Geneva Reformed Seminary is a small theological school in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

, accredited by the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries and supported by the

Free Presbyterian Church of North America The Free Presbyterian Church of North America (FPCNA) is a Presbyterian denomination in the United States and Canada with mission works in Liberia, Jamaica, Haiti, and Kenya. Originally consisting of North American congregations under the auspice ...

. The seminary offers a B.D. and an

M.Div. 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 di ...

Initially called ''Whitefield College of the Bible'' after a companion school in

Banbridge Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road (Northern Ireland), A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the Civil parishes in Ireland, c ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, the seminary was renamed in 2002 to avoid confusion in the United States where Bible schools and seminaries prepare students at different academic levels. Faith Free Presbyterian Church of Greenville, South Carolina, the first constituted congregation of the Free Presbyterian Church in the United States (1977), had had from its inception a vision of becoming the progenitor of other Free Presbyterian churches in North America. In 1982,

Alan Cairns Hugh Alan Craig Cairns, (2 March 1930 – 27 August 2018) was a Canadian political scientist and professor. His scholarship focused on diverse topics within Canadian politics, including federalism, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, electoral ...

, an Ulsterman and the first pastor of the Greenville church, was commissioned by the Free Presbyterian Church to become the first professor of the new theological school, with teachers from Northern Ireland assisting on an adjunct basis. Training was limited to men preparing for the ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church. Both the Church and its seminary acknowledge the

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the " subordinate standard" ...

and its exposition of

Reformed theology Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

, which they believe to be taught by the Bible. Nevertheless, they modify the Westminster Standards by permitting liberty of conscience regarding

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

and

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negati ...

. In an advertising brochure published in 2008, the seminary declared its intent "to avoid the lamentable abuses" of covenant theology by pursuing "a strongly fervent evangelistic mission.... biblical, fundamental, separatist, evangelistic, and Reformed ministry."

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...

, the former moderator of the

Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster ( ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach Saor Uladh) is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctr ...

, had had a long-standing relationship with

Bob Jones University , motto_lang = Latin , mottoeng = We seek, we trust , top_free_label = , top_free = , type = Private university , established = , closed = , f ...

, also located in Greenville, and by February 2007, every GRS faculty member was both a graduate of Bob Jones University and a minister or licentiate minister of the Free Presbyterian Church. In 2001 the Presbytery Commission appointed Michael Barrett, who had earned a Ph.D. in theology from BJU, as president. Admission to the seminary was thereafter opened to members of other denominations. In May 2008, the presbytery approved a certificate program for laypersons, some evening classes, and the introduction of online courses, and by the fall of 2010, eighteen courses were available for online credit or audit.''Inside GRS'' eminary newsletter 2.1 (May 2008), 1, 3; Inside GRS, 4.2 (October 2010), 2. Barrett said that the online program had "made an enormous contribution to the outreach of the seminary." GRS therefore represents a

Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

branch of separatist

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...

in the United States, in contradistinction to Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, another conservative Presbyterian institution just a few miles away.

References

External links

Geneva Reformed Seminary
{{authority control Presbyterian universities and colleges in the United States Presbyterianism in South Carolina Seminaries and theological colleges in South Carolina Education in Greenville, South Carolina Buildings and structures in Greenville, South Carolina 1982 establishments in South Carolina Educational institutions established in 1982

See also

References

External links