Episcopal Church Seminary Timeline

Episcopal Church Seminary Timeline

with particular attention to the histories of the Philadelphia Divinity School, Episcopal Theological School, and the Episcopal Divinity School.

Prepared by the Rev. Matthew P. Cadwell, PhD (EDS ’99)

1789—General Convention adopted the Constitution and Canons of the Church, stipulating that: “No person shall be ordained in this Church until he shall have satisfied the Bishop and the two Presbyters, by whom he shall be examined, that he is sufficiently acquainted with the New Testament in the original Greek, and can give an account of his faith in the Latin tongue, either in writing or otherwise, as may be required.” (Canon 8).

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1804—House of Bishops set a “Course of Ecclesiastical Studies,” including an appended list of books for “the Library of a Parish Minister.”

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1817—gENERAL tHEOLOGICAL seMINARY established in New York City by act of General Convention, with set curriculum. GTS is the first and official seminary of the Episcopal Church. Bishop William White of Pennsylvania disagrees with the idea of a national seminary, and would prefer regional or diocesan schools for the training of clergy, but agrees to support the will of the broader church. The Rev. Dr. Samuel Turner, who had been appointed by White as teacher of theology in Pennsylvania, is subsequently appointed first professor at GENERAL SEMINARY.

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1824—Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary (Virginia Theological Seminary) established in Alexandria, VA. VTS was evangelical and missionary in outlook, in contrast to the high church and establishment sensibility of GTS. Among its founders were Bishop William Meade, the third Bishop of Virginia, and Francis Scott Key, whose 1814 poem “The Defence of Fort McHenry” became the text for the National Anthem in 1931. In 1818, Francis Scott Key formed “An Education Society” and five years later opened the “School of Prophets,” to become the PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN VIRGINIA. The school opened with two instructors and 14 students enrolled.

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1824—Kenyon College established in Worthington Ohio, by Bishop Philander Chase, for the purpose of training candidates for ministry. Institution moved to Gambier Hill in 1825. Bexley Hall as the seminary component of the college, was later separately identified, in honor of Nicholas Vansittart, 1^st Baron Bexley, an early benefactor of the college.

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1834—Episcopal Theological Seminary in Kentucky established in Lexington by Bishop Benjamin Bosworth Smith to provide education on the western frontier. Fell into quick decline by 1837 due to financial troubles. Later had nominal existence as a department of Shelby College in Shelbyville, KY.

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1841—Nashotah House established in Nashotah, Wisconsin at the urging of western missionary Bishop Jackson Kemper by recent graduates of General Theological Seminary: James Lloyd Breck, William Adams, and John Henry Hobart, Jr. Established as a semi-monastic missionary seminary with a high church sensibility. The first graduate, in 1845, was Gustaf Unonius, a Swedish immigrant who was ordained by Jackson Kemper and worked to establish Swedish Episcopal congregations in the Upper Midwest, until returning to Sweden.

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1854—Berkeley Divinity School founded in Middletown, CT. Named for the Irish philosopher and bishop George Berkeley, it offered a middle way between the high church sensibility of General Seminary and the evangelicalism of Virginia Theological Seminary. Bishop John Williams of CT served simultaneously as Berkeley’s first dean and instructor in church history and theology. 

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1854—James DeKoven joined the faculty of NASHOTAH HOUSE. The most widely-known and respected leader of the Anglo-Catholic movement in the 19th century American Church, DeKoven brought many of the principals and practices of the Tractarian movement to the attention of the Episcopal Church, especially a firm belief in the doctrine of the Real Presence. He later defended the practice of Eucharistic adoration. He left NASHOTAH HOUSE in 1859 to serve as warden of Racine College, but his imprint on the seminary was profound. DeKoven was nominated Bishop of Massachusetts in 1872 and of Milwaukee in 1874. He was elected but not consecrated Bishop of Illinois in 1875 because he did not receive the necessary consents from a sufficient number of diocesan standing committees in the Episcopal Church. He was never made a bishop, but is remembered as the "American Keble."
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1857—University of the South established in Sewanee, Tennessee by 10 dioceses: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. It was established to provide denominational education free from northern domination. Formal education delayed due to the start of the Civil War. School of Theology opened in 1868. Several Confederate leaders were prominent in the life of the university, before and after the Civil War. 

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1857—the Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Divinity School) established by Bishop Alonzo Potter. Dr. George Emlen Hare, a graduate of General Seminary, served as the first dean. PDS came to fuller and more organized life in 1862, with the establishment of a Board of Trustees, Board of Overseers, appointment of instructors, and a charter, and constitution. Courses of study were open to students of all races.

