Union Theological College

The College was founded in 1853 as the Assembly’s College. The Renaissance Revival style building with its grand Doric porch and Baroque attic was designed by Sir Charles Lanyon, the architect of the main building at Queen’s and built with Scrabo stone at a cost of £5,000.[13] Merle d’Aubigné of Geneva participated in the opening ceremony on 5 December 1853 alongside Henry Cooke, President of the Faculty (the five other professors in the new college were John Edgar, Robert Wilson, William Killen, James G. Murphy and William Gibson).

There was a large influx of students in the wake of the 1859 Revival and the south wing with its dining hall and student accommodation (“Chambers”) was added in 1869.[14] Princeton seminary had an important influence in the shaping of the ethos of the College during this period: the Rev. Roberts Watts who was appointed Professor of Systematic Theology in 1866 hoped to make “Belfast another Princeton”.[15] The north wing with its wood-panelled chapel was designed by John Lanyon, son of original architect, and completed in 1881.[16] The first degrees under the Royal Charter were conferred in 1883.[17] However, the death of Watts in 1895 marked the beginning of the end of the Princetonian influence.[18] A partial union took place between the faculties in Belfast and Magee in 1922.

The Commons.

The Senate.

The newly formed Parliament of Northern Ireland met in the Assembly’s College from 1921 until 1932 while Stormont was being built: the Commons met in the Gamble Library and the Senate in the College chapel. During this period the College conducted classes in a house and provided library resources in a house on University Square. In 1926 the College became a Recognised College of Queen’s University.[19] During this period the College came under criticism for its embrace of theological liberalism. This culminated in a charge of heresy being brought against Professor J. Ernest Davey in 1926-27. The College officially reopened in October 1932 and the inaugural lecture was delivered by the Scottish Historian Robert Rait.[20]

Between 1941 and 1948 the city police used the College as its own headquarters were bombed in the Belfast Blitz. In 1953, to mark the College’s centenary year, Prof. Davey was elected Moderator of the General Assembly.[21]

In 1976 theological teaching at Magee College in Derry ceased and the two colleges amalgamated in 1978. The new college, constituted by an Act of Parliament, was named The Union Theological College.[22] John M. Barkley was Professor of Church History from 1954 until his retirement in 1981 (Principal 1976-1981) and was succeeded by Finlay Holmes (Principal 1987-1992). Laurence Kirkpatrick was subsequently appointed Professor of Church history in 1996 (Principal 2008-2010).

In 2003 the College celebrated its 150th anniversary by completing a £2.8million pound refurbishment in which individual study bedrooms with ensuite facilities were added. Alister E. McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford gave a public lecture entitled “Renewing our vision for the future of Protestant Christianity in Northern Ireland”. Bill Addley retired as Professor of Practical Theology in 2006 and the vacated chair was filled by Drew Gibson. Cecil McCullough, Professor of New Testament, who served as Principal from 1998-2002, retired in 2007 and was succeeded in the chair by Gordon Campbell.

On 14 November 2009 a fire caused serious damage to the rear of the college during the refurbishment of the Principal’s House (a £2.2million project).[23][24] The extension known as the Training Resource Centre provided further lecture and seminar rooms was subsequently opened in September 2011.[25]Stafford Carson was appointed as a new executive principal in 2013. At this time a major stonework restoration and conservation project took place (2013-2017).[26] Patton Taylor retired as Professor of Old Testament in 2016 (Principal 2002-2008 and 2010-2013).

In 2016, Queen’s University Belfast undertook a strategic review of the teaching of Theology as all new undergraduate students were then taught at Union Theological College, noting declining student numbers and expressing concerns regarding the diversity of provision compared to Theology and Religions departments in other UK Universities.[27]

The Welsh Presbyterian theologian Stephen N. Williams, who had held the Chair of Systematic Theology from 1994, was succeeded in 2017 by Michael McClenahan.

