Bangor Theological Seminary
Bangor Theological Seminary Historic District | |
Location | Union St., Bangor, Maine |
---|---|
Coordinates | 44°49′12″N 68°46′48″W / 44.820°N 68.780°W |
Area | 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) |
Built | 1827 |
Architect | multiple |
Architectural style | Late Victorian, Federal, Greek Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 77000080[1] |
Added to NRHP | August 2, 1977 |
Bangor Theological Seminary was an
The seminary had campuses in Bangor and Portland, Maine. Its primary mission was preparation for
The school closed with its final commencement service on June 22, 2013.[2]
History
Bangor Theological Seminary was originally of a much more conservative tradition/philosophy than what it evolved into. Led by a group of Congregational ministers and lay leaders who wanted to create a center of theological study in northern New England, the Society for Theological Education met on July 27, 1811, in Portland to establish a school. Jonathan Fisher, a founding trustee, described the urgency and importance of the school's mission:
- "I am strongly adverse to an unlearned ministry, but if in this district we wait to be supplied from other institutions, I am fully persuaded that the ground would be preoccupied by Sectarians, many of whom will not only be unlearned, but very unlearned."
Granted a charter on February 25, 1814, by the Great and General Court of Massachusetts, the Maine Charity School shared space with Hampden Academy before moving to its Bangor location in 1819.[4]
The seminary began to assume its later shape under the leadership of the Reverend Enoch Pond. A noted scholar and writer, Pond joined the faculty in 1833, became president in 1856, and remained in that capacity until his death in 1882. In 1858, running a $3000 deficit, it considered consolidating with Bowdoin College or Andover Theological Seminary, but was able to recover.[4]
It sold its historic campus after moving to the Husson University campus in 2005.[4]
At the time of its closing in May 2013, Bangor Theological Seminary had academic programs leading to the Master of Divinity degree, the Master of Arts degree, and the Doctor of Ministry degree. The seminary was ecumenical in nature, with over a dozen religious traditions represented among students and faculty. One of seven United Church of Christ seminaries in the United States, it was the only accredited theological institution in northern New England.[5]
The school website states that its "spiritual successor" is the BTS Center, a non-profit "educational venture"[6] offering opportunities for professional development for both clergy and laity, as well as robust non-degree programs exploring issues of contemporary Christianity and spirituality.
Campus
The seminary's former campus is located just west of central downtown Bangor, occupying the central portion of an irregular city block bounded by Hammond, Cedar, Pond, and Union Streets. The location was a hayfield donated to the seminary by Bangor resident Isaac Davenport.
Notable alumni
- Elias Bond (1813–1896), missionary to Hawaii[9]
- Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, governor, Civil War general
- U.S. Air Force
- Daniel Dole (1808–1878), missionary to Hawaii, and founder of Punahou School[9]
- Samuel C. Fessenden, U.S. Congressman
- Cyrus Hamlin, founder of Robert College (Istanbul)
- Daniel Collamore Heath, publisher
- Charles Henry Howard, Civil War general and editor
- John Davis Paris (1809–1892), missionary to Hawaii[9]
- Arthur B. Patten, minister and hymn-writer
- Minot Judson Savage, minister, author, and spiritualist
- Elkanah Walker, missionary and early settler in Oregon
- David Atwood Wasson, minister and transcendentalist
Notable faculty
- Jehudi Ashmun, later a founder of Liberia
- William H. Barbour Jr., later Pastor of Yale College, 1877–87
- Samuel Harris, later President of Bowdoin College, 1867-7
- Burton H. Throckmorton Jr., pastor and professor
- David Trobisch
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b MacDonald, G. Jeffrey (December 23, 2012). "Who's filling America's church pews". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
- ^ "ONA Churches and Settings". The United Church of Christ (UCC) Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Concerns. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Harrison, Judy (February 11, 2012). "Bangor Theological Seminary to suspend Master of Divinity, Arts programs". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^ From the 2007-2008 Catalog http://catalog.bts.edu
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "NRHP nomination for Bangor Theological Seminary Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
- ^ https://www.bangormasonic.org/history/
- ^ a b c Hawaiian Mission Children's Society (1901). Portraits of American Protestant missionaries to Hawaii. Honolulu: Hawaiian gazette co. pp. 72–74.