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1858—SEABURY DIVINITY SCHOOL established in Fairbault, Minnesota by James Lloyd Breck, previously first dean of Nashotah House, and Solon Manney. It was intended to be part of a larger Bishop Seabury University, which never came to be; however, the DIVINITY SCHOOL flourished for a time under the leadership Henry Benjamin Whipple, first bishop of Minnesota. Though founded by Breck, SEABURY developed a low church and missionary frontier sensibility. Notably, it included white and Native American students.

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1862-1865—During the Civil War, the Union Army took possession of the VIRGINIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY property in Alexandria and used it as an army hospital. During the war it was used to house 1,7000 wounded federal troops, with 500 deceased buried on the grounds.  The seminary was reopened following the war. 
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1867—Episcopal Theological School founded in Cambridge, Mass. by Benjamin Tyler Reed, a Boston businessman. Established with a lay Board of Trustees, to avoid ecclesiastical interference on teaching. Instead, all teaching had to conform to the Doctrine of Justification by Faith (as contrasted with the Unitarianism of Harvard University and the High Church teaching of General Seminary). John Seely Stone, previously on the faculty of Philadelphia Divinity School, appointed first dean. School supported by prominent figures like Phillips Brooks, William Reed Huntington, Amos Adams Lawrence, and Thomas March Clark.

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1869—St. John’s Memorial Chapel built at Episcopal Theological School. Other buildings followed, completed in a Flemish style by architects Ware and Van Brunt: Lawrence Hall, Reed Hall, and Burnham Hall.

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1878—Bishop Payne Divinity School founded in Petersburg, Virginia to train African Americans for vocations in ministry in the Episcopal Church. Originally a branch of the Virginia Theological Seminary and associated with the St. Stephen’s Normal and Industrial School, it was led by the Rev. Thomas Spencer as Principal. In 1884 it was named for James Payne, first bishop of Liberia.

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1878—ST. ANDREW'S DIVINITY SCHOOL established in Syracuse, New York at the behest of Bishop Frederic Dan Huntington. It was meant to serve primarily as a seminary for the Diocese of Central New York. Addressing his diocesan convention in 1876, Bishop Huntington said: “Experience shows that the most experienced men for our missionary service are those trained on our own ground. Reasons for this will readily suggest themselves. Besides, every Bishop wants the use of all his own candidates during their Diaconate, a period of great practical importance, for the free work of itinerancy and in small stations, of which we have so much on hand. It is clear to me that we shall never be furnished with a full force of Evangelists and Associate Missioners till we educate them among ourselves. We ought, therefore, to be looking forward to that measure, and shaping plans for a training school at the center of the Diocese, conducted with a regular course of study, lectures in the different departments of scientific and pastoral Theology and parenetics by our own scholars, with terms of practical exercise under Parish ministers. Such a class of Candidates for Orders, near at hand, with their teachers, would be almost sure to impress many devout youths with the demands of the sacred calling, and to turn them toward it.”
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1880s—Philadelphia Divinity School began offering training for deaconesses, often African Americans offering education to freed slaves.

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1883—Western Theological Seminary founded in Chicago, IL under the leadership of Bishop William McLaren. Western’s mission was to educate “fit persons in the Catholic Faith in its purity and integrity, as taught in the Holy Scriptures, held by the Primitive Church, summed up in the Creeds, and affirmed by the undisputed General Councils.” It relocated to Evanston, IL in 1929 at the invitation of Northwestern University and Garett Biblical Institute.

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1893—Church Divinity School of the Pacific founded in Man Mateo, California by Bishop William Ford Nichols, second bishop of California. Originally called GIBBS HALL, after a wealthy businessman, George Gibbs, who donated property. Several buildings destroyed by the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, after which the seminary moved to San Francisco on the grounds of Grace Cathedral. Included students from the west, as well as from China, Japan, and the Pacific Islands.

