Holy Trinity Theological College
The Holy Trinity Theological College ( Amharic የቅድስት ሥላሴ መንፈሳዊ ኮሌጅ ) in Addis Ababa is the highest theological educational institution of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church . It was founded by Emperor Haylä Selassie to supplement the traditional theological education system with a modern training facility. The emperors and empresses before him, beginning with Menelik II , had begun to introduce modern educational institutions in Ethiopia that did not evolve out of the traditional school system, but sought to replace it. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which continued to rely on the traditional system in its clerical training, was forced to integrate the modern system in some form into its training if it did not want to lose its influence in society.
After his return from exile in England in 1942, Emperor Haylä Selassie initiated the establishment of a forum for priests on his palace grounds, which gradually developed into a teacher training center under the Ministry of Education. In 1960, the school was finally expanded to include a college department, which rose to one of its faculties a year later with the opening of Haile Selassie University (now: Addis Ababa University ) on December 18, 1961.
In the years leading up to its closure by the communist regime in 1975, the Holy Trinity Theological College played a central role within the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwahedo Church as its main theological training center. Many current bishops (e.g. Abune Paulos ) and important church workers emerged from him. After closing for nearly 20 years, the college reopened in 1995 under Patriarch Abune Paulos. The Holy Trinity Theological College, named after the nearby Holy Trinity (Qedus Selassie) Church, is now subordinate to the Patriarchate.
Approximately 200 students (all deacons ) selected in an examination process study three years to the diploma or five years to the degree in theology . Women can also study in the extension division . For further theological studies, the graduates still have to go abroad. On January 6, 2007, however, Abune Paulos laid the foundation for the expansion of the college to master and PhD levels.
Since 2001 there has been a college in Mäkäle comparable to the HTTC (Kesate Birhan Selama Theological College). The St. Paul Seminary in Addis Ababa, which was founded by Empress Mannen in 1934 , also offers modern theological training up to diploma level. In addition, it is known as the highest training center for traditional church education.