Union Theological Seminary (Philippines)
The Salakot Chapel, Union Theological Seminary
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| Motto | Preach the Word |
|---|---|
| Type | Private, Theological, Ecumenical |
| Established | June 1907 |
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Religious affiliation
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Mainline Protestant, Wesleyan |
| President | Eleazar S. Fernandez |
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Academic staff
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19 |
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Administrative staff
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23 |
| Students | 118 (as of March 2012) |
| Location |
Dasmariñas, Cavite,  Philippines14°17′32.9″N 120°57′42.6″E / 14.292472°N 120.961833°E |
| Affiliations | Philippine Christian University, ATESEA,WCC |
| Website | https://uniontheologicalseminary-public.sharepoint.com |
Union Theological Seminary is the oldest Protestant seminary in the Philippines. It was created when the Ellinwood Bible Training School (founded by the Presbyterians in 1905) and the Florence B. Nicholson Bible Seminary (established by the Methodists in 1905) merged into one theological institution in 1907. For more than a hundred years, it has educated Filipino pastors and other church workers for higher learning. The fusion of these two institutions was a significant event for the Evangelical Union, which intended to unify various Protestant denominations that came from America at the dawn of the 20th century. Though the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and the United Methodist Church collectively support the seminary, the institution remains to be independent in structure and curricular formation.
Since its creation, the seminary has produced pastors and church workers who contributed substantially to the life of the evangelical movement in the Philippines. Graduates of the seminary were the ones sought by well-established local churches. Its alumni played a vital role in the organic union that led to the birth of the UCCP in 1948. Through the leadership and dedication to ecumenical ministries, individuals who came from UTS took part in the formation of the Association of Theological Education in Southeast Asia in 1957 and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines in 1963.
When various Protestant denominations from America came to the Philippines in the early 1900s, the missionaries started teaching Filipinos about the Bible and basic doctrines. These trained workers have played an active role in the evangelization throughout the islands. Bible study courses had been conducted in churches and homes until Protestant churches started to make their own theological institutions. On August 25, 1903, the Manila Bible Institute was initiated and has become an annual event to train church workers within a course of one month. Numerous pastors from Manila and Dagupan attended the training. Since then, various Bible schools were established and theological education among Protestants in the Philippines has become more institutionalized not only in Manila, but in other provinces as well.
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