Todd Appointed Dean of Studies in Jerusalem
Diocesan Press Service. November 7, 1975 [75389]
JERUSALEM, Israel -- The Rev. Edward P. Todd, 30, has been appointed Dean of Studies at St. George's College in Jerusalem, effective September 1. The appointment was made by the International Governing Council of the college, of which John C. Cottrell, Esq., of New Zealand, is chairman.
St. George's College, located on the compound of the Anglican Collegiate Church of St. George the Martyr in Jerusalem, is a continuing education study center which offers no credits or degrees. Rather, it offers six to eight unique courses or seminars per year.
Mr. Todd grew up in Belmont, Mass., and holds a B.A. degree from Harvard (1967) and the M.Div. degree from General Theological Seminary, New York City (1970). Canonically resident in the Diocese of Maine, Mr. Todd served various missions in that diocese before becoming course director at St. George's College in July 1972, where he remained until his appointment as dean of studies.
He was married to Jane Rhinelander in 1967 and they have two daughters and a son. Mr. Todd is a member of the Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity and of the Albright Institute, both in Jerusalem. He is secretary to the Steering Committee for Spirituality and Pastoral Care for the Jerusalem Diocese.
Mr. Todd, who has spent several months leave in the U.S., said that the courses "systematically explore facets of the physical environment of the Holy Land from which the spiritual took shape. "Time is spent in the courses, which extend from two to ten weeks, in planned fieldwork, study, and reflection. From 60 to 75 percent of every course is spent in fieldwork, Mr. Todd said.
Since 1969, he reported, people have come from 34 countries and from 24 communions or denominations to study at the independent, ecumenical, and international center.
Assisting Mr. Todd is Miss Clare Birch, course director; Mrs. Helen N. Assad, registrar and college secretary; and Mr. Albert Noursi, accountant.
St. George's College began in 1962 when the late Bishop Stephen Bayne laid the cornerstone for what was intended to be a theological seminary. However, there were not enough students in the following years for it to continue to function as a seminary. In 1969, under the leadership of the Most Rev. George Appleton, Archbishop in Jerusalem, the continuing education center began under John Wilkinson, the first dean of studies.
At its 1973 meeting in Dublin, Ireland, the Anglican Consultative Council adopted a resolution which "commends to the Churches of the Anglican Communion the work of the College and the facilities which it offers as a centre for studies which draw on the unique resources available in the Holy Land."
Support for the college has come from course fees, legacies, grants of approximately $14,000 per year from the United Thank Offering and contributions to the Good Friday Offering of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. The college has no endowment.
Mr. Todd said six courses are planned for 1976, from two to ten weeks each. Costs for courses range from US $450 to US $1,600. Of particular interest to members of the U.S. Episcopal Church, he said, are two courses planned for the spring and summer. A two-week course in March, 1976, for lay workers and church wardens, is being arranged by the Rev. John Harper of St. John's Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. Participants in a six-weeks continuing education course for bishops and other clergy in June and July, 1976, are being recruited by Suffragan Bishop Frederick Putnam of Oklahoma. Information, Mr. Todd said, may be secured by writing via air mail to the Registrar, St. George's College, P.O. Box 1248, Jerusalem, Israel.
Mr. Todd pointed out that the Anglican presence in Jerusalem and the Middle East is undergoing extensive change. A constitution of the newly-created Central Synod of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East will be solemnly inaugurated in St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem, on Epiphany Day, Jan. 6, 1976. The Rt. Rev. Faiq Ibrahim Haddad will head the new Diocese in Jerusalem, which, with three other jurisdictions -- the Dioceses in Egypt, in Iran, and in Cyprus and the Arabian Peninsula -- will form the Central Synod, which will elect one of the four diocesan bishops as president for a five-year term. The Sudan, formerly associated with the Middle East dioceses, will itself become a Province in October 1976.
During the transition period the Rt. Rev. Robert Wright Stopford, retired Bishop of London, has served as Vicar General of the Archbishopric in Jerusalem since the retirement of Archbishop Appleton in March 1974.