Union Biblical Seminary (UBS) is a

theological seminary 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 ...

founded by Wesleyan and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

denominations in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. UBS started as a Marathi-medium Bible School opened by the

Free Methodist Church The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is Evangelicalism, evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Met ...

and was finally established in 1953 and initially located in

Yavatmal Yavatmal ( is a city and municipal council in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Yavatmal District. Yavatmal is around 90 km away from divisional headquarters Amravati while it is away from the st ...

, before relocating to Pune in 1983. It is affiliated with the

Senate of Serampore College (University) The Senate of Serampore College (University) is an ecumenical regulatory and affiliating body for Christian theological education, which works in partnership with Bible colleges, seminaries and theological research institutes in the Indian subco ...

. It is the largest seminary under

Wesleyan-Holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. Churches aligned with the holiness movement ...

in India. The seminary is famous for contextualising theology to Indian

post-colonial Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and thei ...

context and in promoting

New Perspective on Paul The "New Perspective on Paul" is an academic movement within the field of biblical studies concerned with the understanding of the writings of the Apostle Paul. The "New Perspective" movement began with the publication of the 1977 essay ''Pau ...

, Evangelical feminism or egalitarianism, Dalit theology and progressive Wesleyan viewpoint. Union Biblical Seminary is founded by Union Biblical Seminary Association, a trust formed by various evangelical denominations in India. Union Biblical Seminary Association changed its name to Union Biblical Seminary Society in 2016. Rev. Vijayesh Lal serves as the Chairperson.

Courses offered

The following are the courses offered by the Union Biblical Seminary *

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

(B.Div.) *

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.) in Old Testament, New Testament Theology, Ministry and Mission *

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.) in Old Testament, New Testament and Theology * Bachelor of Theology (Th.B.) in Marathi, Hindi and English * Master of Divinity (M.Div.) in Hindi and English * Diploma in Counselling

Publications

* ''UBS Journal'', with three releases in a year.

Library

The Seminary has a large library

Notable alumni

John Perumbalath John Perumbalath (born 23 May 1966) is a British retired Anglican bishop. He became Bishop of Liverpool in the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, Diocese of Liverpool in January 2023. He had previously been Archdeacon of Barking (2 ...

Bishop of Liverpool The Bishop of Liverpool is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. . The diocese stretches from Southport in the n ...

* S. Anungla

References

External links

* Christian seminaries and theological colleges in India Universities and colleges established in 1953 Universities and colleges in Pune Seminaries and theological colleges affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University) 1953 establishments in Bombay State {{Maharashtra-university-stub