Tag: Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary Chapel (Fairfax VA)

Wikipedia says: Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the United States.

Established in 1823, VTS is situated on an 80-acre (320,000 m2) suburban campus in Alexandria, Virginia, close to downtown Washington, DC…

Foundation and Civil War years

The seminary’s foundation in 1823 was the result of the efforts of small group, led by William Holland Wilmer, who committed themselves to the task of recruiting and training a new generation of church leaders following the Revolutionary War. Francis Scott Key was a prominent member of this group supported by the vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Alexandria, which in 1818 formed a “Society for the Education of Pious Young Men for the Ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland and Virginia”.

In 1821 the Virginia convention of the Episcopal Church pledged its support for the establishment of a regional seminary. Acquiescing to lobbying by the College of William and Mary since at least 1815, the Virginia convention recommended the seminary be located in Williamsburg, to involve the Diocese of North Carolina, as well as those men from the District of Columbia and Diocese of Maryland who had been working together through the Education Society. However, the convention of the Diocese of Maryland failed to concur. The committee appointed by the Virginia convention changed its mind about the proposed seminary’s location and accepted Alexandria after Congressman Hugh Nelson arranged significant funding and Wilmer offered space and a lecture room at St. Paul’s Church.

The seminary formally opened in 1823 with two instructors and 14 enrolled students. The Revd. Reuel Keith, a graduate of Middlebury College, Andover Seminary and a former rector of Bruton Parish Church, became the seminary’s first elected professor in 1823. Wilmer also taught theology and church history from 1823–1826. In contrast with General Theological Seminary in New York City, VTS was for much of the 19th century associated with the more low-church or evangelical Episcopalian tradition. Emphasis was placed on preaching the plan of salvation, simpler worship styles and the development of student-led missionary initiatives.

Land provided in 1827 for the construction of a purpose built seminary campus prompted a move to hilltop site two and a half miles west of the growing city of Alexandria. The original library building was completed in 1855 and St. George’s Hall in 1856. A private donation from two New York brothers, John and William Henry Aspinwall, enabled the construction and dedication of the landmark Italianate, Gothic Revival, Aspinwall Hall in October 1859. Aspinwall Hall and adjacent buildings of the period designed by Baltimore architect Norris Starkweather, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

During the American Civil War from March 1862 to August 1865 the Union Army commandeered the seminary buildings and grounds for use as a military hospital. After the war, two professors and 11 veterans reopened the seminary on a campus that had been used to house 1,700 wounded Federal troops and to bury 500 soldiers.