McCormick Theological Seminary is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

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 ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It shares a campus with the

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago, Illinois. LSTC is a member of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS), a consortium of eleven area seminaries ...

, bordering the campus of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. A letter of intent was signed on May 5, 2022, to sell the shared campus to the University of Chicago. The agreement allows the two seminaries to lease back facilities on the campus. Although it primarily serves the Presbytery of Chicago and the

Synod of Lincoln Trails A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mea ...

, McCormick Theological Seminary also educates members of other Christian denominations.

History

Hanover Seminary was established in 1829 as a preparatory school in

Hanover, Indiana Hanover is a town in Hanover Township, Jefferson County, southeast Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,546 at the 2010 census. Hanover is the home of Hanover College, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college. The "Point," locate ...

, for prospective ministers in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., hoping to serve on the western frontier of the expanding United States. After about ten years, the seminary moved a short distance to

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It is bounded by I-265 t ...

, where it became the New Albany Theological Seminary. When the western frontier boundary moved, the school also moved and opened in Chicago's present-day Lincoln Park neighborhood in 1859 where the school was first known as the Theological Seminary of the Northwest. In 1886, it was renamed in honor of American industrialist

Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...

(1809–1884), who had served as a member of the seminary's board of trustees. In 1975, facing a dire financial situation and declining enrollment, McCormick sold the Lincoln Park campus to

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

and moved to the

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

neighborhood in Chicago. This move divested the institution of infrastructure while reinforcing its commitment to urban ministry. Sharing facilities with the

(LSTC), McCormick began to help foster important ecumenical cooperation between the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches. In 2003 McCormick reinforced and recommitted itself to its ecumenical partnership with LSTC by building a new building on the LSTC campus. The Lincoln Park campus, on Fullerton Avenue between Halsted and Racine Streets, is now part of the

campus.

Notable faculty

* Cleland Boyd McAfee taught theology (1912-1930) *

Joseph Haroutunian Joseph Haroutunian (1904-1968) was an American Presbyterian theologian. He taught at McCormick Theological Seminary, and then at the University of Chicago, where he served as Cyrus H. McCormick Professor of Systematic Theology. He wrote widely on t ...

Kenneth E. Bailey Kenneth E. Bailey (November 24, 1930 – May 23, 2016) was an American author, professor of theology, and linguist. Life Bailey was born in Bloomington, Illinois. He spent 40 years (1955–1995) teaching in Egypt, Libanon, Lebanon, Palestine, Isra ...

* Enos Pomeroy Baker (1856-1911), 1886 graduate and former president, Presbyterian College of the Southwest at Del Norte, CO. Baker was also the founding minister of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles, the oldest African American Presbyterian church in California and west of the Mississippi River. *James Gore King McClure Jr. first (President of McCormick Theological Seminary 1905-1929) *Rev. Dr. Andrew Constantinides Zenos (Dean of McCormick Theological Seminary 1920-1934) *

Ovid R. Sellers Ovid Rogers Sellers (August 12, 1884 – July 7, 1975) was an internationally known Old Testament scholar and archaeologist who played a role in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He served as Professor of the Old Testament and Dean of McCormic ...

(Dean of McCormick Theological Seminary 1934-1954)

Notable alumni

Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Pant ...

* Steven A. Schaick *

Frederick Wedge Frederick Rhinaldo Wedge (July 31, 1880 – March 3, 1953) was an American boxer who fought over 70 professional bouts as "Kid" Wedge; an ordained clergyman, who pastored churches in Nebraska, Wisconsin, and California for the Presbyterian, Bapti ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1829 Universities and colleges in Chicago Hyde Park, Chicago Seminaries and theological colleges in Illinois McCormick family

History

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links