Theological College
Theology seminaries now provide a broad variety of plans and formats for pupils who are not intending to enter regular Christian ministry. Theology Degree instruction has become democratized. There are online courses of study, weekend classes, and cohort-based academic degrees. There are different programs designed for students who will not get into conventional professions like the pastorship upon graduation. And there are other campuses and other nontraditional backgrounds that allow students to attend seminary college without having to move or to change their life-style.
The organization of modernized theological college institutions was a direct outcome of Roman Catholic reforms of the Counter-Reformation after the Council of Trent which asserted on the improvement of the teaching of clergy through the creation of Seminaries as live-in institutions under the direct control of senior clergy. Since at least the 4th century there have been Theology seminaries for the training of clergy.
The initial known group of Seminarians was gathered by St. Basil of Ancyra. The term degenerated out of general use in the Middle Period, when almost all spiritual schooling was in religious residencies, and later, in the universities. After the Reformation and the emergence of new designations, Seminaries once more came into usage, especially in America. The 16th-century Council of Trent prescribed Theology seminaries to be opened in every bishopric.