Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1939, 1957-1970 (Creation)
Extent
2 cu.ft. (2 boxes)
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Special Committee on Theological Education in the Episcopal Church (TEEC) began in 1965 as an outgrowth of an initiative originating in the Division of Christian Ministries, part of Executive Council’s Home Department, to respond to a perceived crisis in recruitment, retention, and education of candidates for the ministry, which required careful study before any recommendations could be made to General Convention.
The Committee, chaired by Dr. Nathan M. Pusey, met for the first time on March 28, 1966. As part of its work, the Committee consulted seminarians and young clergymen to understand their experiences and concerns, and shared these findings with General Convention in their 1967 report.
The Committee saw the need for “an agency with power” to overhaul the Church’s entire system of theological education. It recommended the creation of a Board for Theological Education with members appointed by the Presiding Bishop and reporting to General Convention. The work of the Board was to find strategies for recruiting promising candidates to the ministry, to modernize the seminary system and improve its curricula, to determine necessary funding, and to expand educational opportunities to laymen and women.
The recommendation was adopted by the 1967 General Convention.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection consists of the Committee’s records as kept by Dr. Charles Taylor, the director of the study, and includes official minutes and reports, correspondence, data on seminaries, and planning and working documents of the Committee. Of note are copies of Nathan M. Pusey’s 1966 Report of the Special Committee titled “Ministry for Tomorrow,” which helped inform the study of theological education undertaken by the Committee and directed by Charles Taylor. Taylor’s work from 1957 to 1967 is well documented and there is correspondence from his time as the director of the American Association of Theological Schools from 1957. Correspondence and reports were generated and collected before, during, and after visits to a number of seminary and theological schools, including Berkeley Divinity School, Episcopal Theological Seminary, and Sewanee.
System of arrangement
Minutes, Agendas, Mailings, Reports,1966-1967
Subject files, 1961-1967
Committee correspondence, 1965-1968
Charles Taylor correspondence and related documents, 1957-1967
Seminary Studies, 1939, 1958-1970
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Access to Episcopal Church records is governed by the Archives Public Access Policy. Research requests must be submitted in writing.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
The Archives is able to respond to limited requests for reproductions subject to copyright restrictions, internal policy, and the condition of the source documents.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Board for Theological Education Records, 1965-1979
Board for Theological Education Records, 1969-1987
Related descriptions
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Pusey, Nathan M. (Subject)
- General Convention (Subject)
- Taylor, Charles (Subject)
- Boone, Jr., William J. (Subject)