The Presbyterian College/Le Collège Presbytérien, 3495 University Street,
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, is a
Theological College
A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...
of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada () is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to the Religion in Canada, Canada 2021 Censu ...
, and is affiliated with
McGill University
McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
through its School of Religious Studies. The Presbyterian College's student base comes from across Canada and around the world.
Mission
The Presbyterian College is a theological College of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. It is a member of the
Montreal School of Theology, a Consortium of three theological colleges: Diocesan College (Anglican), The Presbyterian College, and the United Theological College.
Programs of The Presbyterian College
* Master of Divinity (M.Div.)
* Diploma in Ministry
* Maitrise en Étude Théologique Pratique
* McGill Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.)
* McGill Master of Sacred Theology degree (S.T.M.)
History
The official history of the college began in the early 1860s, but the date of 1865 is the benchmark as the Canada Presbyterian Church approved the request of the Presbytery, to complement that denomination's only Theological College,
Knox College, located in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
.
Lay leadership in this cause came from prominent Montrealers
John Redpath and McGill Principal
John William Dawson
Sir John William Dawson (1820–1899) was a Canadian geologist and university administrator.
Life and work
John William Dawson was born on 13 October 1820 in Pictou, Nova Scotia, where he attended and graduated from Pictou Academy. Of Sco ...
.
Classes began in the autumn of 1867 in the basement of Erskine Presbyterian Church in downtown Montreal, with Professor (later Principal) Donald Harvey MacVicar.
The college remained within the
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada () is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to the Religion in Canada, Canada 2021 Censu ...
after
church union
Church union is the name given to a merger of two or more Christian denominations. Such unions may take on many forms, including a united church and a federation.
United churches
A united church is the result of a merger of churches of vari ...
, although most of the faculty departed. The 1925-1926 academic year was held from 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 ...
Diocesan College, until the provincial
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
Courts awarded the College back to the "continuing" Presbyterian Church in Canada.
During
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 ...
, Presbyterian College was used for soldier training, and temporarily moved to Toronto, Ontario, and joined with Knox College, from 1943 to 1946. Some graduates of the College, in the spirit of good natured competition, still refer to that period as "the Babylonian captivity"!
Buildings and features
The first building was completed in 1873, and located on McTavish Street. In 1882, the David Morrice Hall containing a large library, dining hall, convocation hall, offices, and residences was completed.
These building served the College until the 1950s.
By the 1950s, the older buildings were in need of repair; rather than embarking on lengthy renovations, Presbyterian College and McGill University transferred lands. The university took the McTavish Street site, and Presbyterian College constructed a new building on the corner of University Avenue and Milton Street, just north of Sherbrooke Street, and adjacent to the aforementioned Diocesan College. The building was dedicated on April 28, 1963. The chapel, was renovated in the 1980s, then rebuilt following a fire in November 1990. In recent years, the college has rented out two floors of its residences as dormitories for McGill University students.
Alumni
In 1890, one of the Presbyterian College's most famous alumni graduated, in the person of
James Naismith
James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Scottish-Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball.
After moving to the United State ...
. He did not go to a congregation; instead, he went to serve with the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
in the United States. His invention of the sport of
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, brought him back to Montreal, just before his 1939 death, to receive the Honorary
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...
.
Another notable alum was
James R. Reid (1885), who became president of both the
College of Montana
The College of Montana was a private liberal arts college that existed in Deer Lodge, Montana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1878 as the "Montana Collegiate Institute", the school was the first institution of higher learnin ...
(1889-1893) as well as the second president of
Montana State University
Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...
(1894-1904).
[''National Cyclopedia of American Biography.'' New York: James T. White Co., 1896, p. 95.](_blank)
Accessed 2013-08-19.
Keith Markell's 1986 (posthumous) history of Presbyterian College cited some famous alumni; Most were in Canadian Church circles, including the first
Moderator of the United Church of Canada
The Moderator of the United Church of Canada is the most senior elected official within the United Church of Canada. He or she may be a lay person or a member of the clergy, Order of Ministry and is elected to a three-year term by commissioners ...
,
George C. Pidgeon.
Another alumnus, who like James Naismith (see above), gained a reputation away from the pastorate and/or academia, was
John Weir Foote
John Weir Foote, (May 5, 1904 – May 2, 1988) was a Canadian military chaplain and politician. He received the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Dieppe Raid in 1942. Foote is the only Canadian chaplain to be awarded the Victoria C ...
(1934 Graduate), a heroic World War II Chaplain, and later
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
Cabinet Minister.
W. G. Brown (1902) was a minister who fought for the continuation of the PCC from
Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and its key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and educati ...
, where he served from 1907 to 1925, then moved to
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
where he re-organized the Presbyterian Minority groups into St. Andrew's Church in Saskatoon; and died after he was elected to the
Canadian Parliament
The Parliament of Canada () is the federal legislature of Canada. The Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate and the House of Commons, form the bicameral legislature.
The 343 members of the lower house, the House of Commons, are styled a ...
in 1940.
Partnership
In 1969, Presbyterian College entered into an agreement with McGill University Faculty of Religious Studies and the other Theological Colleges (
United College and Diocesan College), that renewed an agreement made in 1912, that was dissolved following 1925. In 1981, the Institute de Théologie de Montréal was established, to provide teaching in French, although French courses had been provided from 1869 to 1925, and the College became known as The Presbyterian College/Le Collège Presbytérien. Another significant partnership is with the Montreal School of Theology (MST).
Principals
* Donald Harvey MacVicar* (1873–1902)
* John Scrimger* (1904–1915)
* D. H. Fraser (1916–1929)
* Francis Scott MacKenzie (1929–1945)
* Robert Lennox (1948–1969)
* William Klempa (1978–1998)
* John A. Vissers (1999–2013)
* Dale Woods (2014–2020)
* Roland De Vries (2021–)
During the periods between settled Principals (especially 1969-1978), there were a number of "Acting Principals".
References
Histories of the university
* Robert Campbell, A History of the St. Gabriel Street Church, Montreal, 1887.
* John H. MacVicar, The Life of Principal MacVicar, by His Son, 1904.
* John. S. Moir, Enduring Witness, (Third Edition), 2004. (''The Official History of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada () is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to the Religion in Canada, Canada 2021 Censu ...
'')
* Dr. Stanley Frost.'The History of McGill in Relation to the Social, Economic and Cultural Aspects of Montreal and Quebec' (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1979).
* Dr. Stanley Frost. 'McGill University: For the Advancement of Learning.' Vols I.(Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press © 1980)
* Dr. Stanley Frost. 'McGill University: For the Advancement of Learning.' Vol II.(Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press © 1984)
* H. Keith Markell 'The Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, 1948-1978' (Montreal: Faculty of Religious Studies, 1979)
* Prof. Peter F. McNally ''McGill University: For the Advancement of Learning (1970–2002)'' Vol III(Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press © 2002)
* Brian J. Young 'The Making and Unmaking of a University Museum: The McCord, 1921-1996' (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, June 1, 2000)
External links
Presbyterian College Website Official websitePictures and Info on McGill buildings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Presbyterian College, Montreal, The
Presbyterian universities and colleges
Seminaries and theological colleges in Canada
Presbyterian Church in Canada
McGill University buildings
Educational institutions established in the 1860s
1860s establishments in Quebec