The Central Theological College (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 聖公会神学院 ''Seikōkai Shingakuin'') is the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

theological college of the

Nippon Sei Ko Kai The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' (), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church representing the Province of Japan (, ) within the Anglican Communion. As a member of ...

Yōga is a style of artistic painting in Japan, typically of Japanese subjects, themes, or landscapes, but using Western (European) artistic conventions, techniques, and materials. The term was coined in the Meiji period (1868–1912) to distingui ...

Setagaya is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orchid, and its tree is the '' Ze ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Founded in 1908 from the amalgamation of three older Japanese Anglican seminaries it has trained more than 600 lay and ordained graduates for work in the Anglican Church in Japan.

History

Prior to the formal opening of the college in 1912, graduate level study and clergy training in the Anglican Church in Japan was divided between three separate schools; the Trinity Divinity School in Tsukiji, Tokyo established by the Episcopal Church mission in 1877; the CMS sponsored Holy Trinity School in Osaka in established in 1884 and the SPG sponsored school at St. Andrew's Church, Shiba Koen, Tokyo established in 1886. The idea of a central theological college in Tokyo to train all Japanese clergy was first mooted by Bishop

William Awdry William Awdry (24 January 1842 – 4 January 1910) was the inaugural Bishop of Southampton and Osaka who subsequently served South Tokyo. He was the fourth son of Sir John Wither Awdry and his second wife Frances Ellen Carr, second daughter of ...

. Initial funding for the college came from a grant approved at the

Pan-Anglican Congress The first Pan-Anglican Congress was held in London (United Kingdom) from June 15 to June 24, 1908, immediately prior to the Fifth Lambeth Conference held in July of the same year. Designed as a consultation on mission, the Congress was a meeting of ...

held in London in 1908. The first buildings of the college were located at

Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro Station, and several shops, restaurants, and department stores are located within city limits. Transportation At the center of Ikebukuro is ...

opposite the main campus of

Rikkyo University , also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. Rikkyo is one of the five MARCH (Japanese universities), MARCH universities, the group of private universities in the Kantō region, Kanto region, toge ...

. The intention being that students would spend three years in the college department of the university studying a broad liberal arts curriculum, and then three years focused on ministry training in the theological college. Initial staffing of the college was drawn from the ranks of the Episcopal, SPG and CMS missions each contributing one overseas missionary and one experienced Japanese clergy. The first college Principal was the Rev. John Toshimichi Imai. Between 1913 and 1919 British theologian Fr. Herbert Kelly SSM served as Professor of Apologetics at the college. The college buildings and library were destroyed by Allied incendiary bombing in the closing stages of the Second World War. The college relocated to its current suburban location at

, in 1953.

Daily life

All resident students are expected to attend

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...

and

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...

in the college chapel. Sundays, students are expected to join local parish churches as part of their pastoral formation. Both single and married full-time students are given the opportunity to live in accommodation on the college grounds. The college also provides on site housing for faculty.

Programmes

The college offers the following degree programmes: *

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. ...

(B.D.) Normally a three-year full-time residential program as a pathway to ordination in the Anglican Church in Japan. *

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

(M.Th) On submission of a graduating thesis usually one year full-time or two years part-time. Available for ordination candidates and external lay students. The college also serves as a center for lay ministry training. All courses at the college are taught in Japanese. Through grants made available from overseas mission societies, English-language library resources are also available on site.

References

External links

Central Theological College, Tokyo - College Website
{{authority control Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Anglican Church in Japan Universities and colleges in Tokyo Seminaries and theological colleges in Japan

History

Daily life

Programmes

See also

References

External links