St Mark's National Theological Centre is a

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

college in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is owned and operated by the

Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn The Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese has 60 parishes covering most of south-east New South Wales, the eastern Riverina and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It st ...

History

Ernest Burgmann, Bishop of Goulburn from 1934 and then the renamed Canberra & Goulburn (1950-1960), established St Mark's Library in 1957. In 1967 this was expanded to become St Mark's Institute of Theology. Burgmann himself was the first warden of the Library (1957-1960). The first warden of the new institute was John Nurser (1968-1974), an Englishman who had previously been Dean of

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

and would go on to be the head of Lincoln Theological College. The institute merged with the Canberra College of Ministry in 1987, to form St Mark's National Theological Centre. In 2009, the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide's St Barnabas' College and the

Anglican Diocese of Brisbane The Anglican Diocese of Brisbane, also known as Anglican Church Southern Queensland, is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The diocesan bishop's seat is at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane. The diocese stretches from the south-eastern coastl ...

's St Francis' College joined the CSU School of Theology through an affiliation agreement with St Marks. This arrangement ceased at the end of 2022, when both St Barnabas' and St Francis' Colleges joined the

University of Divinity The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university with a specialised focus in divinity and associated disciplines. It is constituted by twelve theological colleges from seven denominations and three schools. The University of Di ...

. In addition to the St Mark's campus in Canberra, the CSU's School of Theology also has another campus at North Parramatta, run by

United Theological College (Sydney) The United Theological College (UTC) is an Australian theological college and a founding member of Charles Sturt University's School of Theology. As well as providing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in all areas of theology, the UTC train ...

. The membership of these two colleges in the CSU School of Theology is notable, given the more

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

inclinations of St Mark's and the

, as against the

Progressive Christianity Progressive Christianity represents a range of related perspectives in contemporary Christian theology and practice. It is a postmodern theological approach, which developed out of the liberal Christianity of the modern era, although progressive C ...

embraced by UTC and the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of New South Wales and the ACT.

Courses

The centre delivers courses in higher education and vocational education and training (VET). Its courses in the higher education sector are offered through its partnership with

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain (British Army and Royal ...

's (CSU) School of Theology. St Mark's is in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, adjacent to

Lake Burley Griffin Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was created in 1963 by the damming of the Molonglo River, which formerly ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle. The lake is na ...

in the Parliament House precinct. The Canberra campus is home to St Mark's National Memorial Library which was established in 1957 by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Ernest Burgmann and is now estimated at around 100,000 items.

Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture

The adjacent Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture is affiliated to the United Theological College and St Mark's. The ACCC itself is located on the site of the intended national Anglican church, at one stage proposed to be a cathedral, and dedicated as St Mark's in 1927. In 1955 it was proposed to be a collegiate church, modelled upon

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. The long and complicated history of the national church site led, eventually, to the establishment of St Mark's Library.

Directors of the Centre

* Bruce Wilson, 1984–89. Subsequently Bishop of Bathurst. *Colin Dundon, 1990-95 * Jeffrey Driver, later bishop of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, 1995–97. * Stephen Pickard, 1998–2006. Subsequently, an assistant bishop in Adelaide, and then Canberra & Goulburn. * Tom Frame, 2006–14. Formerly bishop to the Australian Defence Forces. *Andrew Cameron, 2014-23.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mark's National Theological Centre 1957 establishments in Australia Educational institutions established in 1957 Education in the Australian Capital Territory Charles Sturt University Seminaries and theological colleges in Australia