As students celebrate their achievements with family and friends at various summer graduation ceremonies this month, along with Queen’s University, Belfast and Ulster University, Union Theological College (UTC) also acknowledged the achievements of its students. For the first time, however, this also included those graduating with the new BA (Hons) in Theology.
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Special Day – and a first - at Union College
The Graduation Service took place at Fitzroy Presbyterian Church a short distance from the College, at the heart of Belfast’s Queen’s Quarter. Along with the 11 students graduating with their BA degree in Theology, a further 17 postgraduates received their Master of Arts in Theology, Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology. A Postgraduate Diploma in Reformed Theology was also awarded.
For over 170 years the College has been providing theological education and equipping ministers for the Christian church. As an educational institution at the heart of the work and witness of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) it is also PCI’s principal body for post ordination training of its ministers.
While many students come to Union to train for a specific form of ministry or mission, many come with no vocational aspirations, wanting to study theology out of academic interest, or to deepen their faith. The student body itself is made up of men and women from across the UK, Ireland, Europe, and America – though not exclusively.
Speaking after the graduation ceremony, Reverend Professor Michael McClenahan, who is Principal of Union Theological College, said that it was a special day. “The Graduation Service is the highlight of the academic year for students, Faculty and staff at the College. It is also a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the commitment and academic achievements of our undergraduate and postgraduate students, and at the same time, an important opportunity to give thanks to God for his faithfulness to our college community,” Professor McClenahan said.
“This year’s graduation service marked a number of significant milestones for our College and demonstrated the growing breadth and range of courses that we offer at undergraduate and postgraduate level. This is why we offered specific thanks to God for the ongoing development of our undergraduate BA (Hons) pathway, as we celebrated the first graduating cohort from our collaboration with St Mary’s University Twickenham. It was a genuine pleasure to have their Vice Chancellor, Professor Anthony McClaran, with us to present the awards.”
With initial plans having been knocked back by the Covid pandemic, the first graduating cohort for the BA in Theology didn’t begin their studies until the autumn of 2022. The course itself is designed and taught by the College, while validated and awarded by St Mary’s.
In his address Professor McClenahan reminded those graduating that the College had been in the business of undergraduate theological education since the 1920s, but thanked St Mary’s for the ‘thoroughly professional way’ that staff had worked with the College “to develop a programme that is appropriate for a Reformed theological institution that is seeking to engaged faithfully and critically with the Christian intellectual tradition and the culture in which we find ourselves today.”
Congratulating those specifically graduating with the BA in Theology, Professor McClenahan said, “You joined us in 2022 as the first cohort on a new programme. No one had gone before you, no one had said they liked the modules, no one had ever graduated and no one had ever been employed a result of studying on this degree pathway. You and your parents trusted us and we want to say thank you. You were and are the answer to our prayers.”
UTC 2025 Graduation
Also speaking at the Graduation Service, St Mary’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Anthony McClaran said that the graduation was a ‘significant milestone’ and how they were the pioneering cohort, the first fruits of a much-valued collaboration between St Mary’s and Union Theological College. “The launch of our partnership in 2022 reflected a shared commitment to Christian values in higher education and the recognition of the place of faith in scholarship. As a Catholic university, St Mary’s is committed to reaching out to the wider Christian community and we are proud to partner with Union Theological College…”
This year also marked another ‘significant milestone’ with the first larger cohort to graduate from Union’s MA in Theology. This has been offered in collaboration with The BibleMesh Institute, which has seen considerable development and growth at the College, with 14 graduating with the MA this year. Dr Dennis Greeson, the Dean of the BibleMesh Institute and programme coordinator for the MA in Theology, was also at the graduation.
During his address, Professor McClenahan also spoke of the significance of the emblem and motto of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland – ‘ardens sed virens’, which means ‘burning but flourishing’.
The Principal said that it was a clear reference to the burning bush in chapter three of the Book of Exodus. "It also points to the fires of trial and persecution that Irish Presbyterians have periodically faced, and our relentless determination to live out our Christian calling in faithful hope that the Lord is sovereign and good, and is building his church.
“We should not overstate the level of trial and persecution we may face, but we must also be realistic. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland we now live in nations that have and are legislating for a culture of death – and we believe in life. Life lived to the full, as our Lord called it.
“In this year of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 325AD, we are not only committed to the same faith as the holy fathers of the church, but we are determined to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, just as they did.
“Of course, we contend for the faith in the ordinary lives we live…But we also believe that we must contend for the faith with our minds: we must take every thought captive for Christ. This is why we want to have a thriving BA programme at Union College: we want our students, setting out on their course in life, to think deeply, critically, and seriously about the Christian faith and all that means. We believe that the transformation of our minds will transform many lives, our churches, our communities, and transform our nations and make them worlds of life. That is why we are here.”
UTC Graduation 2025
During the Graduation Service, the call to worship was given by Rev Peter Gamble, Deputy Clerk of the General Assembly and Cillian McNamara, President of the Ministerial Student’s Council, read Romans 12:1-21.
Former Moderator, Very Reverend Dr David Bruce preached on the latter and how God guides his followers and a Christian approach to work. The hymn sung was ‘Lord of the Church’, while UTC's Dr Olwyn Mark, lecturer in Practical Theology, led the prayers of Adoration and Confession.
Four students for PCI’s ordained ministry also received certificates to mark the completion of their academic pathways to ordination.
For more information on PCI's Union Theological College, you can visit the College's website here.