Showing 419 results

Originally called St. Stephen’s Normal and Theological School, Bishop Payne Divinity School (Petersburg, Virginia) was founded in 1878 as a branch seminary of the Virginia Theological Seminary. Its first graduate was James S. Russell, who went on to found St. Paul’s Normal and Industrial School in nearby Lawrenceville. When the school was chartered by the State of Virginia in 1884, it was renamed Bishop Payne Divinity and Industrial School in honor of the Rt. Rev. John Payne, the first Bishop of Liberia.

Enrollment decreased dramatically in the 1890s following several canonical actions by the church that marginalized their African American congregations. The name was changed again in 1910 to Bishop Payne Divinity School when the school was given the power to confer the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. Maintaining an adequate budget to operate and improve the school and competing with white seminaries which began to admit black students were constant challenges that led to the decision to close the school in 1949. Its assets were transferred in 1953 to the Virginia Theological Seminary for the purpose of recruiting and educating African Americans.

The Board for Theological Education (BTE) was established by canon at the General Convention of 1967 after concern over the decline in candidates for the ministry in the early 1960s caused the Division on Christian Ministries to call for a comprehensive study of the matter. The focus of the Board was to study the needs and trends of theological education and make recommendations. It was to assist the institutions undertaking the education of future clergy, assist in the enlistment and selection of candidates for ministry, promote the continuing education of both the clergy and the laity, and finally to seek support and funding for the entire enterprise.

The Board for Theological Education met formally four to five times a year, and was composed of fifteen members representing bishops, clergy, and laity. In 1997, General Convention voted to merge the Board of Theological Education into the newly-created Standing Commission on Ministry.

The Board of Foreign Parishes of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America is a corporation founded in New York State in 1883. The purpose of the corporation is to establish and support Episcopal churches in Europe. These congregations were established to provide a familiar place of worship and a church community for Americans living in or visiting Europe.

The Board acts as a trusteeship for parishes in holding legal title to their property. It acts as both a fiduciary agent and a coordinating business entity for congregations of The Episcopal Church on the European continent. As of 2008, the Board served eight congregations. In 2019, fifteen Episcopal Church congregations were under the supervision of bishop for the Episcopal Churches in Europe (ECIE). It is unclear which, if any, of the additional seven are aided by the Board of Foreign Parishes.

Two parishes maintain independent boards: St. Paul’s Church (Rome, Italy) and St. James’ Church (Florence, Italy). Together, the three boards manage endowments for the Convocation of American Churches in Europe.