Palmer Theological Seminary is a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

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

in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the

American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...

. It was founded in 1925 as Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Its parent institution is Eastern University.

History

The seminar was founded as Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1925 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

by six Conservative Baptist ministers from the American Baptist Publication Society. In 1932, a collegiate department was founded. Originally located on Rittenhouse Square, it moved in 1940 to

Wynnewood, Pennsylvania Wynnewood is a suburban Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, D ...

, just across the street from the city boundary. The seminary originally established a collegiate division to prepare some students for the academic rigor of seminary-level courses. This evolved in 1952 into Eastern Baptist College, since 2002 Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania near

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

and further west on the

Philadelphia Main Line The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and Social class in the United States, social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad's onc ...

from Philadelphia. In 2004, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary re-merged with Eastern University, now as a subsidiary. The following year, the seminary changed its name to Palmer Theological Seminary in honor of its longest serving president (1936–48), Gordon Palmer. In 2010, the University also established the Smith School of Christian Ministries to oversee certain programs. In 2012, the seminary moved from the Wynnewood campus to an interim location at the American Baptist Missions Center in nearby King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In June 2016, the seminary moved to the main campus of Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Over the years, the seminary has combined evangelical theology with the affirmation of women in ministry and commitment to social justice and ethnic diversity. From the beginning, the Seminary welcomed female students. The Seminary continues to affirm its founding motto, "The Whole Gospel for the Whole World."

Musical discoveries at the seminary

In July 2005, an 80-page

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

manuscript of a piano four hands version of the Grosse Fugue was discovered in the library archives by one of the librarians. The manuscript was authenticated by Jeffrey Kallberg at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

and by Stephen Roe, head of

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Manuscript Department. Lost from view for well over 100 years, it is thought by some to be one of the most important musicological finds in recent years. The event paralleled the earlier find on July 31, 1990, of a

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

manuscript, which had been donated to the seminary in 1951 by Marguerite Treat Doane (daughter of noted hymnist William Howard Doane). It was rediscovered along with some lesser manuscripts of the same period. The Beethoven manuscript was auctioned by Sotheby's in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on December 1, 2005 for US$1.72 million to an anonymous bidder later revealed to be Bruce Kovner.

Notable faculty and alumni

* Ron Sider, professor and founder of Evangelicals for Social Action * Craig Keener, professor and author of the bestselling ''IVP Bible Background Commentary (New Testament)'' * Barry Black, alumnus and United States Senate Chaplain *

Bernard Ramm Bernard L. Ramm (1 August 1916 in Butte, Montana – 11 August 1992 in Irvine, California) was a Baptist theologian and apologist within the broad evangelical tradition. He wrote prolifically on topics concerned with biblical hermeneutics, religio ...

, alumnus, author, theologian, professor * Carl F. H. Henry, evangelical theologian, author, first editor-in-chief of

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...

* Tony Campolo, alumnus, speaker, bestselling author, and social activist *

Michael A. O'Donnell Michael A. O'Donnell (born June 17, 1956, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) is an American writer and researcher and co-principal investigator of the Adolescent Wellness Research Project, jointly with family strengths scholar Nick Stinnett. Their resea ...

, alumnus, speaker, and author * Thaddeus Kirkland, Mayor of

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

and former Pennsylvania State Representative * Jay Smith, Christian apologistChristianity Today: "Unapologetic Apologist - Jay Smith confronts Muslim fundamentalists with fundamentalist fervor" by Deann Alford
June 13, 2008 * Edward R. Dalglish,

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

Teacher, * Gaddala Solomon, a student of Edward R. Dalglish and Baptist Pastor from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

References

External links

*
ATS profile of Palmer Theological Seminary
{{Coord, 40.0533, N, 75.3689, W, display=title Seminaries and theological colleges in Pennsylvania Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania Seminaries and theological colleges affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA Universities and colleges in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Universities and colleges established in 1925 1925 establishments in Pennsylvania