Trinity College, Glasgow,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, is the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
's College at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
. It provides special supervision of candidates for the ministry through a Principal (appointed by the
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray ...
) and a College Council. The college is the official channel of liaison between the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
, and the
United Free Church of Scotland
The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...
.
The current principal is Doug Gay.
History
The
Disruption of 1843
The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland.
The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...
marked a schism in the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
, resulting in the creation of the
Free Church of Scotland. The Free Church established three colleges or seminaries of its own, detached from the universities, for the education of its ministers. As well as its Glasgow college, the other two colleges were
New College, Edinburgh
New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Student ...
and
Christ's College, Aberdeen
Christ's College, Aberdeen was one of three colleges in Scotland founded by the Free Church of Scotland for the training of ministers following the Disruption of 1843. The other two were New College, Edinburgh and Trinity College, Glasgow.
Foll ...
.
The Glasgow College, funded by local subscription, was established in 1856. It was a multi-disciplinary institution of considerable reputation, existing outside the University of Glasgow's Faculty of Divinity. In 1872
Thomas Martin Lindsay
Thomas Martin Lindsay FRSE (1843–1914) was a Scottish historian, professor and principal of the Free Church College, Glasgow. He wrote chiefly on church history, his major works including ''Luther and the German Reformation'' (1900), and ''A His ...
was appointed Professor of
church history
__NOTOC__
Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception.
Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...
, and he became principal of the college in 1902.
Later, in 1930, following the reunion of the churches and theological teaching facilities, the Glasgow Church college was renamed "Trinity College". After the reunion of the main Scottish
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
churches in 1929–30, the two teaching facilities in the University and the Church College were reintegrated. After 1976, when the Church-owned Trinity College buildings at
Park Circus
Park Circus is a neighbourhood of Central-South Kolkata, in Kolkata district
Kolkata district (formerly known as Calcutta district) is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Kolkata.
History
Long before the B ...
were finally vacated, all teaching of theology took place in the university Divinity Faculty. Accordingly, while Trinity College still exists, it is a body without walls.
On 2 November 2006, Trinity College celebrated its 150th anniversary with a gathering of some 250 alumni and friends.
trinitycollege150
at divinity.gla.ac.uk Its 155th anniversary celebrations took place on 4 November 2011.
Some notable teachers
Teachers in the pre-1930 College included Alexander Balmain Bruce
Alexander Balmain Bruce (31 January 18317 August 1899) was a Scottish churchman and theologian. He was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland.
Life
He was born at Aberdalgie in the parish of Abernethy, Perthshire, on 13 January 1831, was th ...
, James Denney, George Adam Smith
:''Note in particular that this George Smith is to be distinguished from George Smith (Assyriologist) (1840–1876) who researched in some overlapping areas.''
Sir George Adam Smith (19 October 1856 – 3 March 1942) was a Scottish the ...
, James Moffatt
James Moffatt (4 July 1870, Glasgow – 27 June 1944, New York City) was a Scottish theologian and graduate of the University of Glasgow.
Moffatt trained at the Free Church College, Glasgow, and was a practising minister at the United Free Ch ...
, Henry Drummond, and James Orr. In the modern era, in the reunited faculty, notable teachers have included John MacQuarrie, William H.C. Frend, William Barclay, John Zizioulas
John Zizioulas ( el, Ιωάννης Ζηζιούλας; born 10 January 1931) is a Greek Orthodox prelate and the current titular Metropolitan bishop of Pergamon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. He is one of the most influential ...
, Robert Davidson George Newlands
George McLeod Newlands is a Scottish theologian widely published in the fields of modern systematic theology, Christology, emancipatory theology, and the history of Christian thought. He is Emeritus Professor of Divinity at the University of Gl ...
, John Riches, Heather Walton (theologian) Charlotte Methuen (Church Historian) . The former clerk was A. K. M. Adam. The current clerk is Mark Johnston.
Archives
The archives of Trinity College are maintained by the University of Glasgow Archives Services.
Further reading
* Stewart Mechie, ''Trinity College Glasgow 1856–1956'', London & Glasgow, 1956.
* W. Ian P Hazlett (ed.), ''Traditions of Theology in Glasgow 1450–1990'', Edinburgh, 1993.
* D. Wright, "Trinity College Glasgow", in ''Dictionary of Scottish Church History & Theology'', Edinburgh, 1991.
References
External links
Trinity College, Glasgow
University of Glasgow webpage on Trinity College
University of Glasgow webpage on Trinity College's Library
{{authority control
Schools of the University of Glasgow
Church of Scotland
Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges in Scotland
Educational institutions established in 1856
Category A listed buildings in Glasgow
1856 establishments in Scotland
Hillhead