Siaatoutai Theological College 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 ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

. It was established in 1948 by the

Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT; Tongan: ''Siasi Uēsiliana Tau‘atāina ‘o Tonga'') is a Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is often mistaken to be its state church. It has i ...

, being split away from

Tupou College Tupou College is a Methodist boys' secondary boarding school in Toloa on the island of Tongatapu, Tonga. It is located on the Eastern District of Tongatapu near the village of Malapo. The school is owned by the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga. Est ...

. The College is a member of the

South Pacific Association of Theological Schools The South Pacific Association of Theological Schools (SPATS) is an association of theological colleges in the South Pacific. It was founded in 1969 and emphasises ecumenism. SPATS publishes the ''Pacific Journal of Theology''. Member schools SPAT ...

, and offers a

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. ...

programme accredited by the same. , more than 190 students attend the college.

History

The College was established in 1948 at Nafualu, which had been the location of Tupou College since its relocation from the capital city Nuku'alofa in 1921, under the patronage of Queen

Sālote Tupou III Sālote Tupou III (born Sālote Mafileo Pilolevu; 13 March 1900 – 16 December 1965) was Queen of Tonga from 1918 to her death in 1965. She reigned for nearly 48 years, the longest of any Tongan monarch. She was well known for her height, stan ...

. The site is of historical and cultural significance to the Tongans as it was once the domain of the famed Tu'i Ha'amea, Lo'au, who devised the royal drinking ceremony, the ''Taumafa Kava''. Prior to the establishment of Sia'atoutai, theological training was undertaken at Tupou College, where the principal, the Reverend A. Harold Wood, fulfilled the dual roles of secondary school executive and tertiary educator (with theological classes conducted in the evening, when the school day had ended). The Church at the time was still grappling with the challenges of having to train and equip a spontaneously enlarged body of clergy, following the reunion of the Wesleyan and Free Churches in 1924, and so, with the inauguration of a new theological institute, the Church realised one of its long-awaited goals in seeking to improve the theoretical and practical competencies of its ministers and workers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sia'atoutai Theological College Universities and colleges in Oceania Educational organisations based in Tonga Methodism in Tonga Educational institutions established in 1948 Protestant seminaries and theological colleges 1948 establishments in Tonga