The Bishop of London and the Bishop of Chelmsford, The Rt Revd John Gladwin today announced the formation of a new training college aimed at strengthening the churchâ??s mission in the dioceses of London and Chelmsford.
The new college will be named St Mellitus College and will incorporate some of the excellent ministerial training that is currently taking place across the Chelmsford and London dioceses into one overarching institution. With well over 200 people currently in ministerial training across the two dioceses, the formation of St Mellitus College will increase staff numbers, give greater flexibility for serving wider training needs and open up the possibility of new forms of training for ordination, post ordination and lay training within the regionâ??s growing Church.
St Mellitus Collegeâ??s constituent members will initially be the North Thames Ministerial Training Course, which operates across the two dioceses and the St Paulâ??s Theological Centre (SPTC) based at Holy Trinity Brompton. These institutions will both maintain a sense of autonomy within the College and teaching will continue at their various sites across the dioceses. There is a strong hope for the future that other training institutions within the region will be incorporated into the College, and that it will also strengthen the ecumenical training links in the area.
Staffing will come from these constituent members with the current Principal of SPTC, the Revd Dr Graham Tomlin, taking on the role of Dean at St Mellitus. Both SPTC and NTMTC will appoint new Directors to oversee the day to day delivery of teaching. The new Dean, along with the two Bishops will be responsible for ensuring that St Mellitus College provides training that represents a generous Christian orthodoxy and allows for all mainstream traditions of the Church to have proper recognition and provision within the training.
The Dean of St Mellitus College, the Revd Dr Graham Tomlin said:
â??The new St Mellitus College is an exciting prospect for both the dioceses of London and Chelmsford as it will provide a large, flexible and highly qualified training network across our region.
â??It is now possible for us to build upon the excellent training platform already established within the dioceses thus enabling them to be able to better resource the mission of the Church across Essex and London.â??
The Bishop of London and The Bishop of Chelmsford said:
â??We are delighted that the dioceses of Chelmsford and London have been able to form a strong collaborative relationship, which will better serve the needs of our regionâ??s growing Church.
â??The formation of St Mellitus College is a strategic step in ensuring that both dioceses are well equipped in the continued delivery of exceptional ministerial training.â??
Who is St Mellitus?