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1893—EPISCOPAL THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL Dean William Lawrence is elected bishop of Massachusetts, following the unexpected death of Bishop Phillips Brooks. A theological liberal, his election to the episcopate brings the consternation of those concerned with theological orthodoxy. As bishop, he was instrumental in founding the Church Pension Fund. Lawrence was succeeded as dean at ETS by George Hodges, who serves until his death in 1919.
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1905—ST. ANDREW'S DIVINITY SCHOOL in Syracuse, New York closes upon the death of its then dean, Theodore Babcock, having educated 74 candidates for the ministry, most ordained by Bishop Frederic Dan Huntington. Included among them are George Hodges, dean of the EPISCOPAL THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL, and James Otis Sargent Huntington, founder and superior of the Order of the Holy Cross. 
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1915—Philadelphia Divinity School relocates to a new campus adjacent to the University of Pennsylvania. The campus plan called for a set of Gothic inspired buildings. While costs prevented all planned buildings from being completed, the stunning St. Andrew’s Collegiate Chapel was finished in 1925. The campus also included a classroom, library, refectory, and deanery, with other faculty residences near by.  

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1922—Episcopal Theological School New Testament Professor Norman Burdett Nash argues that women should be ordained to the same orders as men. In 1921 a woman had applied for admission to ETS in order to prepare to teach Bible, but her application was not accepted.

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1924—Episcopal Theological School faculty publish Creeds and Loyalty in reaction to increasing pressure for Episcopal Church seminaries to teach in conformity with doctrinal orthodoxy. The faculty advocated instead freedom of biblical and creedal interpretation, in line with theological modernism.

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1924—Church Divinity School of the Pacific relocates to Berkeley, California, to benefit from closer association with other denominational seminaries already there.

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1928—Berkeley Divinity School, under the leadership of its dean William Palmer Ladd, relocates from Middletown to New Haven to take advantage of the resources of Yale University, as well as the opportunities for ministry and learning in an industrial center.  A liturgical scholar, Dean Ladd sought to integrate the insights of the liturgical movement and the sacramental life with concerns for social justice.

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1929—Philadelphia Divinity School begins admitting women to its programs of study, adapted for those preparing to teach religion in colleges.

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1931—Philadelphia Divinity School graduates its first woman student, Elizabeth Hummerwell Willing. She was the first woman to graduate from any Episcopal seminary. She went on to serve as president of the Windham House, a national Episcopal training center for women.

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1933—Seabury Divinity School merged with Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, forming Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.  The new seminary combined the low church sensibility of Seabury with the high church outlook of Western.

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1933-1935—Philadelphia Divinity School is hit especially hard by the Great Depression. The School is forced to end the 1934 academic year early and faculty pay is suspended for six months (later extended to over a year). Troubles are deemed to be both financial and programmatic, with too little attention paid to practical training for pastoral ministry. Several faculty resigned as PDS began a thorough reorganization to respond to the growing need for pastoral and clinical training.

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1935—Two women apply for admission to Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge. Faculty agrees that if they apply as cross-registrants through Radcliffe they can be permitted to take ETS classes. But they are not admitted as ETS degree students.

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1936—Philadelphia Divinity School introduced Clinical Pastoral Education under the direction of Professor Reuel Howe. Students were required to have field placements during all three years of study. A major faculty and curricular change at PDS was undertaken to implement the clinical education program. This began PDS’s move away from traditional academic education toward a model grounded in praxis and experiential learning. Professor Howe later taught pastoral theology at Virginia Theological Seminary. 

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1938—Philadelphia Divinity School welcomes to the Church Training and Deaconess School to its campus and appoints Katherine A. Grammer to the faculty as Dean of Women. Women and men at PDS were both awarded the Bachelor of Theology degree. Dean Grammer left PDS in 1945 for St. Margaret’s House, formerly the Deaconess Training School of the Pacific, in Berkeley, California and associated with the Church Divinity School of the Pacific until its closure in 1966.

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1938—Several Episcopal Church seminaries receive early accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools: Berkeley Divinity School; Church Divinity School of the Pacific; Episcopal Theological School; General Theological Seminary; and Virginia Theological Seminary.

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1941—Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge hires Adelaide Teague Case as Professor of Christian Education. Case is the first woman to serve as a regular faculty member in an Episcopal seminary (and not principally for women students).

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1941—Church Divinity School of the Pacific, building on its relationship with St. Margaret’s House, admits women to its programs and graduates Ethel Springer from its Bachelor of Divinity program, the first Episcopal seminary to award the B.D. degree to a woman. (PDS had offered the Bachelor of Theology).

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1943—Philadelphia Divinity School student Paul Washington (’46) lives in PDS dormitory. Although the seminary was always open to African American students, Washington was the first African American to reside on campus at PDS.

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1949—Bishop Payne Divinity School closes after 70 years of education for African American candidates in the south. It formally merged with Virginia Theological Seminary in 1953.  The Virginia Seminary Library was subsequently renamed the Bishop Payne Library in honor of the former school.

