GLORIA

I. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. (Gloria in excelsis Deo.)

Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will towards men. We praise thee. We bless thee. We worship thee. We glorify thee. We give thanks to thee for thy great glory. (Glory be to God on high.)

II. Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.

O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only-begotten Son Jesu Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.

III. Quoniam tu solus sanctus. Tu solus Dominus. Tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe. Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris. Amen. (Gloria in excelsis Deo. Amen.)

For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen. (Glory be to God on high. Amen.)

(Translation from the Book of Common Prayer, 1662)

Gloria (translation line by line)

I. Allegro vivace (fast and lively)

Gloria in excelsis Deo. * Glory be to God on high,

Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. * and on earth peace, good will towards men.

Laudamus te. * We praise thee.

Benedicimus te. * We bless thee.

Adoramus te. * We worship thee.

Glorificamus te. * We glorify thee.

Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. * We give thanks to thee for thy great glory.

(Gloria in excelsis Deo.) * (Glory be to God on high.)

II. Andante (at a walking pace)

Domine Deus, * O Lord God,

Rex caelestis, * heavenly King,

Deus Pater omnipotens. * God the Father Almighty.

Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe. * O Lord, the only-begotten Son Jesus Christ;

Domine Deus, * O Lord God,

Agnus Dei, * Lamb of God,

Filius Patris. * Son of the Father,

Qui tollis peccata mundi, * that takest away the sins of the world,

miserere nobis. * have mercy upon us.

Qui tollis peccata mundi, * Thou that takest away the sins of the world,

suscipe deprecationem nostram. * receive our prayer.

Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, * Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father,

miserere nobis. * have mercy upon us.

III. Vivace e ritmico (lively and rythmic)

Quoniam tu solus sanctus. * For thou only art holy;

Tu solus Dominus. * thou only art the Lord;

Tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe. * thou only art most high, Jesus Christ,

Cum Sancto Spiritu, * with the Holy Ghost,

in gloria Dei Patris. Amen. * in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

(Gloria in excelsis Deo. Amen.) * (Glory be to God on high. Amen.)

(Translation from the Book of Common Prayer, 1662; modified)

In June of 1966, Reformed Theological Seminary has 5 professors and no students! By September of that year we had 15. Today, more than 2,000 students enroll each year with RTS.

As we recount sixty years of God’s providence over and faithfulness to us, I’ll share some important milestones and facts about RTS here from time to time. #RTS60

The roots of RTS stretch back to the 1940s.

1942 – The Southern Presbyterian Journal founded

The Southern Presbyterian Journal (later, The Presbyterian Journal) is founded in May 1942 by Dr. L. Nelson Bell (father-in-law of Billy Graham), Henry Dendy, and others concerned over the rise of theological modernism in the Presbyterian Church, U.S. (“PCUS,” or commonly “The Southern Presbyterian Church”). The Journal brought to the attention of the wider denomination the theological drift in the PCUS. The original RTS Biblical Studies building on the old Jackson campus was named for Bell, and today one of the main classrooms on the Jackson campus is named for Bell.

1948 – “Evangelical Fellowship” explores the idea of a new seminary

Southern Presbyterian conservatives consider the idea of a new seminary, but are stymied by the potential cost. Among the leaders advocating the idea is John R. Richardson of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA. There will one day be a John R. Richardson Chair at RTS held successively by R.C. Sproul, John R. de Witt, Douglas F. Kelly, Ligon Duncan, H.O.J. Brown, Charles E. Hill, and others.

1954 – Belhaven College (now University) becomes co-educational, emphasizes Bible & theology

Dr. R.M. Crowe becomes President of Belhaven, and Belhaven admits male students with a view to becoming a “Reformed Bible College.” Morton H. Smith (University of Michigan, 1947; Columbia Seminary, 1952; who later attains his PhD on a Fulbright Fellowship to the Free University of Amsterdam, 1962, under the tutelage of Professor G.C. Berkouwer) moves to Mississippi to become Professor of Bible at the school. There is even a desire to see Belhaven start a seminary but the idea does not come to pass. There will be more Belhaven graduates at the first General Assembly of the PCA in 1973 than any other institution. Smith will become the first faculty member of RTS.

