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| Type | Christian Theological College (Seminary) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1963 |
| Location | , |
| Nickname | TCL |
| Website | www |
The Theological College of Lanka (TCL) is an ecumenical college for Pastoral Formation (seminary) that was inaugurated in 1963 by the Anglican Church, the Methodist Church and the Baptist Church in Sri Lanka. Later the Presbyterian Church (Presbytery of Lanka) joined the federation; Goals of the seminary being ministerial formation, education and empowering the new clergy (ministers) and laity in the environment and context of Sri Lanka and their own languages, Sinhala and Tamil. Graduates primarily serve the national churches in Sri Lanka and beyond. Rev. Basil Jackson, a British Methodist Missionary, became the founding Principal of the college in 1963. (Prior to the foundation of TCL, Jackson served as the founding director of the Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue in Colombo). It is believed that language is the vehicle of culture and when Christians begin to think, speak, preach, pray and write in their own languages, they soon become familiar with their cultural values and begin to appreciate them in the practice of their Christian faith. This new step was foreseen by all the churches as an attempt to produce indigenous theology and Sri Lankan Hermeneutics by people who are being educated in Sri Lanka.
Before this venture, the ministers of Sri Lankan (then Ceylon) Protestant traditions have been educated mainly in India (United Theological College, Bishop's College, Serampore College, Kolkotta, Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary (TTS), Madurai, etc.) or elsewhere for the pastoral ministry.
TCL is situated in Plimatalawa village, Kandy district, about 100 km away from Colombo. Being placed in greater Kandy, TCL has close connections to the Peradeniya University, and many other cultural and educational institutions such as National Seminary (Roman Catholic) Ampitiya and Lanka Bible College, Peradeniya, in the region.
The Theological College of Lanka is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University) of India and accredited by the Association of the Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA). Over 90% of the active clergy in the constituent churches in Sri Lanka today have received their theological and pastoral education at the TCL.
The TCL is the only accredited ecumenical theological college among the Protestant churches of Sri Lanka, which not only maintains its ecumenical foundation, but also brings together the Sinhala and Tamil students who are both men and women in a fellowship both at work and at leisure. This is an integral aspect of the personal and spiritual formation of the future ministers of a country which is torn apart by ethnic divisions.
Contributing to the theological-praxical debate, the college publishes a biannual journal – Sri Lanka Journal of Theological Reflection (SLJTR) which was commenced in July 2005.