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1950—Professor Massey Hamilton Shepherd of the EPISCOPAL THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL publishes his influential book, The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary. While at ETS he likewise published The Living Liturgy (1944) and The Worship of the Church (1952). A graduate of the BERKELEY DIVINITY SCHOOL, he later taught at the CHURCH DIVINITY SCHOOL OF THE PACIFIC from 1954 to 1981.  He was a major architect in the development of the 1979 Prayer Book.
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1951—John Walker, later bishop of Washington, enrolled as the first African American student at Virginia Theological Seminary.

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1951—Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest established in Austin, Texas by Bishop John E. Hines, coadjutor of Texas, as “a seminary for the while church.” The Rev. Gray M. Blandy served as the first dean. It was founded as an racially integrated institution.

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1952—Church Training and Deaconess School abruptly departs Philadelphia Divinity School campus and relocates to New York, affiliating with the Windham House Training Center for Women. The move ends decades of pioneering education for women at PDS.

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1953—The University of the South’s policy against admitting African American students led to the resignation of six faculty and the transfer of 35 of 56 divinity students in protest. Soon the trustees reversed their position. In the fall of 1953 the first black graduate student was admitted to the university. Merrick William Collier of Savannah was enrolled as the first African American student in the seminary in 1954. Segregation continued in the wider university and associated properties, including a hotel and restaurant, into the 1960s.

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1958—Episcopal Theological School opened its bachelor of divinity programs to women on an equal basis with men. Additionally, postulancy was no longer required for admission. Faculty continued to call for the ordination of women to the diaconte and priesthood.

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1962—Church Divinity School of the Pacific joins the creation of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

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1965—Episcopal Theological School students attend the freedom march in Selma. Jonathan Daniels and Judith Upham stay in Alabama to work for civil rights and integrate St. Paul’s Church. Daniels was murdered on August 20, 1965 in Hayneville, Alabama, at a convenience store just after being released from jail. Daniels jumped in front of Ruby Sales, an African American civil rights activist. She later attended EDS as a student in the 1990s.

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1966—Episcopal Theological School Ethics Professor Joseph Fletcher publishes his ground-breaking and controversial work, Situation Ethics. He argues that there is no consistent ethical norm except love, which changes in every situation.

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1967—St. John’s Memorial Chapel at Episcopal Theological School renovated, removing pews and stone altar, creating a more flexible worship space. Renovations overseen by former Presiding Bishop and ETS graduate, Arthur Carl Lichtenberger. 

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1968—Episcopal Theological School dean John Coburn, moved by the Civil Rights movement, resigns to teach at the Urban League’s Street Academies in Harlem, New York. He later served as President of the House of Deputies and Bishop of Massachusetts. Coburn was succeeded as dean by Harvey Guthrie.

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1968—Episcopal Theological School hires Robert Avon Bennett as professor of Old Testament. A graduate of KENYON COLLEGE, GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, and HARVARD UNIVERSITY, he is the first African American faculty member at ETS.

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1968—Bexley Hall disassociated from Kenyon College and relocated to the campus of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York. Also sharing the campus was ST. BERNARD'S SEMINARY, a Roman Catholic institution, thus creating a truly ecumenical venture of Roman Catholic, Baptist, Episcopal, and other Protestant traditions on one seminary campus. 

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1968—Weston College (later Weston Jesuit SChool of Theology) relocated to the Episcopal Theological School campus in Cambridge. The BOSTON THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE is founded the same year, also initially housed at ETS. Thus began a new era of ecumenical cooperation, inspired by Vatican II.

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1970—The General Convention establishes the GENERAL BOARD OF EXAMINING CHAPLAINS to evaluate the academic preparation of candidates for ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church, with a goal of ensuring that ordination candidates across the church meet the same standards. The first General Ordination Exam is administered in 1972. 
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1970—John M. Burgess, Episcopal Theological School graduate of 1934, is elected bishop of Massachusetts. He is the first African American diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church. He previously had been suffragan bishop of Massachusetts since 1962. Upon retirement in 1975, Bishop Burgess taught at Yale Divinity School.

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1970s—Philadelphia Divinity School launches an innovative new curriculum, grounded in small group learning, educational projects, and close student-faculty interaction.

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1971—Berkeley Divinity School federates with Yale University, with students earning degrees at Yale and denominational training through Berkeley. BDS maintains its own President, Board of Trustees, and endowment.

