Andover Newton Theological School

Andover Newton Theological School, the oldest graduate school of theology in the United States, traces its roots to the early 1800s and the desire for a well-educated clergy among both Congregationalists and Baptists. That desire was expressed in the founding of Phillips Academy in 1778 for "the promotion of true Piety and Virtue." A group of New England Congregationalists brought about the founding of a separate department of divinity at Andover, Mass. in 1807.

One of Andover's founders was Timothy Dwight, then president of Yale College.

Newton Theological Institution began instruction in 1825 at Newton Centre, Mass. As the institution developed, it adopted Andover's curricular pattern and shared the same theological tradition of loyalty to the evangelical Gospel and zeal for its dissemination.

Reflecting that zeal, the modern missionary movement began in this country through a group of Andover students known as the Brethren. Both Andover and Newton quickly assumed leadership in the modern mission movement, drawing the two schools into close association of people and ideas.

Graduates such as Luther Rice, Hiram Bingham and Nathan Brown pioneered in Christian missions around the world. Adoniram Judson, an 1810 Andover alumnus, is best known for his work in Burma, where he translated the Bible into Burmese and produced the first Burmese-English dictionary.

In 1908, the Seminary moved its faculty and library to Cambridge and began to develop plans for a formal affiliation with Harvard. In 1926, the two schools separated, but the books that had been brought to Harvard were allowed to remain at Harvard, in Andover Hall, where they still remain.

After sharing the 1825 Newton Theological Institution campus in Newton Centre, Mass. from 1931, the two schools merged formally in 1965 to form the Andover Newton Theological School. Andover's books at Harvard but are the property of the Andover Newton Theological School. Andover Newton students are allowed to take classes in the any of Harvard's ten graduate schools.

Andover Newton Theological School is a member of Boston Theological Institute, consisting of nine seminaries in the Boston, Massachusetts area. According to the school catalog, Andover Newton maintains "strong covenantal ties with the American Baptist Churches, USA and the United Church of Christ. Congregationalists (United Church of Christ) students remain the largest segment of the student body (38%) followed by Unitarian Universalists (24%) and Baptists (20%), according to the school admissions office. In the 1990s, financial troubles due to waning enrollment and dwindling endowments forced the school to sell several unused acres of its campus in Newton Centre, including a small parcel to Hebrew College and another several acres to the developers of a luxury condominium community. The school is currently engaged in a capital campaign and has completed extensive renovations to historic campus buildings, which include charming American Empire style structures dating from the 1820s. A new chapel, the first new construction on the campus in 45 years, is currently being built.

The seminary adopted an "Open, Welcoming and Affirming Statement" a few years ago which states, in part, "We declare ourselves to be an Open, Welcoming and Affirming theological school, welcoming into the full academic, business and community life of our School persons of every race, culture, age, gender, sexual orientation, ability, economic status, and faith tradition. We are committed to model Christian faith that works toward openness and understanding, offering justice, healing and wholeness for all people..."