History
The
College was inaugurated in July 1910 under the
name “The United Theological College of South
India and Ceylon” as “a Christian College where
students may obtain a sound theological
education”. It was established through the
co-operation of the London Missionary Society,
the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, The
United Free Church of Scotland, the Arcot
Mission of the Reformed Church in America and
the Trustees of the Jaffna College Funds and the
S.P.C.K. in Scotland also gave their
support.
Interest in this ecumenical
institution grew, and churches, missionary
societies and other organisations from various
regions of India and from abroad joined with the
founders in support of the College. In 1951 the
Church Missionary Society and the society for
the Propagation of the Gospel became supporting
bodies. The College had received help at various
times from the Danish Lutheran Church and the
friends of Dr.L.P.Larsen, the first Principal of
the College, and in 1959 the Danish Missionary
Society became a supporting body. In 1960 the
Basel Evangelical Mission (now a member of the
Association of Churches and Mission in S.W.
Germany) and the Kolhapur Church Council joined
the ranks, to be followed the next year by the
church of South India, and in 1963 by the Mar
Thoma Church. The Council of Y.M.C.A’s in India
joined as a supporting body in 1967 and the
Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon (now
merged in the Church of North India) in 1969.
Also in 1969 the Board of Global Ministries of
the United Methodist Church became one of the
contributing bodies.
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Following the merger of
the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and
Research Institute with the United Theological
College for B.D., M.Th.and other degree
programmers in June 1971, several Lutheran Church
and Missions (Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church,
South Andhra Lutheran Church, Church of Sweden
Mission, the Lutheran Church of America, the
American Lutheran Church-both presently merged in
the Evangelical Church of America, India
Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Leipzig
Evangelical Lutheran Mission ) became supporting
bodies of the College. The Malankar Jacobite
Syrian Church became a contributing body in 1979.
The first home of the College was a
building on Mission Road, Bangalore city, formerly
used for the seminary, which had been founded and
maintained by the London Missionary Society from
1841 under the name ‘Bangalore Theological
Seminary’. The permanent site of the College at 17
(new number 63) Miller’s road, Bangalore, was
acquired in 1912, and the building was first
occupied in 1914. In 1919, a year after Serampore
College was granted permission by the Act of the
Government of Bengal to grant degrees in Theology,
the College was affiliated to the Serampore
College for the B. D. Degree.
In 1949, the
Y.M.C.A Training School was re-opened, and in
September 1950, eight new rooms were added to the
Hostel by the Council of Y.M.C.A’s to provide
accommodation for their students. In 1976,the
Senate of Serampore College granted autonomy to
the College for the B.D., B.R.E., and
D.R.K.Courses. Under the autonomy the College has
the freedom to set its own curriculum, evaluate
the candidates and recommend them to the Senate
for the award of the degree or diploma. The M.Th .
and D.Th. courses continue under the regulations
of the Serampore Senate.
The platinum
Jubilee of the College was celebrated in
1985.
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Mission
UTC’ s Aim is :
Continued
participation in the mission of Jesus Christ in the
world equipping students for the ministry of the
Church
UTC is
:
Ecumenical
in vision and composition, contextual in reflection and
action.
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Over the
years UTC has grown into a center of academic
excellence of international reputation and
recognition, drawing students and scholars from
all over the world.
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| A Residential
Community |
UTC has four residential
campuses, which provide an ecumenical setting
with close interaction between the mentors and
learners. Teachers and students live in these
campuses. Separate hostels for men and women and
quarters for married students are provided with
all amenities to ensure comfortable stay. Some
of the additional facilities available are
Nursery School and a Creche, Hostel Mess for
students and Hostel Annexe for guests and
visitors. The women’s Hostel Annex at 43,
Miller’s road, provides facilities for women
and secular students.
The students and
Faculty of the College come from different parts
of India and Abroad. Such a multi-cultural and
international community offers unique
cross-cultural experience and opportunities for
growth in ecumenical awareness.
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UTC - A Center of Ecumenical
Activities |
The College, in view of its
library and the resource persons available, has
become a center of many ecumenical conferences
and meetings - both big and small. The Charles
Ranson Hall at its main entrance provides
accommodation for about 400 people. There are
also small conference halls. During vacations,
boarding and lodging arrangements for
conferences of around three hundred people are
possible.
The College has one the finest
Theological Libraries in South Asia, and an
excellent archive section containing a large
collection of very valuable historical records,
rare manuscripts and microfilm and microfiche
collections. The co-operation with the Roman
Catholic Seminaries, especially with the
Dharmaram Vidyakshetram and with several other
Research Institutes, provides additional
opportunity for interaction with a wider
community of scholars. |
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Ecumenical study Programme
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Students
from Asia, Europe, Africa and South and North America
coming and spending a period of study at UTC are
encouraged. Guidelines for such an Ecumenical Study
Programme are available for those interested from the
Principal.
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Spirituality |
Life in U.T.C revolves around the
chapel which is at the center of the main campus.
Morning devotions are held at 8.30 a.m. from Monday to
Friday. Corporate Worship for the community is held at
6.30.p.m.every Sunday. Twice in a year special retreats
are held for the spiritual nurture of the Community.
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UTC - The Pace Setter
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We live in
an age of rapid revolutionary changes in all areas of
life. Developments in education, industry,
transportation and information technology make
tremendous impact on people’s thinking and expectations.
Cross cultural influences comforts and challenge people.
Changes in global politics with the disappearance of the
so called “second world” and the subsequent process of
globalization geared up by one Super Power - and the
consequent widening of the gap between the rich and the
poor - all pose challenges to theological education.
UTC, being sensitive to these changes, tries to respond
to these challenges meaningfully by revising its
curriculum and methods of teaching from time to time. It
aims at offering a holistic theological education and
ministerial formation and training, which combines in
itself academic excellence, practical relevance and
spiritual commitment.
The United Theological
College is thus a Pace Setter in the area of theological
education and ecumenical College, reinforcing a
life-centered spirituality which promotes justice, peace
and human solidarity in India and abroad.
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| Location: |
Bangalore,
the capital of Karnataka State, is known as the ‘Garden
City’ of India. With the rapid growth of Industries and
commerce, innumerable educational and other
institutions, Bangalore has become a highly cosmopolitan
city. The vast variety and contrasts of the Indian scene
in the socioeconomic, religio-cultural, linguistic and
political spheres are all present in this fast-growing
city. The spacious parks, the blossoming trees and the
salubrious climate are welcoming features of Bangalore,
Which is linked to all the major Indian cities through
good travel facilities by air, rail and road.
The main campus of the college at 63 Miller’s
Road, lies in close proximity to Bangalore Cantonment
Railway Station, and is one of the landmarks in the
city. The three smaller campuses nearby provide
additional housing for staff and married students. There
are about 140 rooms for single students and 35
apartments for married students.
Address:
Post Box. No. 4613
63,
Millers Road, Benson Town
BANGALORE - 560046,
INDIA.
Telephone(General):
0091-80-23333438/23330502
(Principal): 0091-80-23332844
Fax:
0091-80-3330015
E-mail(General):
unitedtcb@gmail.com
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