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Bangor Seminary was born in the midst of the religious awakening that stirred and renewed congregations in New England during the early 1800's. Led by a group of Congregational ministers and lay leaders who wanted to create a center of theological study in northern New England, the Society for Theological Education met on July 27, 1811 in Portland to establish a school. Jonathan Fisher, a founding trustee, described the urgency and importance of the school's mission:

"I am strongly adverse to an unlearned ministry, but if in this district we wait to be supplied from other institutions, I am fully persuaded that the ground would be preoccupied by Sectarians, many of whom will not only be unlearned, but very unlearned."

Granted a charter on February 25, 1814, by the Great and General Court of Massachusetts, the Seminary briefly found a home in Hampden before moving to its present Bangor location in 1819. The Seminary began to assume its present shape under the leadership of the Reverend Enoch Pond. A noted scholar and writer, Pond joined the faculty in 1833, became president in 1856, and remained in that capacity until his death in 1882.

From the beginning, the Seminary opened its doors both to college graduates and to persons without college degrees who desired to enter the ministry. Later, it instituted the Bangor Plan, which offered a combination of college-level courses and graduate theological studies.

In 1991, the Seminary answered a new call. With a need for more theological opportunities in northern New England, the Seminary opened campuses in Portland, Maine, and Hanover, New Hampshire. These locations provide theological resources for continuing education for clergy and lay people and are centers for the life of northern New England churches. The work of the Seminary that was done at first from a Hanover office is now done throughout New Hampshire and Vermont through the academic and continuing education offices.

Today, Bangor Theological Seminary has academic programs leading to degrees of Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Ministry. The Seminary, which is ecumenical in nature, is one of seven United Church of Christ seminaries in the United States and the only accredited theological institution in northern New England.

Part of our larger vision is to be a place where inquiry about the critical issues of society can evolve through workshops, symposia and public forums.

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Last modified January 09, 2002.