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1971—EPISCOPAL THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL, GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, and the PHILADELPHIA DIVINITY SCHOOL form the Episcopal Consortium for Theological Education in the Northeast: ECTNE anticipated a common curriculum, faculty and student exchanges, a doctoral program, and potentially a merger. ECTENE appointed adjunct faculty in the areas of urban mission and women in the church, among them Suzanne R. Hiatt, ETS ’64.

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1971—Women first admitted as regular degree students at the General Theological Seminary. Students were permitted to marry in 1972.

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1970s—Openly gay students were admitted to Episcopal Theological School, whereas in previous decades students suspected of being gay were quickly dismissed.

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1973—The Episcopal Church’s Board for Theological Education announced that it would recommend to the General Convention that year the consolidation of the church’s 11 seminaries into four regional centers for theological education, with school’s in or near Alexandria, VA; Chicago, IL; Berkeley, CA; and one in the Northeast (either Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, noting the ECTENE cooperation already underway). It likewise encouraged the Episcopal Church to offer increased financial support for theological education.

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1974—Dean Harvey Guthrie of Episcopal Theological School announces at the spring commencement that he will resign unless an ordained woman is hired to the faculty over the next year, as nearly half of ETS’s students are women.

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1974—Episcopal Theological School and Philadelphia Divinity School merge in Cambridge to form the new Episcopal Divinity School, effective June 6, 1974. (General Seminary’s constitution did not allow it to participate in a merger outside of New York City). EDS builds on strengths of its parent institutions, including the BTI and ETS’s long-standing association with Harvard, as well as the new competency based curriculum pioneered at PDS. ETS and PDS deans Harvey Guthrie and Ed Harris serve as co-deans of the new school. All tenured faculty of both schools are retained, 26 in total (16 from ETS and 10 from PDS).

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1974—11 women deacons were irregularly ordained at Philadelphia’s Church of the Advocate on July 29. The Rev. Paul Washington, rector and PDS graduate of 1946, is master of ceremonies. ETS trustee and vice president of the House of Deputies Dr. Charles V. Willie preaches. Several faculty members from both ETS and PDS participate in laying on hands.

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1975—Episcopal Divinity School hires two Philadelphia 11 priests to the new faculty, sharing one full-time position: the Rev. Suzanne R. Hiatt (ETS ’64) and the Rev. Carter Heyward. They were hired with full rights to serve as priests in

St. John’s Memorial Chapel. 22 faculty vote in favor of their hire. 4 faculty were opposed. Appointments draw ire of many in the church as their ordinations were still considered “irregular” or even “invalid.”

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1975—Episcopal Divinity School establishes a new program titled “the Pastoral Institute for Training in Alcohol Problems” (PITAP), with funding by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The program was led by Professors Rollin Fairbanks, Edward Steiss, and the Revs. Bruce Noyes (ETS’ 56) and Meredith Hunt (ETS’ 74). PITAP closed in the 1980s due to a conclusion of its funding. Many graduates of that era said it was the most important aspect of their ministry training.

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1975—School of Theology at the University of the South launches a new program for lay ministry titled “Theological Education by Extension.”  Originally intended to serve 28 southern dioceses, it eventually grows into Education for Ministry serving the whole church.

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1976—Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry founded by evangelical and charismatic Episcopalians in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.  Bishop Alfred Stanway, retired Australian missionary bishop to Tanzania, became the first dean, followed by John Rodgers. 

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1977—Philadelphia Divinity School campus sold to the University of Pennsylvania for only $607,000—far below the estimated value of $2.8 million. Net proceeds of the sale were just $455,000, leading to a considerable operating deficit at the new EPISCOPAL DIVINITY SCHOOL.

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1970s—Episcopal Divinity School faculty members “come out” as gay and lesbian. First was Ethics Professor Hayden McCallum (previously of PDS) in 1974, followed by Carter Heyward in 1979. Notably, Heyward was not yet tenured. Each mentored increasing numbers of LGBT students.

