The Beeson Divinity School of Samford University is an

interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

divinity school A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

located in Birmingham,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The current dean is Douglas A. Sweeney. Though located on the campus of a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

university, Beeson is interdenominational. The school offers the

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 divi ...

degree and the

Master of Arts in Theological Studies The Master of Arts in Theological Studies'' (MATS or MAT) satisfies a variety of broad academic and vocational purposes. It can be suited to the pastor, layman or beginning academic as an entry-level master's degree in theology or the professional ...

degree. It houses an Institute of Anglican Studies. In 2013 it began offering a Certificate of Anglican Studies and in 2021 a Certificate of Wesleyan Studies.

Founding

Beeson Divinity was established on February 9, 1988. It is named for Ralph Waldo Beeson (1900–1990), who gave one of the largest donations (70 Million USD) in Samford history to create the first divinity school at a Baptist college in the US, and for his father, John Wesley Beeson. Ralph Beeson wanted the donation to remain anonymous, but relented to the naming of the school after his father at the suggestion of Samford's board of trustees.

Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel

The focal point of the divinity school is Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel, dedicated in 1995 and named in honor of Andrew Gerow Hodges in 2002. Though an original design by Neil Davis of Davis Architects, it was inspired by

Il Redentore The Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore ( en, Church of the Most Holy Redeemer), commonly known as Il Redentore, is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church located on Giudecca (island) in the ''sestiere'' of Dorsoduro, in the city of Venice, Italy. I ...

in Venice designed by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...

. The interior features three cycles of iconography. In the

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

are sixteen prominent figures from Christian history representing a variety of theological traditions. It was inspired by a passage in chapter 12 of

Hebrews The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still no ...

. in the transept apses are ten painting depicting days or seasons of the Christian year, beginning with

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

and ending with Reformation Day. Both of these cycles were painted by the Romanian artist Petru Botezatu. The third cycle are six busts in cultured marble of 20th-century Christian

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s from each of the six inhabited continents. These were made by Martin Dawes of Cherrylion Studios. These are in the crossing and aisles.

Deans

Timothy George Timothy George (born 9 January 1950) is an American theologian and journalist. He became the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School at the school's inception in 1988 and was the dean from 1989–2019, now serving as Research Professor of Divinity ...

, 1989–2019 # Douglas A. Sweeny, 2019–present

Notable faculty

Gerald Bray Gerald Lewis Bray (born 16 November 1948) is a British theologian, ecclesiastical historian and priest in the Church of England. Teaching Born in Montreal, Quebec, on 16 November 1948, Bray holds a BA from McGill University and a MLitt and DLitt ...

, historical theology *

, historical theology, founding dean *

Paul R. House Paul R. House (born 1958) is an American Old Testament scholar, author, and seminary professor who served as 2012 president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, an interdenominational semin ...

, Old Testament, Hebrew

Conferences

In the early twenty-first century, Beeson has hosted a number of theology conferences, including "The Will to Believe and the Need for Creed" (2009), "J.I. Packer and the Evangelical Future" (2006), and "God The Holy Trinity" (2004). Lectures from these conferences were published by Baker Academic Publishing as the Beeson Divinity Studies series.

References

External links

Beeson Divinity School website

Guidebook for Hodges Chapel

Video tour of Hodges Chapel
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1988 Seminaries and theological colleges in Alabama Samford University Universities and colleges in Birmingham, Alabama University subdivisions in Alabama 1988 establishments in Alabama