Theological education and formation

Foundations

‘Make me to understand the way of your precepts, and I shall meditate on your marvellous works.’ (Ps 119:27)

‘Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.’ (Rom 12:2)

‘Train yourself in godliness … give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.’ (1 Tim 4:7,13)

‘It is our conviction that all Anglican Christians should be theologically alert and sensitive to the call of God. We should all be thoughtful and prayerful in reading and hearing the Holy Scriptures, both in the light of the past and with an awareness of present and future needs. … This is reflected not only in the way our worship and liturgical life express our belief, and in our attention to Scripture read in the light of tradition, but also in our respect for exploration and experiment. Theological education in the Anglican Communion honours each local context and, at the same time, calls us together into communion and mutual accountability.’

– Statement by the Anglican Primates at the establishment of the Theological
Education for the Anglican Communion (TEAC) working party, 2003

Summary

The task team identifies the following preliminary priorities:

  • Theological education at universities and seminaries
  • Spiritual formation of ordinands
  • Promotion of postgraduate studies by priests and deacons
  • Promotion of lay-training workshops on theological education in different dioceses
  • Facilitation of the in-service training of existing clergy in different dioceses (clergy schools, etc)

Detailed plans for those priorities require further development, although it has already been proposed that a Provincial Conference on Theological Education be held in 2012.