St Mellitus South West Theological College is to close following a review of theological education in the region by the national St Mellitus Board.
The college, which is based at St Matt’s church in Plymouth, is one of the two main ordination training providers for the Diocese of Exeter.
The Bishop of Exeter, the Rt. Rev’d Dr Mike Harrison, said “This is a great loss to the south west in terms of training options for ministry. St Mellitus rightly has an excellent reputation for the quality of its provision and there are many ministering in Exeter diocese who have received excellent formation who will be saddened to see the withdrawal of St Mellitus from the South West.”
Sean Doherty, the Executive Principal of St Mellitus nationally, said the decision had been reached to close the centre in the summer of 2028 because of the ongoing challenge of recruiting cohorts of ordinands each year that meet the nationally expected size (8-10).
He said “With a heavy heart, the St Mellitus Board has recently reached the conclusion that it is not possible to sustain the Centre in the longer-term and to bring the centre to a close in summer 2028. By this time, almost all the current ordinands at the centre will have completed their training.
“I recognise that this may come as disappointing news as it does reduce the training options available to ordination candidates in the region, as well as the strength of something that is really locally rooted.
“We will be working with Trinity College Bristol and Spiritus College as the other TEIs involved in the SW review to consider how the strengths of what St Mellitus brought can be continued in the provision they will continue to offer.”
St Mellitus South West was launched in 2017 and around a fifth of stipendiary clergy currently serving in the Diocese of Exeter trained at St Mellitus, as well as a large number of Self Supporting clergy. The college also offers theological degree courses and other theological learning opportunities.
Deep Impact of Closure
Rev’d Dr Liz Grier, the Centre Lead for St Mellitus South West, acknowleged that the decision to close would have a strong impact: “I know that this news will be deeply felt across the region.
“For many years, St Mellitus South West has been a place of formation, fellowship, learning and discernment, helping to equip women and men for ministry in the Church.
“Through its students, staff, supervisors, parishes and diocesan partnerships, the centre has made a significant contribution to the life and mission of the Church in the South West.
“One of the privileges of my role as Centre Lead has been hearing people’s stories. Again and again, people have told me how much this centre has meant to them: what they learned here, the friendships they found here, and the ways they were formed for ministry here.
“As I have reflected and prayed about this, I have been reminded that even though our circumstances may change, the God who has called us remains the same. Our help comes from the Lord. Therefore, we entrust ourselves, our students, our staff, and the future of ministry and formation in the South West into his hands. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)
Enabling people to follow their vocation and receive high quality training is one of the key missional priorities of the Diocese of Exeter, which also has a partnership with Devon and Cornwall-based Spiritus Theological College and offers the in-house one-year Exeter Ordination Pathway for locally-based ministers.
Ongoin Theological Training Review
The Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt. Rev’d James Grier, who is the Chair of the South West Training Partnership Programme Board and a previous chaplain and interim Centre Lead for St Mellitus South West, said “A few years ago we commissioned a review of training in the Southwest. A key aspect was a recognition of the challenge of limited numbers of ordinands and other students available to Spiritus (SWMTC as it was) and St Mellitus SW.
“The review concluded that the two colleges each offered something unique and incredibly valuable and the best case scenario was to have both. It did however recognise that this was dependent on the individual colleges’ ongoing sustainability. Since then ordinand numbers reduced further, although there is the start of a slow but positive uplift in vocations. There is also an ongoing national theological college training review looking at provision versus demand. Whilst, this announcement is very disappointing, we understand and respect the trustees decision.
“This does not in any way lessen the sense of loss many of us will feel at the prospect of St Mellitus South West closing. It has enabled people from the Diocese to discern a calling, train contextually and then be ordained. All within the diocese. It has meant that clergy have had fantastic national teaching whilst fully inhabiting what it means to serve in this wonderful part of the world. We are so grateful as a diocese to St Mellitus for their immense investment to make this possible.”
The Diocese of Exeter’s Director of Mission and Ministry, the Rev’d Preb Ian Bussell, said the St Mellitus model of part-time non-residential training had been particularly helpful: “The St Mellitus model of context based training has been an important and innovative addition to the training pathways available to ordinands in the South-West which will be greatly missed,” he said.
“Building on this legacy the Diocese of Exeter remains committed to flexible and context based learning for ordained ministers and will be working with partner colleges and courses to maintain and develop this vision for ordained ministry.”
Students who are currently training for ordination in 2027 or 2028 at St Mellitus SW will be able to complete their studies ahead of its closure in the summer of 2028.