Beeson Divinity School’s Certificate of Anglican Studies Recognized by the Anglican Church in North America
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (May 11, 2016) – The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) recently approved Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School’s Certificate of Anglican Studies (CAS) to be officially recognized by the denomination as only one of two non-Anglican seminaries in the United States to train Anglican clergy.
The announcement came from ACNA’s Archbishop Foley Beach while he was in Nairobi, Kenya at the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Primates Meeting in April.
“We are excited that one of the most rigorous seminary programs in the United States has a well-developed track for training clergy and laypeople in the Anglican way,” Beach said. “We look forward to a strong partnership with Beeson in the future.”
Beeson Divnity’s founding dean, Timothy George, hopes that this is a partnership that will deepen and flourish for years to come.
“In past years Beeson has attracted a growing number of Anglican students,” George said. “Our interdenominational divinity school is delighted to be able to train men and women for ministry in the growing worldwide Anglican Communion.”
Beeson established an Anglican Institute and the CAS in 2014 to foster biblical Anglicanism and to help students deepen their knowledge and practice of Anglican belief, worship and spirituality. This certificate is awarded with the successful completion of the M.Div. degree through Beeson. Four Anglican churches in the Birmingham area offer opportunities for Anglican internships that meet the certificate requirements.
“Our interdenominational faculty provides students with differing but orthodox perspectives. And with seven Anglican professors, we are able to give abundant personal attention to Anglican ordinands,” said Anglican Chair of Divinity Gerald McDermott, who also oversees the Anglican Institute. “Beeson aims to be the premier center for orthodox Anglican training in the South.”
