As the fall 2025 semester began, Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary launched an Anglican Episcopal House of Studies. The seminary was founded in 1991 to train Baptist ministers.
The new program allows seminarians enrolled at Truett to take classes on Anglican and Episcopal history, theology, polity, and liturgics. Students may also enroll in courses in other Baylor departments, including “Oxford Christians,” offered by the English Department.
That course is part of an intercollegiate initiative called the Inklings Project, which explores the writings and reflections of the 1930s literary and theological discussion group that included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
“The launching of the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies at Truett this fall was due primarily to our school’s desire to prepare well the Anglican and Episcopalian students who are already studying with us,” Dr. Todd Still, dean of Truett Seminary, told TLC in a statement.
“Our present and future hope is that we would equip well these and other such seminarians so that they might thoughtfully, faithfully, and skillfully serve as ministers of the gospel across Anglican and Episcopal life.”
According to the program’s interim director, the Rev. Matthew Aughtry, about 15 students—eight from the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and seven from the Episcopal Church—are enrolled at Truett and form the house. He said the seminary, based at Baylor’s campus in Waco, Texas, has attracted faculty who attend Anglican or Episcopal parishes.
Asked in a Zoom session why 2025 is the right time to launch the house, Aughtry smiled and said, “It’s something you’d have to ask God.” But he added stewardship was central: “Because we need to steward them to the best of our ability,” referring to the inaugural and future students of the Anglican Episcopal House.
Aughtry, an ACNA priest, grew up Baptist. He emphasized that he did not reject his Baptist heritage but became Anglican as he longed for liturgy. He suggested that his experience may mirror others drawn to the Anglican tradition, citing a “generational shift” he has witnessed.
During the house’s inaugural year, Aughtry said, one of his goals is to understand students’ needs and report back to seminary leadership. “Our students are looking for this kind of formation,” he said. “Here’s the gaps they need that they think will make them more confident as priests, deacons, leaders” within the Anglican and Episcopal Church. He added that the seminary’s relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas has been strong, and diocesan leaders expressed excitement about the new house.
According to Truett’s website, “The establishment of the House allows Truett Seminary to offer more intentional attention to each student’s needs as he or she navigates the necessary requirements for ordination within a specific ecclesial body.”
Ashley Hensel, a mother of three pursuing a Master of Divinity at Truett while working full time at the Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, rejoices at the launch. “It’s just really exciting to see the movement … and what God is doing within the Anglican and Episcopal world,” Hensel said, adding that there are now enough students at Truett to kickstart the new institute.
In his statement, Still said the seminary has always trained ministers beyond Baptist denominations, but has seen “an influx of students from other Christian denominations” in recent years—particularly since the launch of the Wesley House of Studies, named after John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. It was inaugurated in 2020 with only two students.
In the Northeast, Princeton Theological Seminary, founded in 1812 by the Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly, provides a comparable example. Though widely recognized for its affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), it also welcomes students from many denominations.
The Rev. Dr. Kara Slade, associate chaplain at Princeton University’s Episcopal chaplaincy and associate rector of Trinity Church in Princeton, teaches Anglican studies and leads Princeton’s Episcopal and Anglican Studies program.
“Princeton Seminary graduates serve all around the Episcopal Church,” Slade told TLC. The Rev. Gordon Graham, a priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church, likewise mentored and taught Anglican and Episcopal students during his 12-year tenure at Princeton, where he directed the Center for the Study of Scottish Philosophy until retiring in 2018.
Slade arrived at Princeton around the time Graham returned to Scotland, where he now serves in the Diocese of Edinburgh. When she began, there were only two courses for Anglican/Episcopal students. In recent years, that has expanded into a broader framework in partnership with Trinity Church, Princeton. Seminarians can now earn a concentration in Anglican and Episcopal studies.
The program has grown from a one- and two-credit course into three three-credit courses: “Anglican Theology,” “Prayer Book and Liturgy,” and “Anglican History.” A daily office is led by students during weekdays at the Episcopal parish near campus. Students also complete a field placement in an Episcopal context.
On Wednesdays, there is a weekly discussion group. “This semester we’re doing a discussion on the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church for four weeks,” Slade said. They will also invite a guest from the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma via Zoom to discuss church growth.
Slade said students come from diverse backgrounds, with many new to Anglicanism. “Sometimes they come to seminary as maybe non-denominational … and then find their way into the Anglican tradition, into a sacramental tradition,” she said. “We have a significant number of seminary students who are confirmed into the Episcopal Church every year.”
She believes academic communities like hers will play an increasing role in theological formation, especially as Episcopal seminaries face financial pressures and other challenges. She considers Baylor’s launch and programs at Duke and Emory as encouraging developments.
Moreover, Slade said that ecumenical academic contexts broaden students’ experience, allowing them to learn from the gifts of other faith traditions while gaining a clearer sense of where Anglicanism fits within the wider Church.
Caleb Maglaya Galaraga is The Living Church’s Episcopal Church reporter. His work has also appeared in Christianity Today, Broadview Magazine, and Presbyterian Outlook, among other publications.
