St. Andrew’s College, formerly the Presbyterian Theological College, is a degree-granting, accredited theologically ecumenical seminary of the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada. The United Chu ...

. It is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and was the second affiliated college of the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

. Along with the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad (

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

), and the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon (

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

), it makes up the Saskatoon Theological Union (STU).

History

The Presbyterian Theological College was founded in 1912 and confirmed by an Act of the

Saskatchewan Legislature The Saskatchewan Legislature is made of two elements: the lieutenant governor as representative of the King of Canada, and the unicameral assembly called the Legislative Assembly. The legislature has existed since Saskatchewan was formed out of ...

in 1913. That same year,

Edmund H. Oliver Edmund Henry Oliver (1882–1935) was a Canadian Presbyterian and United Church of Canada minister, chaplain and educator. He played an integral role in the founding of St. Andrew's College, Saskatoon in 1912 – then known as the Presbyterian ...

began his tenure as the first principal of the college, appointed by the Presbyterian General Assembly of Canada. The college was initially founded to meet the needs of students "who had declared their intention of entering the ministry", and in 1920 started training workers among New Canadians. In 1914, Presbyterian Theological College began the construction of a building on the University of Saskatchewan property but was disrupted by World War I after most of its student body enlisted. The building that St. Andrew's currently occupies was developed in 1922. It had 28 students in 1921-22: ten from Canada, seven from Scotland, five from England, three from Ireland, and one each from France, Hungary, and the United States. In 1925, Presbyterian Theological College was renamed St. Andrew's College, following the formation of the

Social justice and equity

St. Andrew's invested its first woman graduate in 1922, Lydia Emelie Gruchy, though it would take an additional 13 years for her ordination by the United Church of Canada. The college had a number of

conscientious objectors A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or freedom of religion, religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the government threatened to close the college in 1942 unless all eligible men would enlist. The concept of justice and equity were increasingly preoccupations of the college throughout the 1960s, cementing its reputation as a progressive and politically activist theological school. The 1970s saw a shift in student demographics as more women began enrolling and graduating. In 2009, St. Andrew’s began participating in the Affirming Ministries Program of Affirm United, a further shift for inclusivity and equity among diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

Programs

St. Andrew’s offers a variety of programs, including Master of Divinity (MDiv), Master of Theological Studies (MTS), and Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degrees. A range of learning certificates are also available, including “Leadership in the Faith Community”, “Leadership in the World”, and “Spiritual Exploration.” St. Andrew's is accredited through the

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. History The ATS was found ...

References

External links

St. Andrew's College standrews.ca
{{Seminaries and theological colleges in Canada Seminaries and theological colleges in Canada University of Saskatchewan Educational institutions established in 1912 United Church of Canada Presbyterian Church in Canada