St Mark's National Theological Centre is a

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

college in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is owned and operated by the

Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn The Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese has 60 parishes covering most of south-east New South Wales, the eastern Riverina and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It st ...

History

Ernest Burgmann, Bishop of Goulburn from 1934 and then the renamed Canberra & Goulburn (1950-1960), established St Mark's Library in 1957. In 1967 this was expanded to become St Mark's Institute of Theology. Burgmann himself was the first warden of the Library (1957-1960). The first warden of the new institute was John Nurser (1968-1974), an Englishman who had previously been Dean of

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

and would go on to be the head of

Lincoln Theological College Lincoln Theological College was a theological college in Lincoln, United Kingdom. History Founded by Edward White Benson, when he was Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the college opened on 25 January 1874. It was also known as ''Scholae Cancella ...

. The institute merged with the Canberra College of Ministry in 1987, to form St Mark's National Theological Centre. In 2009, the

Anglican Diocese of Adelaide The Anglican Diocese of Adelaide is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. It is centred in the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia and extends along the eastern shore of the Gulf St Vincent from the town of Eudunda in the ...

's St Barnabas' College and the

Anglican Diocese of Brisbane The Anglican Diocese of Brisbane, also known as Anglican Church Southern Queensland, is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The diocesan bishop's seat is at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane. The diocese stretches from the south-eastern coastl ...

's St Francis' College joined the CSU School of Theology through an affiliation agreement with St Marks. This arrangement ceased at the end of 2022, when both St Barnabas' and St Francis' Colleges joined the

University of Divinity The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in divinity. It is constituted by eleven theological colleges from eight denominations. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest ...

. In addition to the St Mark's campus in Canberra, the CSU's School of Theology also has another campus at

North Parramatta North Parramatta is a suburb of the City of Parramatta, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 24 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. History The Darug p ...

, run by

United Theological College (Sydney) The United Theological College (UTC) is an Australian theological college and a founding member of Charles Sturt University's School of Theology. As well as providing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in all areas of theology, the UTC train ...

. The membership of these two colleges in the CSU School of Theology is notable, given the more

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 ...

inclinations of St Mark's and the

, as against the

Progressive Christianity Progressive Christianity represents a post-modern theological approach, and is not necessarily synonymous with progressive politics. It developed out of the liberal Christianity of the modern era, which was rooted in the Enlightenment's thinkin ...

embraced by UTC and the

Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of New South Wales and the ACT The Synod of New South Wales and the ACT is a regional council of the Uniting Church in Australia having responsibility for the congregations and presbyteries in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. From its creation in 1977 until ...

Courses

The centre delivers courses in higher education and vocational education and training (VET). Its courses in the higher education sector are offered through its partnership with

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explorer w ...

's (CSU) School of Theology. St Mark's is in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, adjacent to

Lake Burley Griffin Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River, which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle, was dammed. It is named after Walte ...

in the Parliament House precinct. The Canberra campus is home to St Mark's National Memorial Library which was established in 1957 by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Ernest Burgmann Ernest Henry Burgmann (9 May 1885 – 14 March 1967) was an Australian Anglican bishop and social activist. In 1918 Burgmann was appointed Warden of St John's College, Armidale. In 1926 he moved the college to Morpeth, where it remained un ...

and is now estimated at around 100,000 items.

Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture

The adjacent

Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture The Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture is a national Christian ecumenical centre, established in 1993, in Canberra, the national capital of Australia. It encourages dialogue and cooperation among Christian churches and between Christi ...

is affiliated to the United Theological College and St Mark's. The ACCC itself is located on the site of the intended national Anglican church, at one stage proposed to be a cathedral, and dedicated as St Mark's in 1927. In 1955 it was proposed to be a collegiate church, modelled upon

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. The long and complicated history of the national church site led, eventually, to the establishment of St Mark's Library.

Directors of the Centre

* Bruce Wilson, 1984–89. Subsequently Bishop of Bathurst. *Colin Dundon, 1990-95 * Jeffrey Driver, later bishop of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, 1995–97. *

Stephen Pickard Stephen Kim Pickard (born 1952) is an Australian academic and retired Anglican bishop, who served as an assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn since 24 March 2012, and as Executive Director of the Australian Centre f ...

, 1998–2006. Subsequently, an assistant bishop in Adelaide, and then Canberra & Goulburn. * Tom Frame, 2006–14. Formerly bishop to the

Australian Defence Forces The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...

. *Andrew Cameron, 2014-23.

References

{{reflist 1957 establishments in Australia Educational institutions established in 1957 Education in the Australian Capital Territory Charles Sturt University Seminaries and theological colleges in Australia