A People’s Story
in Black & White
at Columbia Theological Seminary
The Beginning
In 1828, Columbia Theological Seminary opened its doors as a Presbyterian seminary for the preparation of well-educated, mannerly ministers. It was located during its first one hundred years in Columbia, South Carolina. Established amid the southern slavocracy, Columbia’s leaders became ardent supporters of the Confederacy when Lincoln became President.
The original site has been described as the “embodiment of the theological commitments and ideological interests of South Carolina and Georgia Presbyterians." Columbia was to be an elite institution of higher education to prepare ministers for a rapidly growing church. and a center for the most serious theological reflection advocating and defending Calvinist tradition.” [1]
Read More about Columbia’s History
History in Motion
The reckoning with history did not start today or with the people of the current community. Many people over many years contributed to the movement that must continue towards a flourishing life for all. Take a look at some of the ways Columbia has become more racially diverse and the movements that encouraged this growth.
An Ongoing Story
Each of us can play a role in living out a new narrative that lives on, changes and grows into the kingdom of heaven on this earth.
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22: 38-39 (NRSV)
Listen for the voice of God calling each of us to do our part.
[1] Erskine Clarke, To Count Our Days A History of Columbia Theological Seminary (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2019), 7.