. St Mellitus College is a wholly non-residential college and has pioneered context-based training within the Church of England, integrating academic theological study with ministry placements throughout the course of study. As of 2019, it is the largest ministerial training college in the Church of England.

History

Named after the first

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, whose territory covered London and Essex, the college was founded in 2007 by the bishops of London and

to serve the church’s mission in those regions and beyond. The college was formed as a merger between the former North Thames Ministerial Training Course, which was based in the dioceses of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

, and St Paul’s Theological Centre (part of

Holy Trinity, Brompton Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's Onslow Square and St Augustine's South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (''formerly ...

). It has grown significantly since being founded and moved into its own premises at

St Jude's Church, Kensington St Jude's Church, Courtfield Gardens, Kensington, London, was designed by architects George Godwin and Henry Godwin, and built between 1867 and 1870; the tower and spire were constructed in 1879. It was built on the northern portion of Captain Ro ...

, in 2012, a building renovated specifically for this purpose. The centre houses a range of teaching space, rooms for pastoral care, academic and administrative offices, a growing academic library, space for hospitality and college worship. In 2013, St Mellitus North West was established at

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Liverpool and is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, diocese of Liverpool. The church may be formally re ...

, reestablishing full-time

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

ordination training in that area for the first time in more than 40 years. This venture was directed by Jill Duff (now Bishop of Lancaster), in partnership with five dioceses in that area (Blackburn, Carlisle, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester). In September 2017, St Mellitus South West was launched, based in St Matthias Plymouth. St Mellitus College opened its centre in the East Midlands in 2019, after being invited to pioneer full-time context-based ordination training in the region by the dioceses of Southwell & Nottingham, Leicester and Derby In 2017, the college launched a programme in

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

in conjunction with the

Anglican Church of Bermuda The Anglican Church of Bermuda (as the Church of England in the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda was retitled in 1978) is a single diocese consisting of nine parishes and is part of the Anglican Communion, though not a part of an Ecclesias ...

. As of December 2021, it had trained 20 students for ministry.

Deans

* Graham Tomlin (2007–2015) *

Andy Emerton Andrew Neil Emerton (born 1972) is a British Anglican bishop. Since September 2020, he has been Bishop of Sherwood in the Church of England. Early life and education Emerton grew up in Guilden Sutton near Chester, Cheshire. He studied at the Uni ...

(2016–2020) * Russell Winfield (2020–)

Organisation and purpose

The college offers courses for many different kinds of students, including: *

ordinand Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

s looking for full or part-time training, including for self-supporting and pioneer ministry *

Lay worker In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. I ...

s and

licensed lay minister In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral and teaching f ...

s (LLMs, also known as readers) *

Undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

students on certificate, diploma and BA courses in theology, ministry and mission, or theology and youth ministry *

Postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

students on the MA in Christian Leadership, or MA in Theology, Ministry and Mission (specialising in systematic theology * Church leaders from a range of denominations wanting to study theology and ministry more deeply * Those looking for an introduction to the study of theology, through the Beginning Theology programme, non-accredited study, or the School of Theology from SPTC * Those wanting to learn more about

church planting Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...

under the guidance of associate tutor

Ric Thorpe Richard Charles "Ric" Thorpe (born 3 February 1965) is a British Anglican bishop and an expert in church planting. Since September 2015, he has been the Bishop of Islington, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of London, and the Church of England' ...

(

Bishop of Islington The Bishop of Islington is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Islington, an inner-city district of London, and the firs ...

) The college's programmes are validated by the universities of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, depending on the course. Mellitus' "growth mentality" has been an inspiration to other colleges, such as St Hild College in Yorkshire, established in 2017.

Name and link to college mission

The college is named after St Mellitus, one of the least known but most significant figures in the establishment of the church in London and

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

– a key moment in the conversion of the British Isles. Mellitus was sent to England by

Pope Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

, following in the footsteps of St Augustine who had made the same journey a few years before.

Notable alumni

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mellitus College Buildings and structures of the Church of England Educational institutions established in 2007 2007 in London 2007 establishments in England Anglican buildings and structures in the United Kingdom * Anglican seminaries and theological colleges