Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (PRTS) is a Reformed

seminary 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

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. The seminary started in 1995 as a school of the

Heritage Reformed Congregations Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physic ...

, a church association that originated in 1993 from the

Netherlands Reformed Congregations The Netherlands Reformed Congregations is a conservative Calvinist denomination with congregations in Canada, the United States and Bolivia. It is affiliated with the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Reformed Congreg ...

. Founded in 1995, PRTS is a graduate school. All of its faculty subscribe to the Three Forms of Unity and the Westminster Standards. Dr. Joel R Beeke. is the president of PRTS. Because the Heritage Reformed Congregations work closely with the

Free Reformed Churches of North America The Free Reformed Churches of North America (FRCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of churches in the Dutch Calvinist tradition with congregations in the United States and Canada. It officially adopted its current name in 1974. Thes ...

(FRC), the latter also supports PRTS. Since 1998, the seminary has been the official seminary of the FRC, the sister churches of the Dutch

Christian Reformed Churches The Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands ( nl, Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland) is a Protestant church in the Netherlands. History The original name of the church was Christian Reformed Church in the Netherlands ('' ...

International Campuses

Apart from the main campus, PRTS has five global extension campuses in Africa (Pretoria, South Africa), Asia (Taipei, Taiwan), Europe (London, United Kingdom), the Middle East (Cairo, Egypt) and South America (São José dos Campos – SP, Brazil).

Accreditation

The state of Michigan has granted PRTS a degree-granting charter and has approved their degree offerings. Puritan Reformed offers six accredited degrees: the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts in Religion (MA), Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling (MABC),

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a sta ...

(Th.M.),

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advance ...

(DMin), and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(Ph.D.). In February 2014, Puritan Reformed became

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History It was founded in 1918. The assoc ...

. The Master of Theology (ThM) degree program is also approved at the following five extension sites: Alexandria Governorate-

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

Governorate in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Taipei City Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Research Centers

The Puritan Research Center began in conjunction with the

Theological University of Apeldoorn The Theological University of Apeldoorn (TUA) is the Dutch theological university of the Christian Reformed Churches (Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken). More than 130 students study at the university in Apeldoorn. The theological course lasts si ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to set up an associated combined doctoral program and to encourage research in

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

studies. The Jonathan Edwards Center at PRTS is part of international network centers dedicated to research, education, and publication on Jonathan Edwards and his context. The first Jonathan Edwards Center began at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, and subsequently many such centers were planted in six continents. It was announced during the International Jonathan Edwards Conference at Yale University, on October 4, 2019, that Edwards Center-Midwest would be moving to Puritan Reformed. The Center for Classical Reformed Systematic Theology was established in cooperation with the :nl:Hersteld Hervormd Seminarie part of

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

for postdoctoral research in Reformed systematic theology. The Geerhardus Vos Center was established at PRTS for the advancement and dissemination of research that advances the interrelationship of exegetical, biblical, and systematic theology in the context of broadly Reformed epistemology.

References

External links

* Seminaries and theological colleges in Michigan Reformed church seminaries and theological colleges in the United States Education in Grand Rapids, Michigan Educational institutions established in 1995 Universities and colleges in Kent County, Michigan 1995 establishments in Michigan {{Seminary-stub