Emmanuel Theological College is the fruit of an exciting partnership between the Bishops of the six Church of England Dioceses in North West England: Blackburn, Carlisle, Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sodor and Man. Together they developed a vision for integrated ministerial formation that would equip the whole people of God for the whole mission of God across our region today, by providing outstanding formation for lay and ordained ministry both full-time and part-time.
There are over 7.3 million people in the North West reflecting a huge breadth of socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, and class diversities across a wide variety of contexts – from extremely rural to densely populated urban. Such diversity brings with it an inviting combination of challenge and opportunity. For the Church to step towards these with confidence and missional creativity and to proclaim the gospel afresh in each generation, it needs leaders who are theologically capable; skilled in ministry and priestcraft and able to pioneer new forms of contextual engagement; and who are well formed in the kinds of spiritual habits that will nourish and sustain them for a life-time.
To turn this vision into reality, the Bishops sought to combine the many strengths of the existing Colleges in the region – All Saints’ Centre for Mission and Ministry, Cumbria Christian Learning, and St Mellitus College North West – into a single institution that could flex to the needs of the context, offering a theological powerhouse of missional resource. Plans for Emmanuel were announced in Summer 2020.
Emmanuel’s culture and ethos are rooted in charity and generosity in partnership across liturgical traditions, focusing not on our differences but on our common bonds in Jesus Christ. With that in mind, our goal is to form Christ-centred, hope-filled, and mission-orientated lay-leaders, deacons, and priests.
Our Dean • Our Staff Team • Our Trustees
