The
Adelaide College of Divinity Inc. (ACD) started as an ecumenical consortium of the theological colleges of the
AnglicanThe Anglican Church of Australia, a member church of the Anglican Communion, was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
,
BaptistThe Baptist Union of Australia is the oldest and largest national cooperative body of Baptists in Australia. Its current National President is Reverend Dr John Beasy...
,
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Curia in Rome.There are an estimated 5.1 million baptised Catholics in Australia, 26% of the population, a plurality, making it Australia's largest single Christian denomination...
and
UnitingThe Uniting Church in Australia was formed on June 22 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, Presbyterian Church of Australia, and Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....
Churches, and the
Bible College of South AustraliaThe Bible College of South Australia, formerly known as the Adelaide Bible Institute, is an interdenominational and evangelical Bible College in Adelaide, South Australia.-History:...
in
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1.1 million. It is a coastal city situated on the eastern shores of Gulf St. Vincent, on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu...
,
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
in 1979.
The ACD offers degrees in its own right and forms the School of Theology at
Flinders UniversityFlinders University, or The Flinders University of South Australia, is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has...
in the
FacultiesA faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
of Education, Humanities, Law, and Theology.
The
Baptist Church'sThe Baptist Union of Australia is the oldest and largest national cooperative body of Baptists in Australia. Its current National President is Reverend Dr John Beasy...
Burleigh College and the
Bible College of South AustraliaThe Bible College of South Australia, formerly known as the Adelaide Bible Institute, is an interdenominational and evangelical Bible College in Adelaide, South Australia.-History:...
later withdrew and now offer awards from the
Australian College of TheologyThe Australian College of Theology is a national provider of theological education. The college was one of the first Australian non-university providers to offer an accredited bachelor's degree and a research doctorate. The number of graduates since the foundation of the college stands at 14,200...
.
Nungalinya CollegeNungalinya College, an Adult Education College, is a partnership of the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Uniting Church based in Nakara a suburb of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia...
was associated with the ACD at one time.
The
Adelaide College of Divinity Inc. (ACD) started as an ecumenical consortium of the theological colleges of the
AnglicanThe Anglican Church of Australia, a member church of the Anglican Communion, was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
,
BaptistThe Baptist Union of Australia is the oldest and largest national cooperative body of Baptists in Australia. Its current National President is Reverend Dr John Beasy...
,
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Curia in Rome.There are an estimated 5.1 million baptised Catholics in Australia, 26% of the population, a plurality, making it Australia's largest single Christian denomination...
and
UnitingThe Uniting Church in Australia was formed on June 22 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, Presbyterian Church of Australia, and Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....
Churches, and the
Bible College of South AustraliaThe Bible College of South Australia, formerly known as the Adelaide Bible Institute, is an interdenominational and evangelical Bible College in Adelaide, South Australia.-History:...
in
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1.1 million. It is a coastal city situated on the eastern shores of Gulf St. Vincent, on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu...
,
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
in 1979.
The ACD offers degrees in its own right and forms the School of Theology at
Flinders UniversityFlinders University, or The Flinders University of South Australia, is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has...
in the
FacultiesA faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
of Education, Humanities, Law, and Theology.
The
Baptist Church'sThe Baptist Union of Australia is the oldest and largest national cooperative body of Baptists in Australia. Its current National President is Reverend Dr John Beasy...
Burleigh College and the
Bible College of South AustraliaThe Bible College of South Australia, formerly known as the Adelaide Bible Institute, is an interdenominational and evangelical Bible College in Adelaide, South Australia.-History:...
later withdrew and now offer awards from the
Australian College of TheologyThe Australian College of Theology is a national provider of theological education. The college was one of the first Australian non-university providers to offer an accredited bachelor's degree and a research doctorate. The number of graduates since the foundation of the college stands at 14,200...
.
Nungalinya CollegeNungalinya College, an Adult Education College, is a partnership of the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Uniting Church based in Nakara a suburb of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia...
was associated with the ACD at one time. Nungalinya College is ecumenical with a focus on theological education and training for ministry for
AboriginalIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands, and these peoples' descendants. Indigenous Australians are distinguished as either Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders, who currently together make up about 2.6% of Australia's...
and Torres Strait Islander people. It is located in
DarwinDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 120,652, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
,
Northern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
.
In 2003, Coolamon College, a
Uniting ChurchThe Uniting Church in Australia was formed on June 22 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, Presbyterian Church of Australia, and Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....
distance educationDistance education, or distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the pedagogy and andragogy, technology, and instructional systems design that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically "on site". According to the U.S...
provider joined the ACD after moving from
BrisbaneBrisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....
where it had been a member of the
Brisbane College of TheologyBrisbane College of Theology, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is an ecumenical theological education consortium, comprising St Francis' Theological College , St Paul's Theological College and Trinity Theological College . It offers both under-graduate and post-graduate qualifications-External...
. (It also offered
Sydney College of DivinityThe Sydney College of Divinity is a consortium of Christian seminaries and Bible colleges based in Sydney, New South Wales. The College is structured as a federation of member institutions, each of which retains its autonomy and respective theological traditions...
courses).
Constituent member colleges of the ACD are:
- St Barnabas College (Anglican)
- Catholic Theological College
- Coolamon College
Coolamon College is a national agency of the Uniting Church in Australia and a distance education provider of theological education.The National Office is based in South Australia, part of the campus of the Adelaide College of Divinity at Brooklyn Park, South Australia...
(Uniting)
- Uniting College for Leadership and Theology (known as Parkin-Wesley College to December 2008) (Uniting).
There are close associations between the ACD and the
Churches of Christ in South AustraliaThe Churches of Christ in Australia is a Christian movement in Australia. It is part of the Restoration Movement with historical influences from the United States of America and the United Kingdom....
, as well as the
Australian Lutheran CollegeAustralian Lutheran College is a higher education institution serving the Lutheran Church of Australia. It is located in North Adelaide, South Australia on the corner of Ward and Jeffcott streets...
.
The Centre for Theology, Science and Culture is a Research Institute within the University.
In the late September 1997 the three constituent colleges in Adelaide joined at the one site in
Brooklyn Park, South AustraliaBrooklyn Park is a western suburb of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, a state of Australia.-External links:...
. Teaching began on 7 October and the ACD campus was officially opened on Sunday, 9 November by the Governor of South Australia,
Sir Eric NealSir Eric James Neal AC CVO was the Governor of South Australia 1996-2001, Commissioner of Sydney from 1987 to 1988, and currently the Chancellor of Flinders University....
This facilitated the creation of the one Adelaide Theological Library, from the three collections of the colleges. The library has grown since the merger and in 2006 held over 60,000 volumes, including many dating back before 1850 and some to the 17th Century. Within the college grounds is a
labyrinthIn Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull and was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus...
designed by Adelaide
stained glassThe term stained glass can refer to the material of coloured glass or the craft of working with it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term "stained glass" has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches, cathedrals, chapels, and other significant buildings...
artist Cedar Prest to honor the journeys of refugees and migrants. Symbols incorporated in the labyrinth include a large chalice and a central wafer - a reference to Holy Communion. A stylised version of the labyrinth is used as the college logo.
External links