The John Leland Center for Theological Studies is a Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 institution of higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

, comprising a seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 and a school of ministry. The center offers classes in Falls Church, Virginia

Falls Church, Virginia

The City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...

, and at several satellite locations throughout Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. Leland is partnered with the Baptist General Association of Virginia

Baptist General Association of Virginia

The Baptist General Association of Virginia is an umbrella organization of Baptist churches founded in 1823. The BGAV has been characterized as a moderate association...

 and the District of Columbia Baptist Convention

District of Columbia Baptist Convention

The District of Columbia Baptist Convention is a coalition of Baptist churches in or near the Washington, DC area. The DCBC is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Progressive National Baptist Convention...

, though the center has ties with a range of denominations

Christian denomination

A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...

 and churches. Leland is a member of the Washington Theological Consortium

Washington Theological Consortium

The Washington Theological Consortium is an ecumenical organization with its regular membership composed of Christian theological schools located in or near the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area that cooperate and share resources....

.

The center's namesake, John Leland

John Leland (Baptist)

John Leland was a Baptist minister in Massachusetts and Virginia. He was an important figure in the struggle for religious liberty in the United States. Leland was also an outspoken critic of slavery...

, was an 18th and 19th century Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 minister in the United States who was a proponent of the separation of church and state

Separation of church and state in the United States

The phrase "separation of church and state" , attributed to Thomas Jefferson and others, and since quoted by the Supreme Court of the United States, expresses an understanding of the intent and function of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States...

.

History

At a 1997 Baptist World Alliance

Baptist World Alliance

The Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organizations, formed in 1905 at Exeter Hall in London during the first Baptist World Congress.-History:...

 meeting, several Baptist leaders discussed developing the Washington Metropolitan Area

Washington Metropolitan Area

The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...

's first Baptist seminary. These individuals resolved to create the center which began offering classes the next year.

Randel Everett, the center's first president, stepped down in late 2006. Mark J. Olson became Leland's second president in 2007.

Academics

Leland Seminary offers the center's graduate

Graduate school

A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...

 courses. The seminary is accredited

Educational accreditation

Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...

 by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada

The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has more than 250 member institutions...

 (ATS). The seminary offers the following ATS-approved degrees: Master of Divinity

Master of Divinity

In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...

, Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in Christian Leadership, and Master of Theological Studies

Master of Theological Studies

A Master of Theological Studies is a general academic degree that gives students an introduction to advanced theological studies. The M.T.S usually requires two years of program study to complete. The Latin equivalent for M.T.S...

. The seminary also offers a Graduate Certificate

Postgraduate certificate

A postgraduate certificate generally is the credential awarded to an individual upon completion of a higher education postgraduate program designed to provide students with specialized knowledge that is less extensive than a postgraduate diploma or Master's degree...

 in Theological Studies.

Leland School of Ministry, based at the center's Hampton Roads, Virginia

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 satellite, offers the center's undergraduate

Undergraduate education

Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...

 courses and non-traditional programs, including a diploma in theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 program. The school partners with Averett University

Averett University

Averett University is a private college in Danville, Virginia, USA, in south-central Virginia near the North Carolina border. It was established as a Baptist college but is in formal talks with the Baptist General Association of Virginia to renew ties that were cut in 2005.- History :The school was...

 and Hampton University

Hampton University

Hampton University is a historically black university located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It was founded by black and white leaders of the American Missionary Association after the American Civil War to provide education to freedmen.-History:...

 to allow students seeking a bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

to transfer Leland course credits into those universities' degree programs.

External links

• John Leland Center for Theological Studies