Princeton Seminary to Celebrate Inauguration of New President
Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey will celebrate the inauguration of its sixth president on Friday, March 11 at the University Chapel.
Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey will celebrate the inauguration of the new president, the Rev. Dr. Iain Torrance, on Friday, March 11 at the University Chapel.
The expected attendees of this event is estimated to be around 1,500-1,800 students and faculty, plus over 66 delegates from other universities and seminaries around the U.S., Scotland, the U.K., and Germany, according to Barbara Chaapel, the Director of Communications at Princeton Seminary.
People will also come from churches of various denominations including American Baptist Church, Episcopal Church, and Reformed Church.
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Chaapel explained the rigorous planning that is generally involved in preparing inauguration ceremonies which follow the installation of new presidents.
"The inauguration ceremony takes a lot of planning because often guest speakers arrive from other institutions," Chaapel told the Christian Post. "We're very excited. We've only had six presidents in our history, so it's a pretty big event when we have a new president and celebrate."
Appointed a chaplain to Her Majesty the Queen in 2001--an office that he retains today--Dr. Torrance is a notable figure in Scotland who has also served as the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in May 2003-04.
The native Scottish president was elected in April 2004 and took office on July 1, 2004. Eight months later, through detailed planning and preparation, an official ceremony will finally take place this week to celebrate the sixth president of the America's oldest Presbyterian Church (USA) seminary.
Friday's inauguration event will commence with a buffet luncheon at 11:30 a.m. followed by service of Inauguration and Installation at the Princeton University Chapel at 2:30 p.m.
Prior to the inauguration ceremony, there will be pre-inaugural lectures on Thursday based on the theme, Faith in the Third Millennium: Reading Scripture Together featuring 4 scholars who will be presenting different religions in the context of faith. The first address will be delivered by Setri Nyomi, General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), who will come directly from Geneva, Switzerland to congratulate the new president.
For further information on the event, visit http://www.ptsem.edu/inaugural/
More on the Rev. Dr. Iain Torrance:
Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1949, the Rev. Torrance earned an M.A. in mental philosophy at the University of Edinburgh and a B.D. in New Testament languages and literature at St. Andrews University, where he met his wife Morag Ann. He continued his scholarship at Oriel College, Oxford University where he received a D.Phil in Syriac patristics (study of Early Church fathers).
His ministry experiences include his pastorship to a parish church in the Shetland Islands 200 miles north of Scotland and his service as a reservist chaplain to Britain's armed forces from 1982-2000. It was in 1985 when he embarked on his teaching career at Queen's Theological College and University of Birmingham in Birmingham. He began teaching at Aberdeen University as a professor of patristics and Christian ethics in 2001, the same year when he was promoted to the position of Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Divinity in 2001.
He has engaged in extensive studies in early Christian thought, the ethics of war and bioethics. He has authored a number of books and articles and is a coeditor of the Scottish Journal of Theology. With interest in ecumenics, he is a member of the international dialogue between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Church.