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1977—The Council of Seminary Deans, Inc. affirm the ordination of women to the priesthood. Nine of ten Episcopal seminary deans pass the following resolution: “The Deans of nine accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church meeting at the Marydale Retreat House in Erlanger, Kentucky, on December 2, 1977, expressed their firm belief in the significance and value of the opening of the Priesthood and the Episcopate to women and affirm their support for the ministry of the many women in Holy Orders who are enriching the life and mission of the Church.” Deans voting in the affirmative were: Berkeley Divinity School at Yale (Charles H. Clark), Bexley Hall (Richard H. Mansfield), Church Divinity School of the Pacific (Fredrick H. Borsch), Episcopal Divinity School (Harvey H. Guthrie, Jr.), Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest (Gordon T. Charlton), The General Theological Seminary (Roland Foster), School of Theology of the University of the South (Urban T. Holmes, III), Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (O.C. Edwards, Jr.), and Virginia Theological Seminary (Cecil Woods, Jr.). The Dean of Nashotah House, the Very Rev. John Ruef, was unable to attend the meeting. His representative at the meeting, the Rev. Prof. William Petersen, abstained from voting. The deans further recommended that their faculties pass similar resolutions.
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1978—EPISCOPAL DIVINITY SCHOOL holds a forum on institutional racism which attracts a gift of $20,000 for the recruitment of students of color. As a result of intentional recruitment efforts, EDS attracts 10 African American students during the 1982-1983 academic year.

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1981—Urban T. Holmes, Dean of the SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH dies unexpectedly at the age of 51. A graduate of the Philadelphia Divinity School before being ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1954, he was awarded the Ph.D. degree from Marquette University in 1973 and taught previously at NASHOTAH HOUSE. Dr. Fredrica Thompsett, who as director of the Church's Board for Theological Education worked closely with Holmes, said of him: “I don't know of anyone who did more work in shaping the contemporary theological framework for the Church's ministry. In many circles, as conference leader, in the Church's Council of Seminary Deans, and in ecumenical settings he was a passionate and energetic voice for this role.”
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1983—Episcopal Divinity School conducts a racism audit, which called for a commitment to hire people of color to the faculty.

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1984—School of Theology at the University of the South elects Professor John E. Booty of Episcopal Divinity School to serve as its dean.

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1984—Episcopal Divinity School committed to hire feminist faculty in each academic department, joining Professors Heyward and Hiatt. Three appointments were made in 1984: Katie Geneva Cannon in ethics (first African American woman on the faculty), Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza in New Testament, and Fredrica Harris Thompsett in Anglican church history.

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1980s—Episcopal Divinity School included sexual orientation in its employment and admissions non-discrimination statements and permitted same-sex couples to live in student and faculty housing.

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1985—Episcopal Divinity School called Bishop Otis Charles of Utah as its dean upon the retirement of Harvey Guthrie.

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1986—Episcopal Divinity School established the Feminist Liberation Theology and Ministry Program. FLTM utilized EDS’s curriculum and pedagogical emphasis on experience to challenge traditional theological concepts, sexism, heterosexism, and patriarchy in church and societyIts first director was the Rev. Dr. Alison Cheek, a Philadelphia 11 priest and recent EDS D.Min. graduate. She was followed as director by the Rev. Dr. Renee Hill and Dr. Gale Yee.

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1988—Episcopal Divinity School publishes inclusive language orders of worship for St. John’s Memorial Chapel, utilizing resources prepared by the Episcopal Church. Dean Otis Charles leads the effort, having previously been chair of the Standing Liturgical Commission. Liturgical rites alternate weekly between Rite II and Inclusive Language. Inclusive language canticles are likewise prepared, under the direction of Professor of Music Alistair Cassels-Brown.

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1989—Episcopal Divinity School establishes the Parish Ministry in the Contemporary World program (later renamed Congregational Studies). It was geared toward students who wished to focus their programs on parish ministry preparation, integrating theory and practice, with an emphasis on small group reflection. It was initially directed by Professor George I. Hunter. After being reworked into the Congregational Studies program, which included regular continuing education seminars, it was directed by Charles Bennison and Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook (EDS ’83). 

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1989—Episcopal Divinity School establishes the Anglican, Global, and Ecumenical Studies program (AGE). Planning was led by Professor Ivan Kaufman, previously of the PDS faculty, who had also taught at El Seminario Episcopal del Caribe in Puerto Rico (Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Caribbean). Aiding him were the Revs. Titus Pressler and Ian Douglas. Douglas was elected to the faculty as the director of AGE in 1990. AGE sought to bring an international perspective to campus through international student scholarships, visiting lectures, etc.

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1988—Episcopal Divinity School Trustee Barbara C. Harris elected Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts. Consecrated in 1989, Bishop Harris is the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion. The Rev. Suzanne Hiatt deeply involved in securing Harris’ election. Harris was awarded an honorary doctorate by EDS in 1989.

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1991—Under Dean Otis Charles, Episcopal Divinity School’s chapel is closed to weddings and commitment ceremonies until a consensus can be reached on the appropriateness of same-sex blessings.