1955 – Failed Union of the PCUSA, UPCNA & PCUS

Southern Presbyterian (PCUS) Presbyteries reject efforts to enter a three-way merger of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, the United Presbyterian Church of North America, and the Presbyterian Church, U.S. John Reed Miller of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, played a significant role in opposing the merger, as did The Southern Presbyterian Journal and its readership. Theological conservatives feared being overwhelmed by the dominant liberalism of the Northern Church if the merger went through. The PCUSA did eventually join the UPCNA in 1958 to form the UPCUSA, colloquially still referred to as the “Northern Pres.” The UPCUSA (Northern Pres) and PCUS (Southern Pres) later joined in 1983 to form the PC(USA). Interestingly, many Northern Presbyterian conservatives would later have connections with RTS and the PCA, among them, John Gerstner, R.C. Sproul, James Montgomery Boice, Wynn Kenyon, et al.

1958 – Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship founded by William “Bill” E. Hill, Jr.

The Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship (PEF) is started by Bill Hill in April of 1958 (its Board of Directors was established in 1964). The PEF is designed to promote and train people for biblical evangelism (an animating issue for theological conservatives). RTS Founder Sam Patterson will become an evangelist with the PEF (1967).

1958 – John Reed Miller of First Presbyterian Jackson, MS explores the idea of a new seminary

In 1958-1959, Dr. John Reed Miller, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, and a leading evangelical in the PCUS engaged in planning, with Morton H. Smith, Al Freundt, Julius Scott, and Bob Kennington, for a new seminary. The plan was tabled while First Presbyterian’s ongoing discussions with Columbia Seminary played out.

1959 – G. Aiken Taylor becomes the new editor of The Presbyterian Journal.

The Presbyterian Journal continues to serve as a “watchdog” on matters of theology and ethics in the PCUS, but also more broadly in American Presbyterianism. Future RTS faculty and leadership would be represented in its pages before and after the formation of the PCA. After RTS opens, the Journal will inform the larger conservative public of the position of the seminary, including a cover article in 1969 in which misconceptions about the seminary were addressed, among them the charge that the seminary had been created out of a commitment to segregation. The seminary clearly answered that race played no part in its admission policies. Sam Patterson had stated in 1966: “The matter of race had NO part in the momentum that caused us to engage to establish this seminary.” In fact, the RTS student body was racially diverse from its earliest days. Interestingly, John Perkins (famed Mississippi minister and civil rights leader) held Sam Patterson in high regard as a trusted friend. R. Milton Winter, PCUSA minister and historian (and critic of RTS) also has attested to Sam Patterson’s motivations in this regard.

1960 – The Session of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS responds to Columbia Seminary

First Presbyterian Church offers to make a significant capital campaign contribution to Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA, contingent upon evidence of fidelity to the “high view of inspiration of Scripture” and commitment to the Westminster Standards. The Seminary board declined. The money pledged will become part of the seed money for RTS.

1962 – The first Winter Theological Institute is sponsored by First Presbyterian Church, Jackson

Similar to the Pensacola Theological Institute, sponsored by McIlwain Presbyterian Church in Pensacola, FL (which was regularly attended by many eventual RTS founders and supporters), the session of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson begins a Winter Theological Institute. Carl Henry, Aiken Taylor, and Addison Leitch speak at the first WTI in January of 1962. Later John Gerstner, Roger Nicole, E.J. Young, Kenneth Kantzer, and others would speak at the WTI.

1962 – The Presbyterian Outlook publishes “Do We Need an Infallible Bible?”

