Kerala United Theological Seminary

articleissues
citations missing=June 2008
orphan=June 2008
wikify=July 2008

The Kerala United Theological Seminary, [Senate of Serampore College, Graduate and Post-graduate colleges affiliated] Kannammoola [http://www.india9.com/i9show/-Kerala/Kannammoola-51605.htm] , Trivandrum 695 011 [http://www.trivandrum.nic.in] , Kerala [http://www.kerala.gov.in] , India [http://www.india.gov.in] is the only Seminary run by the Church of South India [http://www.CSISynod.com] [Communion, Provincial Directory: The Church of South India] in Kerala. The Seminary is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (Serampore University) [http://www.seramporecollege.org] , West Bengal [http://www.wbgov.com] , India. The Seminary is recognized as a regional seminary by the Senate of Serampore College. This is the only one seminary of its kind in the state. The medium of instruction is primary Malayalam, and English is taught as second language.

The Kerala United Theological Seminary, established in 1943, is a premier theological and ministerial education centre of the Christian churches in Kerala [http://www.ananthapuri.com/kerala-history.asp?page=christian] [nccindia.in] . It was established through a joint effort of the missionary societies—the London Missionary Society [http://www.cwmission.org.uk] , the Church Missionary Society [http://www.cms-uk.org] , and the Basel Evanglical Mission [http://www.bmpix.org] . At present, the seminary is run by the four Church of South India dioceses of Kerala State, namely North Kerala Diocese, [Communion, Provincial Directory: North Kerala] East Kerala Diocese [http://www.csieastkerala.org] , [Communion, Provincial Directory: East Kerala] Madhya Kerala Diocese [http://www.csimkd.org] , [Communion, Provincial Directory: Madhya Kerala] and South Kerala Diocese [http://www.csiskd.org] [Anglican Communion, Provincial Directory: South Kerala] , with an ecumenical outlook. The Seminary educates women and men of diverse backgrounds for the ministry and witness of Jesus Christ in the church and world. Theological education occurs through scholarship, research and reflection, balanced by community service and practical ministry experience. With a strong commitment to both academy and church, and through its innovative curriculum and renowned faculty, the Seminary upholds the highest academic standards to prepare leaders for church and society.

The primary emphasis of the Seminary is preparing persons, in an ecumenical setting, for ordained parish ministry, counseling, and higher education. The Seminary offers other aids to understanding the church’s faith and calling, including scholarly resources as well as opportunities for continuing education.

Through its teaching, scholarship, and community services, the Seminary seeks to nurture the formation of Christian identity, spiritual disciplines, and faith-based moral responsibility in keeping with awareness of the rich heritage, the resources and challenges, and religiously diverse context of ministry.

Location

The Seminary is located on a luscious green hill of 12 acres in Kannammoola, which is about 1.5 kilometers from Trivandrum Pettah railway station and about 4 kilometers from Trivandrum Central Railway Station [http://www.indianrail.gov.in] and KSRTC [http://www..keralartc.com] bus station. Trivandrum International airport [http://www.airportsindia.org.in/allAirports/thiru_general.jsp] is about 10 kilometer away from the Seminary.

Student body

The student body of the Seminary represents churches of various denominations—Church of South India, Indian Orthodox Church [http://www.orthodoxsyrianchurch.com] , Jacobite Syrian Church [http://www.syrianorthodoxchurch.net] , Malankara Marthoma church [http://www.marthomasyrianchurch.org] , Evangelical Church, Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pentecostal churches, etc. More than 75% of the ministers now serving the four Kerala dioceses of the Church of South India and a considerable number of ministers of other churches had their ministerial training in this Seminary. The diversity of the student body is further enriched by the students from Tamilnadu [http://www.tn.gov.in] .

At present 103 resident students including 7 women are undergoing theological studies and ministerial training in the Seminary at the Graduate, Postgraduate and Doctoral levels.

Courses Offered

The Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) and the Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) are graduate level courses of 4 years duration. Qualification for B.Th. is a Plus Two and qualification for B.D. is a university degree.

Apart from these two courses, the Seminary offers a 2 year Postgraduate Master of Theology (M.Th.) course and Doctoral programme (D.Th.) through the joint venture of the Federated Faculty of the Orthodox [http://www.ots.org.in] and Marthoma Seminaries in Kottayam [http://www.dtpckottayam.com/culture.html] (FFRRC) [http://www.ots.org.in/main/MThDTh/FederatedFaculty.asp] . The Master of Ministry (M.Min.) and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) are also offered through the Senate of Serampore College. A few other special Refresher courses, including counseling, of shorter duration are also held periodically.

See also

*Indian Christianity
*Religious Institutions in Kerala State
*Church of South India
*Senate of Serampore College
*United Theological College
*Karnataka Theological College
*Gurukul Theological College and Research Institute

References