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Wycliffe College is an Anglican Church of Canada seminary federated with the University of Toronto. It is evangelical and Low church in orientation. On the other hand, the University of Toronto's other Anglican college, the University of Trinity College is Anglo-Catholic in outlook. While being an Anglican seminary, Wycliffe College attracts students from many Christian denominations. As a founding member of the Toronto School of Theology, students are free to participate in the wide range of courses from Canada's largest ecumenical consortium. It trains those pursuing ordination as well as those preparing for academic careers of scholarship and teaching.

Wycliffe College is colloquially referred to as “Yale North” due to the high number of tenured professors who were trained at Yale Divinity School.

History

The Anglican seminary was founded in 1877 as the Protestant Episcopal Divinity School, by the Church Association of the Diocese of Toronto, a lay Evangelical group at the Cathedral Church of St. James. The name Wycliffe College, inspired by the English theologian John Wycliffe, was given first to the college's building and then to the college itself.

To ensure its long-term viability, Wycliffe College began considering various forms of union with the University of Toronto towards the end of the 19th century. Wycliffe College became affiliated with the University of Toronto in 1885 and federated in 1889.

In 1969 the Toronto School of Theology (TST) was created as an independent federation of 7 schools of theology, including the divinity faculties of Wycliffe college. Within its own federation, the University of Toronto granted all but theology or divinity degrees. Since 1978, by virtue of a change made in its charter, the University of Toronto has granted theology degrees conjointly with Wycliffe College and other TST's member institutions.

An Act respecting Wycliffe College, being chapter 112 of the Statutes of Ontario, 1916, were repealed and the Wycliffe College Act, 2002 was substituted. ^[1]

Academics

The college was accredited by Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada in 1978.[1] It currently has 7 full-time faculty and 20 part-time.[2] It awards the following graduate degrees conjointly with the University of Toronto:

• Master of Divinity
• Master of Religion
• Master of Theological Studies
• Doctor of Ministry
• Master of Theology
• Doctor of Theology

In addition, students may study for the MA or PhD in Theology, which are awarded by the University of St. Michael's College. Diploma programmes are offered in Lay Ministry and Christian Studies. A Certificate in Anglican Studies is available for candidates for the Anglican priesthood and vocational diaconate who hold an MDiv from a non-Anglican seminary.

In a contribution to its October issue by R. R. Reno, entitled "A 2009 Ranking of Graduate Programs in Theology"[3], Wycliffe's programs were ranked after Duke Divinity School and the University of Notre Dame and on a par with Princeton.

Facility

Wycliffe College is situated in the centre of the University of Toronto campus, on the corner of Hoskin Avenue and Queen’s Park. Next door is Hart House (University of Toronto), which houses athletic facilities, a Theatre, an art gallery, reading rooms, sitting rooms, offices, a library, music rooms, student meeting and study space. Along with classrooms and a chapel, Wycliffe houses 75 graduate residents, many of who are studying other disciplines at the University of Toronto and its affiliates.

Students have access, moreover, to the services of the University of Toronto, including the athletic facilities, library systems, and student union clubs.

Library

Students have access the libraries of every member school of the Toronto School of Theology, including Knox's Caven Library, St. Michael's Kelly Library, Trinity and Wycliffe's John W. Graham Library, and the libraries of Emmanuel College, Regis College, and St. Augustine's Seminary. Students, moreover, have access to the library system of the University of Toronto, including Robarts Library, Canada's largest library and the fourth largest academic library system in North America.^[2][3]

Faculty

• John P. Bowen - Associate Professor of Evangelism
• Terence L. Donaldson - Lord and Lady Coggan Professor of New Testament Studies
• Alan Hayes - Bishops Frederick and Heber Wilkinson Professor of Church History
• Ann Jervis - Professor of New Testament
• Wanda Malcolm - Professor of Pastoral Psychology
• Joseph Mangina - Associate Professor of Systematic Theology
• Merv Mercer - Assistant Professor of Anglican Formation
• Thomas Power - Adjunct Professor of Church History
• Ephraim Radner - Professor of Historical Theology
• David Reed - Professor Emeritus of Pastoral Theology
• Christopher Seitz - Professor of Biblical Interpretation
• George Sumner - Helliwell Professor of World Mission
• Glen Taylor - Associate Professor of Old Testament Interpretation and Proclamation
• Marion Taylor - Professor of Old Testament

Alumni

• Eleanor Clitheroe-Bell
• Geoffrey Tovey
• Byron Edmund Walker
• Reginald Stackhouse, former MP
• Stephen Andrews, Anglican Bishop of Algoma
• Eliud Wabukala, Anglican Archbishop of Kenya

Past professors

• Dyson Hague (1857-1935), contributing author to The Fundamentals
• Jakób Jocz of Lithuanian birth and an influential writer
• Donald Coggan Archbishop of Canterbury 1974-1980
• Richard Longenecker New Testament scholar
• John Bainbridge Webster British Anglican systematic theologian

Institute of Evangelism

The Wycliffe College Institute of Evangelism provides a wealth of resources - teachers and practitioners of evangelism, print and A/V materials, conferences and seminars - to help nurture and grow evangelizing communities. Mission of the Institute of Evangelism is to "encourage and equip the church for the work of evangelism, empowering it to engage in this ministry confidently, joyfully and expectantly." The director of the Institute is Prof. John Bowen.

Refresh

Refresh is the college's annual continuing education conference. Past speakers have included Alister McGrath, Lauren Winner, N. T. Wright, William P. Young, Graham Alan Cray, and Graham Kendrick.

See also

• Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
• Graduate programs in religion
• University of Toronto
• Higher education in Ontario

Books

• Arnold Edinborough, ed. 'The Enduring Word: A Centennial History of Wycliffe College' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978)
• Martin L. Friedland 'The University of Toronto: A History' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press © 2002)
• Dyson Hague et al. 'The Jubilee Volume of Wycliffe College 1877-1927' (Toronto: Wycliffe College, 1927)
• Robin Harris 'A History of University of Toronto' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press © 1970)
• Rick Helmes-Hayes 'Forty Years, 1963-2003: A History of the Department of Sociology, University of Toronto.' (Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2003, 215 pp.)
• Professor Brian McKillop, 'Matters of Mind: The University in Ontario, 1791-1951' (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press ©1951)
• Marian Packham '100 Years of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto: An Illustrated History' 1908-2008, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press © 2008)
• Dr. Brian J. Fraser Church, College, and Clergy: a History of Theological Education at Knox College Toronto 1844-1994 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press © 1994)

References

External links

Coordinates: 43°39′52″N 79°23′42″W / 43.66444°N 79.395°W / 43.66444; -79.395

• Wycliffe College website
• Wycliffe College Institute of Evangelism website
• Wycliffe College's open access publications