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1991—NASHOTAH HOUSE'S Board of Trustees reaffirms the seminary's opposition to women in the priesthood and maintained a ban on women presiding at the Eucharist in the seminary chapel. In adopting a “Statement of Identity,” the trustees advocated a return to a traditional and orthodox program of formation for the male-only priesthood.
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1991-1998—Episcopal Divinity School establishes two scholarships for US students of color: Absalom Jones Scholarship and the J. Rawson Collins Scholarship.

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1993—Bishop Otis Charles resigns as dean of Episcopal Divinity School. Upon retirement he comes out as a gay man, the first bishop of the Episcopal Church to do so. The Rev. Dr. William Rankin (ETS ’66) called as President and Dean of EDS. Rankin was a classmate of Jonathan Daniels and deeply committed to racial justice in church and society.

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1994—Dean Rankin of Episcopal Divinity School allows weddings to resume in St. John’s Memorial Chapel, along with same-sex blessings.

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1994—THE GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY'S Trustees amend campus housing policy to allow same-sex couples to live in student and faculty housing. The change comes after Professor Deirdre Good brought a legal challenge to the seminary for precluding her to live in faculty housing with her partner. The new policy requires that students in same-sex relationships who are preparing for ordination and seek seminary housing must receive written approval from their diocesan bishop as a sign of “shared responsibility” for the decision.
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1994—Virginia Theological Seminary elects the Rev. Martha J. Horne as dean and president. Horne is the first woman to serve as an Episcopal Church seminary dean. EDS awards her an honorary doctorate in 1996.

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1995—Episcopal Divinity School inaugurates the Foundations for Theological Praxis course for first year students, with a focus on the integration of anti-racism awareness with theological study and ministerial preparation and establishes the Change Team and Anti-Racism Facilitation Group. They recommend that EDS “should focus on anti-racist, racial diversity and multicultural change institutionally and culturally … as a dimension in every part of its life, with the implication that all other forms of liberation would be inherently addressed.” These commitments lead EDS to partner with VISIONS, Inc.

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1998—William Rankin resigns as dean of EDS after 5 years. He takes new position with the United Religions Initiative and later is co-founder of the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance. 

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1998—Bexley Hall re-established itself in Ohio, teaching on the campus of Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. In 2008 Bexley completely left the campus of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in New York.

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1998—Virginia Theological Seminary changes policy on sexuality and inclusion, allowing openly gay and lesbian students, if approved by their dioceses.

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1999—Bishop Steven Charleston (EDS ’76) is called as President and Dean of Episcopal Divinity School. A Native American of the Choctaw Nation, Bishop Charleston is the first person of color to lead an Episcopal seminary.

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2000s—Episcopal Divinity School’s program areas (FLT, AGE, and Cong. Studies) were ended due to financial constraints. The curricular emphases continued in an integrated way, but without faculty as dedicated directors.

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2000s—Episcopal Divinity School becomes a partner seminary of the Metropolitan Community Churches, and launches a Doctor of Ministry program for Asiamerican Ministries.

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2005—Weston Jesuit School of Theology announces merger with Boston College and relocation to the BC campus, ending nearly 40 years of ecumenical collaboration on the Episcopal Divinity School campus.

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2007— TRINITY SCHOOL FOR MINISTRY drops "Episcopal" from its name, stressing its evangelical Anglican and ecumenical focus and relationships.

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2007—Episcopal Divinity School launches its innovative Distributive Learning Program, allowing students to pursue degrees in a low-residency model.

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2008—Episcopal Divinity School announces campus partnership agreement with Lesley University.  EDS sells Lawrence, Winthrop, and Washburn Halls to Lesley, as well as 101 Brattle Street. The Library becomes shared property in a condo arrangement. EDS’s endowment grows as a result from a low of $35 million to $73 million.

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2008—Bishop Steven Charleston resigns as President and Dean of Episcopal Divinity School. He is succeeded in 2009 by the Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale (EDS D.Min., ’98). Ragsdale is the first openly gay or lesbian dean of an Episcopal seminary.

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2009—Virginia Theological Seminary launches its “Second Three Years” mentorship program for recent alumni/ae, providing continuing education for VTS graduates in their first several years following seminary and ordination. All the expenses of this program are met by the Seminary.

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2009—Seabury Western Theological Seminary, facing a decreasing endowment, closes its Master of Divinity program and decides to sell its campus to Northwestern University and relocates to the headquarters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It continues to offer low-residency certificate and Doctor of Ministry programs.

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2010—Virginia Theological Seminary’s historic Immanuel Chapel (consecrated in 1881) burns to the ground. A new chapel is built and consecrated in 2015. Dignitaries present at the consecration included Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. 

