The Seminary is named for 19th Century

Baptist Preacher, Church Planter and Religious Educator  

The Rev'd Horace B. Wayland, B.D., D.D.

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The Reverend Dr.  Horace B. Wayland, a former slave from Madison County, Virginia, founded Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1882. Horace B. Wayland attended Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. founded by Francis Wayland to educated former slaves, known today as Virginia Union University. Horace B. Wayland served as an instructor to Negros for The Baptist Training Union in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (founded in 1812). He cherished the opportunity to share the Baptist faith and trade skills with Negro American people. Wayland would be found preaching occasionally to White congregations and participating and leading prayer meetings; at places such as the Baptist Temple, the founding Church of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded by Bostonian Baptist minister and lawyer the Reverend Russell Conwell.

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In the cold bitter winter of 1812, a group free and escaped enslaved Black people migrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from the Commonwealth of Virginia to escape the harsh treatment of chattel slavery. The gifts and graces of those men and women coupled with their passion for freedom and education birthed the Baptist Training Union, to teach Baptist Faith and trades to people of Black Baptist decedents and others seeking to understand the Baptist Faith. The Reverend Hiawatha Joel Leland, served as the initial theology and trade instructor and first principal, Mrs. Lutha Mae Harris –Leland, served as catechizer and correspondence secretary, Mama Mosie Nagawicka, and Northern Baptist Mrs. Essie ‘Skitter” Montgomery, a widow and well-off woman of color, who served as secretary, and taught children and widows.

 

The Baptist Training Union operated under several different names under the leadership of various presidents. The Reverend Barbara Rollins Ramsey, D.Div., reverted the Training Union back to using its founding name in 2002. In 2016, The Reverend John Harris, D.Min., incorporated Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary to serve as a memorial and witness to the work and mark of Black Baptists and Black Church.

 

The Seminary is named for the 19th century Baptist clergymen, church planter and educator The Rev. Horace B. Wayland, B.D., D.D, an escaped enslaved person from Madison County Virginia; to continue the tradition of the founding parents of the Baptist Training Union. Wayland founded the Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1882. Horace B. Wayland attended Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. founded by Francis Wayland to educated former slaves. After the closing of Wayland Seminary (Francis Wayland) the resources funded what is now known as Virginia Union University.

 

Horace B. Wayland served as an instructor to Negros for The Baptist Training Union in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (founded in 1812). He cherished the opportunity to share the Baptist faith and trade skills with Negro American people. Wayland would be found preaching occasionally to White congregations and participating and leading prayer meetings; at places such as the Baptist Temple, the founding Church of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded by Bostonian Baptist minister and lawyer the Reverend Russell Conwell.

 

Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary continues its rich tradition of training persons for the church and the academy. Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary continues to serve as a catalyst for transformation, and a prophetic witness in a culture separated by the sinfulness of racism, sexism, classism and educational inequality.

 

Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary is a successor and continuing institution of Baptist Training Union founded in 1812 and was granted the right to offer educational programs that prepared students for religious vocations as ministers, professionals, or laypersons in the following categories: ministry, counseling, theology, education, administration, music, fine arts, media communications, and social work under Florida Department of Education Commission for Independent Education Law Statute Section 1005. (1) (f).

 

Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary is authorized to grant degrees from the associate to the doctorate and continues to fulfill the educational standards which are required of the academic institutions by the Florida Department of Education relative to graduate and theological degrees under section 1000.06 (1) (f), Florida Statutes.

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Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary is also authorized to grant degrees from the associate to the doctorate in the Commonwealth of Virginia pursuant to §23-276.4 of the Code of Virginia, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary is a religious institution of higher learning that prepares men and women for vocations at the intersection of church and society; and is exempt from state regulations and oversight in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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