St John's College, Auckland

Panorama of St John's college Tamaki Auckland St John's College 1862 by Caroline Harriet Abraham[1]

The College of St John the Evangelist, located in Meadowbank, Auckland, New Zealand, is the theological college of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. It has three constituent colleges: Te Whare Wānanga o Te Rau Kahikatea, the theological college of Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa; the College of the Southern Cross, for the Anglican Dioceses in New Zealand; and the College of the Diocese of Polynesia, the theological college of the Diocese of Polynesia in New Zealand. The College was established in 1843 by George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand. The College, through the St John's College Trust Board, is one of the best endowed theological colleges in the Anglican Communion, with assets in 2014 of NZ$293m.[2][3] It was subject to a critical review of its financial sustainability in 2014.[4]

Relationships with other organisations

St John's College Chapel, ca 1900

It previously had an on-site ecumenical partnership with Trinity Methodist Theological College, the theological college of the Methodist Church of New Zealand. However, St John's College now only has Anglican students.

It is now affiliated with the School of Theology of the University of Auckland, and academic theology degree and diploma courses are taught in partnership with the School of Theology.

Academic study

It taught the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) for the Joint Board of Theological Studies from 1968. Later it offered Melbourne College of Divinity degrees, primarily the BD. From 1993 it offered the University of Auckland BTheol. Now ordinands undergo a 3-year residential course, normally with scholarship and allowance, including Otago BTheol study.

Recently an Anglican Studies Programme has been introduced. This includes a Diploma in Anglican Studies, Diploma in Anglican Studies (Advanced), Diploma in Anglican Studies (Applied), and Certificate in Anglican Studies. These are College, rather than University of Auckland, awards.

Library

The John Kinder Theological Library is the library and archives for the college as well as for the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia. Although based on the St John's College site, it also has responsibilities to the whole Church and all its theological educational enterprises. It is named after John Kinder, a former principal of the college.[5]

Notable alumni and alumnae

References

  1. Panorama, natlib.govt.nz, retrieved 29 June 2014
  2. The St John's College Trust Board report to Synod, "The church faces many challenges", 14th May 2014. In 2012 Princeton Theological Seminary had endowments of US$867m and the next richest American seminary, the University of Denver (Colorado Seminary), had US$373m. The next richest, the Columbia Theological Seminary had US$165m
  3. "Almanach of Higher Education 2013".
  4. The St John's College Trust Board report to Synod, "The church faces many challenges", 14th May 2014
  5. "The John Kinder Theological Library". St John's College, Auckland. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
  6. "Obituary". The New Zealand Herald LII (16114). 31 December 1915. p. 7. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  7. "An Open Secret". Poverty Bay Herald. XLVII (15266). 14 July 1920. p. 5. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  8. "Education Department". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]. 1897. p. 168.

External links