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2012—The GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY initiates a plan to "Choose Life," which includes the sale of a hotel built into its Desmond Tutu Conference Center, as well as other buildings in its complex. The sale enabled the seminary to retire $40 million in debt and strengthen its struggling endowment. 
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2013—Bexley Hall - Seabury Western Theological Seminary Federation established, combining boards of trustees and faculties over two campuses in Columbus and Chicago. Master of Divinity programs are offered in Columbus and Doctor of Ministry and certificates in Chicago.

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2013—SEMINARY OF THE SOUTHWEST appoints the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge as its eighth dean and president. She is the third woman called to lead a Episcopal seminary.
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2013—The Board of Trustees of Episcopal Divinity School voted to suspend any future tenure-track appointments or awards of tenure until deeper conversations about the future shape and mission of the school could be undertaken. The vote led to significant conflict between the faculty and the Board and President and Dean.

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2014—Eight (of eleven) members of the General Theological Seminary faculty strike over conflicts with the dean. The Board of Trustees considers the strike a resignation. Many are eventually reinstated for the remainder of the academic year, but do not continue on the faculty long-term.

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2015—Episcopal Divinity School President and Dean Katherine Ragsdale resigns after a period of conflict. She is succeeded as interim president and dean by the Rev. Frank Fornaro (EDS ’96).

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2016—Bexley-Seabury Seminary Federation consolidates and relocates to the campus of Chicago Theological Seminary, offering low-residency theological education.

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2015-2016—Episcopal Divinity School Trustees establish a Future Visions Task Force to envision a sustainable future for the School, following several years of declining enrolments and deficit spending. The Trustees vote on July 21, 2016 to cease degree granting operations in 2017, while considering future partnerships. A Teach out program is announced for continuing students, with Distributive Learning students to be taught by Bexley-Seabury in Chicago and traditional learning students at the Boston University School of Theology.

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2017—EPISCOPAL DIVINITY SCHOOL sells Cambridge campus to LESLEY UNIVERSITY and relocates to New York City in federation with UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, offering an Anglican studies program within Union's academic degrees. Kelley Brown Douglas is named the first Dean.

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2022—TRINITY SCHOOL FOR MINISTRY formally disassociates with the Episcopal Church. In 2024 it is renamed TRINITY ANGLICAN SEMINARY, with a focus on serving the Anglican Church in North America, as well as other Anglican and ecumenical bodies.

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2019—CHURCH DIVINITY SCHOOL OF THE PACIFIC establishes alliance with TRINITY CHURCH on WALL STREET, NY, whereby the Trinity vestry becomes the Trustees of CDSP. The alliance is intended to strengthen CDSP's financial position and expand global relationships.

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2022—Facing serious financial struggles, GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY federates with  VIRGINIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY establishing a joint Board of Trustees and a single President & Dean, headed by Virginia's Dean Ian Markham. 

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2023—GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY concluded its residential seminary programs, shifting exclusively to a hybrid low-residency M.Div. program.  

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2023—EPISCOPAL DIVINITY SCHOOL and UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY announce the end of their federated relationship. EDS leaves the Union campus and establishes offices at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York while it discerns a new future.

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2023—CHURCH DIVINITY SCHOOL OF THE PACIFIC announces that it will conclude its residential seminary program to focus solely on its low-residency hybrid M.Div. In 2024 it announces as well that it plans to end its long-standing relationship with the ecumenical GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION. It announced as well the possible sale or leasing of its Berkeley campus.

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2024—NASHOTAH HOUSE names Dr. Lauren Whitnah as its Dean & President. She is the first woman to lead the Anglo-Catholic seminary, which draws students and faculty from the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church in North America, and the broader Anglican Communion. A lay person, she was affiliated with an ACNA congregation before joining the seminary.

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2024—As of 2024, five of the Episcopal Church-related seminaries offer residential theological education--VIRGINIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, SEWANEE (UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH), NASHOTAH HOUSE, SEMINARY OF THE SOUTHWEST, and BEREKELY DIVINITY SCHOOL at YALE. Three seminaries offer low-residency hybrid education exclusively--BEXLEY-SEABURY, CHURCH DIVINITY SCHOOL OF THE PACIFIC, and GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. EPISCOPAL DIVINITY SCHOOL, which announced endowment holdings in excess of$77 million, continues to discern its future while offering workshops and short programs. 

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© The Rev. Matthew P. Cadwell, PhD