Westminster College, Cambridge
Encyclopedia
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
is a theological college of the United Reformed Church
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
, formerly the Presbyterian Church of England. Its principal purpose is the training of clergy for ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
, but is also used more widely for training within the denomination. The current Principal of the college is the Revd Dr Susan Durber, and the Vice-Principal and Director of Studies is the Revd John Proctor.
History
The college was founded in London in 1844 with a temporary home in the Exeter HallExeter Hall
Exeter Hall was a hall on the north side of The Strand, London, England. It was erected between 1829 and 1831 on the site of Exeter Exchange, to designs by John Peter Gandy, the brother of the visionary architect Joseph Michael Gandy...
before moving to permanent premises in Queen's Square, London in 1859. It then moved to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in 1899 following the gift of a prime site of land near the centre of the city by two Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
sisters, Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson, both noted biblical scholars. Following an appeal for funds from the wider Presbyterian congregation, the college commissioned a new building designed by Henry Hare
Henry Hare
Henry Thomas Hare was an Edwardian English architect, born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, who was responsible for a trail of municipal buildings around Britain....
and built between 1897–1899. In 1967 the college began to amalgamate with Cheshunt College, Cambridge, presaging the union of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches to form the United Reformed Church in 1972.
Notable former students include Thomas Walter Manson, the biblical scholar and Rylands Professor in the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
; Lesslie Newbigin
Lesslie Newbigin
Bishop James Edward Lesslie Newbigin was a Church of Scotland missionary serving in the former Madras State , India, who became a Christian theologian and bishop involved in missiology, ecumenism, and the Gospel and Our Culture Movement.-Biography:Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Newbigin's schooling...
, ecumenist, bishop, scholar and pioneer of the Church of South India; William Paton
William Paton
William Paton may refer to:*William Andrew Paton, American accountant and a founder of the American Accounting Association*William J. Paton, Scottish footballer who played for Motherwell*Willie Paton, Scottish footballer who played for Rangers...
, a precursor to Newbigin and a seminal figure in modern ecumenism
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
; and W. D. Davies
W. D. Davies
William David Davies , always called W. D., was a Welsh congregationalist minister and academic theologian.-Life:He was born in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Educated at the University of Wales and at Cambridge , he was ordained to the ministry of the Congregational Church in 1941, and served parishes...
, known for his work on Paul and his Jewish background.
Lewis and Gibson
Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson were noted for their study of one of the earliest versions of the Old Gospels in Syriac Sinaiticus discovered in the monastery St. Catherine, Mount Sinai. The other important contributions to the field of Aramaic and Theology are the publications of the Codex Climaci RescriptusCodex Climaci Rescriptus
Codex Climaci rescriptus, known as Uncial 0250 , is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament as well as a Christian Palestinian Aramaic uncial manuscript of the Old and New Testament. Paleographically the Greek section has been assigned to the 8th century , and the Christian Palestinian...
, a 6th century palimpsest
Palimpsest
A palimpsest is a manuscript page from a scroll or book from which the text has been scraped off and which can be used again. The word "palimpsest" comes through Latin palimpsēstus from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος originally compounded from πάλιν and ψάω literally meaning “scraped...
written in Christian Palestinian Aramaic which contains portions of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, and another palimpsest manuscript of the Forty Martyrs of the Sinai desert and the Story of Eulogios, the Stone Cutter in the same Aramaic dialect. The sisters found the manuscripts in the antiquities market of Cairo and acquired them for the library in Westminster College.
They edited also many other important manuscripts in Syriac and Arabic.
In 1897 Lewis and Gibson also found and purchased some fragments of parchment of the Cairo Genizah whilst travelling in the Middle East. With the support of Solomon Schechter
Solomon Schechter
Solomon Schechter was a Moldavian-born Romanian and English rabbi, academic scholar, and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and architect of the American Conservative Jewish...
they made several more trips to the Middle East, locating the majority of the Genizah
Genizah
A genizah is the store-room or depository in a Jewish synagogue , usually specifically for worn-out Hebrew-language books and papers on religious topics that were stored there before they could receive a proper cemetery burial, it being forbidden to throw away writings...
at the Ben Ezra Synagogue
Ben Ezra Synagogue
The Ben Ezra Synagogue , sometimes referred to as the El-Geniza Synagogue or the Synagogue of the Palestinians, is situated in Old Cairo, Egypt. According to local tradition, it is located on the site where baby Moses was found...
in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. Schechter identified the fragments as forming part of the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
Wisdom of Sirach.
Today
The college is not part of the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, but is united with six other religious colleges in Cambridge to form the Cambridge Theological Federation
Cambridge Theological Federation
The Cambridge Theological Federation is an association of theological colleges, courses and houses, based in Cambridge, England. The Federation offers several joint theological programmes of study open to students in member institutions; these programmes are either validated by or are taught on...
which is affiliated with the university. In concentrating on religious studies for training clergy, the college is in some ways closer to the original conception of the main university colleges when they were founded.
Currently, Westminster has connected with it around 50 students; some in training for ministry in the United Reformed Church, and some studying for other work or pleasure. Westminster is served by 5 academic staff, covering the traditional theological disciplines of Systematic Theology, Church History, Old Testament Studies, New Testament Studies and Pastoral Studies. Traditionally, most students have studied for four years, which includes an internship year working in a local church. However, the College now trains many students part-time and via distance learning, as well as through full-time in-house courses. Most students still work, nonetheless, either for a BA or MA degree (validated by Anglia Ruskin University) or a BTh or BA/Tripos degree (validated by Cambridge University).
Future plans
The college is exploring the ways in which its buildings can be adapted to fit its role as a Resource Centre for Learning within the United Reformed ChurchUnited Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
and provide some of the facilities needed by the Cambridge Theological Federation
Cambridge Theological Federation
The Cambridge Theological Federation is an association of theological colleges, courses and houses, based in Cambridge, England. The Federation offers several joint theological programmes of study open to students in member institutions; these programmes are either validated by or are taught on...
.