Leading Theologians Join New Theological Centre

Two of the UK’s leading theologians will join a new theological training centre established by the Holy Trinity Brompton.

|TOP|Holy Trinity Brompton in Knightsbridge is the country’s leading evangelical church and the first parish to take on such a venture.

Jane Williams, the wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and currently a Visiting Lecturer at Kings College, London, will be joined by Dr Michael Lloyd, who was until recently a lecturer in doctrine at St Stephen’s House Oxford and a member of the Oxford Theology Faculty.

With the addition of two of the most eminent theologians in the Anglican Church, HTB is set to become one of the leading centres for Christian study in the country.

The centre, by St Paul’s, cost £6 million to set up and is led by Dr Graham Tomlin, formerly Principal of Wycliffe Hall, who took up his post in September 2005.

|AD|Dr Tomlin, who is married with two children, said on announcement of the new centre last year: “The great theologians of the classic Christian tradition were always rooted in the realities of local church life, whether Irenaeus in Lyons, Augustine in Hippo, Luther in Wittenberg or Calvin in Geneva.

“This venture seeks to return to that model in building a focus of strong theology and theological training within one of the nation’s most lively and vigorous churches.”

The centre, which runs a number of part-time courses in theology for around 200 lay people, is developing ambitious plans to broadcast its theological lectures around the world, reports The Church of England Newspaper.

Hi-tech camera equipment and lighting are also currently being installed into the centre.

The Kensington-based theological training centre will train lay and ordained people for leadership and evangelism, although it could train clergy for the priesthood.

The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, has indicated the centre would train candidates for ministry in the Church of England in the future.

Mrs Williams is expected to take up her post at the centre in the summer, with her arrival likely to cement a strong relationship between HTB and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has also been a keen Alpha Course supporter in the past.