Celebration: 180th Anniversary Book of Sermons, Erskine Theological Seminary, Rejoicing in 180 Years of God's Grace

A Short History of Erskine Theological Seminary

Erskine Seminary was founded in 1837 by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Synod of the South. Presbyterians have historically believed that educated ministers are essential for healthy churches and the Seminary was founded to meet this critical need. Two years later, the faculty was enlarged to establish the first four-year denominational college in South Carolina, with the Seminary operating as an arm of the College. The two institutions were formally separated in 1859, but were reunited in 1926 under the name Erskine College, with the Seminary serving as a professional school alongside the undergraduate Christian liberal arts institution.

The Seminary's name honors the heritage of the brothers Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, who served as pastors and leaders in the Presbyterian church in Scotland in the early 1700s. The Erskines are particularly remembered for two courageous stands. When some claimed that people must repent of their sins (and clean up their lives) before they could come to Christ, the Erskines insisted that God in his grace invites people to come to Christ as they are, as sinners, to receive forgiveness ("the Marrow controversy"). When wealthy landowners claimed the right to name pastors of churches built on their land ("patronage"), the Erskines insisted that Christ, the Lord of the Church, had given that right to the people in the church. Ebenezer Erskine (with others) was rebuked by the Church of Scotland and later suspended from the ministry. He with three others “seceded” to form an "Associate Presbytery" (one of the predecessors of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church) and continued to proclaim God’s free grace.

Erskine has sought to share its heritage and resources with the wider church. The Seminary first began offering courses outside of Due West in 1980. Following the provision of the expanded facilities of Bowie Divinity Hall in 1985, the Board of Trustees approved the expansion of the Seminary's mission to serve the larger evangelical community and the Seminary adopted a block schedule (each class meets only one day each week for three hours) to accommodate commuting students. Since that time, students from many other churches – Presbyterian, Baptist, AME, Methodist, Pentecostal, and non-denominational – have joined students from the ARP Church to receive training for ministry. In the 1990s, the Seminary launched its distance education program and in 2010 was approved to offer complete degree programs at its Columbia campus. Without wavering from its Evangelical and Reformed commitments, the Seminary continues to seek additional ways to serve the whole Church of Jesus Christ.