In 2017 the College marked the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by participating in a “Luther 500” conference and by hosting an autumn seminar series entitled “The Unfinished Reformation”.[28]

In 2018 the Professor of Church History was controversially suspended pursuant to his participation in a radio interview[29] (see Dismissal of a Professor below for further details). There was also “a refresh of the College’s Coat of Arms” with the help of a digital heraldic artist, including discussion of the motto to “buy the truth and sell it not”.[30] A subsequent QAA report that was described as “highly critical” expressed concerns regarding “weakness in the college’s maintenance of academic standards”, with “the potential to put academic standards and quality at risk”.[31][32]

In 2019 Queen’s University Belfast announced that it would end its relationship with the College.[33] As tuition fees for 2018/19 were set at £4,160 annually, the potential annual financial shortfall to the College was projected to be as high as £700,000 on the assumption that over 150 undergraduate students might normally be admitted in a given year.[34] However, as student numbers had already declined significantly in latter years,[27][35] it was subsequently argued that the immediately foreseeable shortfall in the absence of any new income streams would be £250,000 by 2022.[36]

In 2020 Union Theological College announced it would partner with the Catholic St Mary's University, Twickenham for the awarding of undergraduate degrees.[37]

In 2021, Union Theological College repeatedly hosted the Orange Order during the centennial anniversary year for the Parliament of Northern Ireland (see Culture & Controversy below for further details). The College hosted a separate livestreamed event for an exclusively invited audience in September 2021 to mark the part previously played in hosting the first Parliament of Northern Ireland.[38][39]

• Dr Martyn C. Cowan (Lecturer in Historical Theology)

• Prof. Henry Cooke (d. 1868)
• Prof. J. Ernest Davey (d. 1960)
• Prof. Robert Watts (d. 1895)
• Prof. Stephen N. Williams (Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology)
• Principal J. Stafford Carson (former Principal and Professor of Ministry)

One of the college professors, J. Ernest Davey, was the subject of a heresy trial in 1927 because of his teaching in the College.[50] Although cleared by the Church’s courts, a small number of Presbyterians broke away unhappy with the decision and founded what later became the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Rev. Ron Johnstone (Grand Chaplain[48][51] of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland and former Free Presbyterian Church moderator[52][53]) leading worship in Union Theological College.

Arguably greater public controversy was generated latterly when the Professor of Church History and former Principal[54][55] whose teaching demonstrably inspired previous students[56] was then sacked after 22 years of service, ostensibly as his participation in a radio interview was construed as “gross misconduct”.[57] Of particular contention, the erstwhile Professor of Church History responded to an interview question by stating that he personally “would be horrified” if students were presented with only one view on questions of sexual ethics in an academic setting, as well as saying that he would be “heartbroken” if anyone accused him of being “bigoted against Catholic students or gay students or whatever”, arguing that “as near as possible we uphold everything that the university stands for”.[58] The sacking of a professor on such grounds in turn prompted far more widespread media coverage and public criticism than any comments previously made during the original radio interview.[58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] The prior suspension of the Professor of Church History pursuant to his radio interview was understood to have prompted Queen’s University to re-examine its relationship with Union Theological College,[32] subsequently reflected by comments in an ensuing report that the College’s “decisions relating to staff deployment, and late changes affecting the availability of established recognised teachers, highlighted the vulnerability of the University in assuring the academic quality of the student experience”.[35] By contrast, the Council for Training in Ministry then absolved its own members of any responsibility by denying that they “had any role in this”, and instead held the former professor personally responsible not only for “a significant and material adverse impact” on relations with Queen’s University but also for allegedly bringing the Presbyterian Church in Ireland “into disrepute”,[57] seemingly exemplifying psychological projection as both scapegoating and victim blaming.

In January 2021, Union Theological College hosted the Grand Orange Lodge for the first of various planned services marking the centennial of partition on the island of Ireland[67][68][69] at a time when churches in Northern Ireland had already decided to close in response to increasing cases of COVID-19.[70] In September 2021, Queen’s Orange Society (LOL 1845) held another service in Union Theological College, subsequently parading past Queens University.[71][72]