The Scottish Episcopal Institute (SEI) 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

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

, the

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 ...

church in Scotland. It provides training and theological education to those preparing for

lay Lay or LAY may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada * Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France * Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community * Lay Dam, Alaba ...

and ordained ministries in the Scottish Episcopal Church. It also provides training for leaders of the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

. The SEI was formally launched in October 2015, and replaced the Theological Institute of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Education

Since 2016, the Scottish Episcopal Institute has been involved in the

Common Awards Common Awards are qualifications for ordinands and lay ministers within the Church of England and its partners in the Baptist, Methodist, and United Reformed churches, delivered in a three-way partnership between theological education institution ...

, and as such has its academic qualifications validated by

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. , the SEI has three formation pathways over the first three years of ministerial education: * Part-time study on the Common Awards, with

ordinands 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 ...

and lay candidates continuing in their regular jobs * Full-time mixed-mode training on the Common Awards, with ordinands becoming part of a ministerial team for

on-the-job training On-the-job training (widely known as OJT) is an important topic of human resource management. It helps develop the career of the individual and the prosperous growth of the organization. On-the-job training is a form of training provided at the wo ...

and also training part-time with the SEI * Full-time study, with ordinands attending New College of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

to study for a

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 also training part-time with the SEI The Common Awards programmes lead to a 240-credit

Diploma of Higher Education A Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Overview United Kingdom The Diploma is awarded after two years of full-time study (or equivalent) at a university or other higher educa ...

, equivalent to the first two years of an English undergraduate degree (Durham University being an English university). As ordinands headed for incumbency are expected to have a degree in theology by the end of their sixth year of training, the SEI offers the 360-credit Common Awards BA in Theology, Ministry and Mission in years four to six, requiring a further 120 credits of study (equivalent to one year full-time) on top of the diploma.

Journal

The institute has published ''The Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal'' since 2017. It is published quarterly, and is

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

and

open-access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

Notable people

* The Revd Canon Anne Tomlinson was the

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

of the SEI at its foundation. She retired in July 2023, and was replaced by the Rev Canon Prof Michael Hull, who is currently the principal of the SEI.

References

External links

Official Website
{{authority control Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges in Scotland Universities and colleges established in 2015 2015 establishments in Scotland Scottish Episcopal Church