Westminster College, Cambridge
Westminster College in
History
The college was founded in London in 1844 with a temporary home in the
Lewis and Gibson
In 1897 Lewis and Gibson also found and purchased some fragments of parchment of the
The Cairo Genizah collection was put up for sale by Westminster College for £1.2 million in 2013.[3] The two Oxbridge libraries, the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford and Cambridge's Cambridge University Library combined to raise funds to buy the collection from Westminster after it was put up for sale.[3] This is the first time the two libraries have collaborated for such a fundraising effort.[3] The money was used by Westminster College to help finance a £7 million refurbishment of the College in 2013–2014.[4]
Today
The college is not part of the University of Cambridge, but has joined with six other religious colleges in Cambridge to form the Cambridge Theological Federation, 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 five 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 (awarded by Anglia Ruskin University) or a BTh or BA/Tripos degree (awarded by Cambridge University).
Since 2017 the Westminster College site has also been home to the Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths and Faraday Institute for Science and Religion.[5]
Westminster College is also affiliated with the American writer and Presbyterian theologian, Frederick Buechner. The College awards an annual prize for Excellence in Writing named after the author.
Notable alumni
Notable former students include
- Rylands Professor in the University of Manchester
- Lesslie Newbigin, ecumenist, bishop, scholar and pioneer of the Church of South India
- William Paton, a precursor to Newbigin and a seminal figure in modern ecumenism
- W. D. Davies, known for his work on Paul and his Jewish background
Notable staff
- Patrick Carnegie Simpson, Professor of Church History from 1914 to 1937
- James Oswald Dykes, Principal and Barbour Professor of Divinity from 1888 to 1907
- Herbert Henry Farmer, Barbour Professor of Systematic Theology from 1935 to 1960
Gallery
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Front gate
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Westminster College sits on one of the busier intersections of Cambridge's ring road
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The College
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Peter Lorimer
(first principal) -
Chapel
(stained glass) -
Ceiling dining hall
(with logos of Presbyterian churches) -
Pedestrian entrance to the Woolf Institute Building
See also
References
- ^ [1] at the Leuven Database of Ancient Books
- ^ Taylor-Schechter Genizah – A Priceless Collection
- ^ a b c "Appeal to buy Lewis-Gibson Genizah Collection". BBC News Online. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ Leaflet Westminster College ("Newly Refurbished Accommodation"), July 2014
- ^ BB+C Architects, Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths, accessed 21 August 2018