Everything about Westminster College Cambridge totally explained
Westminster College in
Cambridge is a theological college of the
United Reformed Church, formerly the
Presbyterian Church in England. Its principle purpose is the training of clergy for
ordination, but is also used more widely for training within the denomination. The current Principal of the college is the Revd Dr
Susan Durber, and the Vice-Principal and Director of Studies is the Revd John Proctor.
History
The college was founded in London in
1844 with a temporary home in the
Exeter Hall before moving to permanent premises in
Queen's Square, London in 1859. It then moved to
Cambridge in
1899 following the gift of a prime site of land near the centre of the city by two
Scottish sisters,
Agnes Smith Lewis and
Margaret Dunlop Gibson, both noted biblical scholars. Following an appeal for funds from the wider
Presbyterian congregation, the college commissioned a new building designed by
Henry Hare and built between
1897–
1899. In
1967 the college began to amalgamate with
Cheshunt College, Cambridge, presaging the union of the
Congregational and Presbyterian churches to form the United Reformed Church in
1972.
Notable former students include
T.W. Manson, the biblical scholar and
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; and
W.D. Davies, famous for his groundbreaking work on
Paul and his Jewish background.
Lewis and Gibson
Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson were noted for their study of one of the earliest versions of the Old Gospels in
Syriac Sinaiticus discovered in the monastery
St. Catherine, Mount Sinai. The other important contributions to the field of Aramaic and Theology are the publications of the
Codex Climaci Rescriptus, a
6th century palimpsest written in
Christian Palestinian Aramaic which contains portions of the
Old Testament and
New Testament(External Link
), and another palimpsest manuscript of the Forty Martyrs of the Sinai desert and the Story of Eulogios, the Stone Cutter in the same Aramaic dialect. The sisters found the manuscripts in the antiquities market of Cairo and acquired them for the library in Westminster College.
They edited also many other important manuscripts in
Syriac and
Arabic.
In
1897 Lewis and Gibson also found and purchased some fragments of parchment of the
Cairo Genizah whilst travelling in the Middle East. With the support of
Solomon Schechter they made several more trips to the Middle East, locating the majority of the
Genizah at the
Ben Ezra Synagogue in
Cairo. Schechter identified the fragments as forming part of the
Hebrew text of
Ben Sira (
Ecclesiasticus)
(External Link).
Today
The college isn't part of the
University of Cambridge, but is united 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 around 25 students in training for ministry in the United Reformed Church, served by 5 academic staff. Most students study for four years, which includes an internship year working in a local church. Most students work either for a BA or MA degree (validated by Anglia Ruskin University) or a BTh or BA/Tripos degree (validated by Cambridge University).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Westminster College Cambridge'.
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