United Faculty of Theology
Encyclopedia
The United Faculty of Theology (UFT) is an informal association of theological colleges founded in 1969 to provide an ecumenical setting for theological education and to support research. The UFT is a recognised teaching institution of the Melbourne College of Divinity
.
Classes are available at the Parkville, Victoria
campuses of its member colleges and also online.
The United Faculty of Theology comprises:
. These two bodies amalgamated in effect before formal union of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches as the Uniting Church of Australia in 1977.
During the same period the Jesuit Theological College moved to nearby facilities in Parkville and asked Ormond College to accommodate its library. The result was the Joint Theological Library (later the Dalton-McCaughey Library) which has over time come to serve all the members institutions of the UFT.
In 1969 the faculty members of the three future Uniting Church halls, together with the Jesuit college and the nearby Trinity College Theological School (Anglican), agreed to form the UFT and to teach a new degree, the undergraduate Bachelor of Theology.
Melbourne College of Divinity
The Melbourne College of Divinity is a theological education organisation located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.The MCD is an ecumenical consortium of a number of theological colleges from a number of denominations...
.
Classes are available at the Parkville, Victoria
Parkville, Victoria
Parkville is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, the population was 4,980....
campuses of its member colleges and also online.
The United Faculty of Theology comprises:
- The Jesuit Theological College of the Society of JesusSociety of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
(incorporated in Victoria). - Trinity College Theological School, part of Trinity CollegeTrinity College (University of Melbourne)Trinity College is the oldest college of the University of Melbourne. Founded in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England, Trinity is unique among Australian university colleges in its diverse education programs...
and affiliated to the Anglican Province of Victoria - The Uniting Church Theological College (Synod of Victoria and Tasmania).
History
The origins of the UFT lie in co-operation between the theological halls (seminaries) based at Queen's College and Ormond College, respectively Methodist and Presybterian foundations affiliated with the University of Melbourne. In the 1960s and even earlier these were sharing resources while preparing resident theological students for the externally-examined graduate Bachelor of Divinity degree of the Melbourne College of DivinityMelbourne College of Divinity
The Melbourne College of Divinity is a theological education organisation located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.The MCD is an ecumenical consortium of a number of theological colleges from a number of denominations...
. These two bodies amalgamated in effect before formal union of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches as the Uniting Church of Australia in 1977.
During the same period the Jesuit Theological College moved to nearby facilities in Parkville and asked Ormond College to accommodate its library. The result was the Joint Theological Library (later the Dalton-McCaughey Library) which has over time come to serve all the members institutions of the UFT.
In 1969 the faculty members of the three future Uniting Church halls, together with the Jesuit college and the nearby Trinity College Theological School (Anglican), agreed to form the UFT and to teach a new degree, the undergraduate Bachelor of Theology.