Thanksgiving service marks centenary year of United Theological College

The inaugural and thanksgiving service of the centenary year of the United Theological College (UTC) was held on Wednesday, July 8.

Amid the presence of Church leaders, alumni, overseas guests and well-wishers, the prestigious institution celebrated hundred years of Biblical teaching and training from the time of its inception in 1910.

The Bangalore-based institution is famed for being one of the largest theological colleges in India, and the first institution of its kind and composition in the ecumenical history of the world church.

UTC is one of the renowned institutions in the world whose regular student constituency is comprised of candidates from a wide spectrum of churches and denominations ranging from mainline Protestants to Orthodox to Pentecostal traditions.

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.

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 college has one of 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 United States Embassy awarded a grant for preservation of these rare palm leaf manuscripts in 2006.

UTC has produced eminent theologians and leaders for the churches and YMCAs. Dr. Joshua Russell Chandran, the first and long-standing Indian Principal, was a recognized theologian and ecumenical spokesperson.

There have been many other noted theologians, some of whom have contributed to the development of the movement of 'Third World' theologies, pioneering in developing Indian liberation theologies such as Dalit theology and Indian feminist theology.