Andover Theological Seminary

The Andover Theological Seminary formally opened on September 22, 1808 on the campus of Phillips Academy.

In 1906 the trustees voted to affiliate with Harvard Divinty School. The two schools did not combine. They did share lecture space and dormitories until Andover erected it's own buildings in Cambridge - Andover Hall. The doors to Andover Theological Seminary were opened in Cambridge in the fall of 1908. That year, Phillips Academy bought the seminary's real estate and buildings for $250,000.

Declining enrollment and a legal challenge forced Andover Theological Seminary to close its doors in 1926. The original creed stated that the seminary must remain on the grounds of the South Parish in Andover. The Supreme Court of Massachusetts upheld the terms of the original creed and ruled against affiliation with Harvard. They, however, noted the principal of cy pres.

A bill was filed with the court under this principal stating that it was no longer possible to exist under the original creed. The court ruled in favor of this bill on April 10, 1931. The Newton Theological Institution invited The Andover Theological Seminary to affiliate. In the fall of 1931 the Andover Theological Seminary opened in Newton and was called the Andover Newton Theological School.

In 2016, due to financial constraints, Andover Newton Theological Seminary decided to close its current campus and to form a partnership with Yale Divinity School in New Haven, CT.

REFERENCES

See

• "Andover in Cambridge" by William H. Ryder. New England Magazine, vol. 41 C, September 1909 to February 1910.
• "Three prestigious Andover schools become one," Andover Townsman, December 20, 2012, page 10.
• Historical Sketches of Andover, by Sarah Loring Bailey, (974.45 Bai), Chapter IX
• History of Andover Theological Seminary, by Henry Kalloch Rowe. (Andover Room R 207 Row)

--Eleanor 12:18, February 14, 2006 (EST)
--Kim 10:06, December 27, 2012 (EST)

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