New York -- January 12, 1998 -- An Episcopal Seminary from New York and a Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia ratified an historic agreement today, promising to work together for theological unity, mutual enrichment and mission.

The formal signing of the agreement between the two prominent theological schools. The General Theological Seminary here and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), followed an approval vote by General’s Board of Trustees. The LTSP Board had ratified the agreement last fall. The signers were the Rev. Dr. Robert G. Hughes, president of LTSP, and the Right Rev. G. P. Mellick Belshaw, acting dean and president of General.

The agreement define 13 avenues of cooperation between the two schools, including a priority to jointly sponsor a program to develop Hispanic professional leaders. It is also expected to make studying for ordination more convenient for students in the future. Seminarians will still need to fulfill academic requirements at their church’s parent seminary, but may be able to meet other professional requirements by studying at either school. Many students of both are following second career paths and commute considerable distances.

The seminary covenant comes on the heels of a vote last August in which delegates to the church-wide assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with which LTSP is affiliated, failed by six votes to approve a Concordat of Agreement between the Episcopal and ELCA church bodies. That proposal for full communion between the two churches is currently in the hands of a writing team charged with developing a revised and rewritten proposal. Each church has three writers on the redrafting team.

Both theological schools have been in the vanguard of cooperative seminary relations between the two mainline denominations. Early last summer, faculty members from the schools began to consider what joint ventures might be undertaken given the developing climate of association between Episcopal and Lutheran churches.

The objectives of the final seminary covenant text commit both schools to pray for each other in seminary liturgies and to strive to remove any obstacles toward full communion. The agreement also pledges the schools to share academic and spiritual resources, to jointly plan academic and social justice programs, and to share the resources of both institutions with church constituencies on a national level. The 13 specific activities, in addition to the Hispanic program, include the appointment of visiting faculty members from each school to the other, and joint publishing ventures.

"This agreement in many ways is the natural outcome of the consistent commitment General’s faculty has to the growing dialog between our churches," said Acting Dean Belshaw of General after the signing ceremonies today. He also mentioned the recent involvement of General professor, Dr. J. Robert Wright, as the chief Episcopal architect of the original Concordat of Agreement between the denominations as well as General’s 1996 Paddock Lectures, which assembled at General a number of internationally renowned Lutheran scholars. For two years, LTSP has used General facilities for an extension program.

"This covenant is a giant step forward in the evolving relationship between two fine theological schools," said Dr. Robert G. Hughes, president of LTSP. "The objectives articulated--theological unity, mutual enrichment and mission--are both commendable and essential in this challenging time. Further, it is our hope and prayer that the ties that bind and strengthen our seminaries will serve to draw our church bodies closer to the realization of the Concordat between our two churches."

In writing congratulations to the seminaries for their covenant, Presiding Lutheran Bishop H. George Anderson of the ELCA called the agreement "certainly consistent with our growing journey toward full communion between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Church in America. The objectives outlined in the covenant striving for theological unity, mutual enrichment, and enhanced common mission work at both comprehensive and wide-ranging in scope."

Founded in 1864, LTSP, located in Philadelphia’s Mount Airy section, is one of eight seminaries of the ELCA and has an enrollment of about 400 students. The 74 first professional degree students entering the seminary for the first time this fall set a new enrollment record for the 133-year-old school. In addition to students with traditional Lutheran backgrounds, enrollees include individuals with Methodist, Episcopal, Baptist, Roman Catholic and African Methodist Episcopal origins, reflecting the diversity of the American scene. International student come from such places as Egypt, Lebanon, Liberia and Namibia.

The oldest seminary of both the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion, GTS was founded in 1817 by an act of the denomination’s official legislative body. For the past 170 years its home has been a quiet city block on the West Side of Manhattan. Although its primary mission is the preparation of women and men for the ordained ministry of the Episcopal Church, General also serves as a center for learning for Anglican scholars and an important continuing education resource for clergy and lay leaders. Among Episcopal seminaries, General is the only one to offer a doctoral program leading to the Th.D. degree. With over 240,000 volumes, the seminary’s library is one of the premier theological collections in North America.