On December 24, 1962, the independent liberal Presbyterian church magazine, that had been founded by Dr. E. T. Thompson of Union Seminary, Richmond, VA, and that was then edited by the Rev. Aubrey Brown, publishes a set of articles downplaying and denying biblical infallibility. Sam Patterson is deeply provoked and aroused to action, especially in light of the fact that professors from all four PCUS (Columbia, Union, Louisville, and Austin) seminaries joined in this denial.

1963 – Reformed Biblical Institute is established

Sam Patterson writes several trusted fellow Mississippi ministers, including John Reed Miller, which Sam viewed as “the initial letter that got RTS rolling.” These ministers gather for prayer in Memphis, June 13, 1963. Present were: Sam Patterson, John Reed Miller, Erskine Jackson, William Stanway, and James Spencer. Patterson has the now famous “How Big is Your God?” meeting with Erskine Wells thereafter. December 20, 1963, RBI (later RTI, then RTS) is born, approved by the Board of French Camp Academy. Flyers announcing RBI went out on Christmas day that year.

1964 – Reformed Theological Institute Board is formed

Beginning in January of 1964, Sam Patterson begins to meet with men who will be part of the original RTI (later RTS) Board. On January 25, 1964, Patterson, Robert Cannada, Erskine Wells, Robert Kennington, and others meet in Jackson at Wells’ Law Office. The first minuted meeting was held on February 17, 1964, and Erskine Jackson (of First Presbyterian Church, Kosciusko, MS) and William Stanway (of First Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg, MS) were elected as Ministerial Advisors.

On April 8, 1964, the Charter for RTI is signed by Sam Patterson, Robert Cannada, Frank Horton, Robert Kennington, Frank Tindall, and Erskine Wells. At the first official meeting of the RTI board (April 30, 1964), Sam Patterson is elected chairman. Dr. Morton H. Smith, who had been teaching at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, becomes the first faculty member June 1, 1964. In an interesting providence: First Pres. Jackson was organized on April 8, 1837.

Opposition to RTI immediately rises in the June meeting of the Synod of Mississippi. The Synod asks that the facilities and personnel of French Camp Academy not be used for RTI. This forces a decision for Sam Patterson and Leonard Van Horn. Van Horn stays with FCA. Patterson goes with RTI.

1965 – Reformed Theological Institute (RTI) is renamed Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS)

February 1965 the Board decides to locate RTS near Jackson, and in June renames Reformed Theological Institute: Reformed Theological Seminary. H.S. “Coot” Williford becomes the first business administrator of RTS. Al Freundt and James DeYoung become faculty in June 1965. Jack Scott becomes faculty in July. The Howard Byrd property in West Jackson is purchased in 1965.

The same year, under the leadership of Ruling Elder Kenneth Keyes, Concerned Presbyterians is founded. He will start an important newsletter about theological and ethical issues in the PCUS. Col. Roy LeCraw (a founding Board member of RTS) of Atlanta was vice president, and Jack Williamson of Greenville, Alabama, was secretary. Jack was a dear friend and colleague of Bob Cannada, and later became an RTS board member, and also taught church polity for a number of years at RTS Jackson. Jack’s son-in-law, Andrew Grinstead, and his son Warren Williamson both also later became RTS board members.

1966 – Reformed Theological Seminary opens its doors in Jackson, MS

In June of 1966, RTS had five full-time professors and no students! The original faculty of RTS consisted of Morton H. Smith, Albert H. Freundt, James C. DeYoung, Jack Scott, and Richard A. Bodey. Also, Robert F. Gribble (an Emeritus OT professor from Austin Seminary) served as guest lecturer.

By September 6, 1966, 15 students were enrolled in time for the very first Convocation (2 more would join later in the academic year). Dr. C. Darby Fulton (former executive secretary of the PCUS Board of World Missions) spoke at the first RTS Convocation [held at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Clinton Blvd. right down the street from the old campus] on “The Relevancy of the Gospel.”

Historical note: RTS began classes seven years before the formation of the PCA. Incidentally, Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, PA opened seven years before the formation of the OPC.