LPTS and Centre Celebrate Historic Ties

Historic relations between Louisville Seminary and Centre College in Danville, KY, were celebrated on January 19 when LPTS President Dean K. Thompson delivered the keynote address at Centre’s 2005 Founder’s Day ceremony. As part of the celebration, the Centre Board of Trustees conferred upon Thompson an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. Louisville Seminary actually had its beginnings in Danville in 1853, when three professors and 26 students met for theological instruction and ministerial training. The seminary’s first classes were held in Old Centre. Breckinridge Hall at Centre was originally built by the seminary and named for Robert Breckinridge, a founder and seminary professor.

Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary has been a Louisville institution since 1893 when the northern and southern branches of the Presbyterian Church agreed to jointly support one seminary “in the west,” and began holding classes at Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Louisville. Seventy years later the seminary moved to the 67- acre campus on Alta Vista Road, where it continues to train men and women for ministry today.