College of Preachers

In the summer of 1925, retired Bishop Philip Mercer Rhinelander (1869-1939) of Pennsylvania convened a “School of the Prophets” at the Washington Cathedral. In 1927 Alexander Smith Cochran made a gift for the construction of a College of Preachers and promised to endow the program. In 1929 Cochran’s bequest of $1,000,000 endowed the College of Preachers. The College, on the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Washington, was dedicated on Nov. 14, 1929. In 1931 the first College of Preachers Fellows were selected. It was originally conceived as a center for the renewal of preaching for Episcopal clergy. The College now serves clergy and laity of all denominations as a center for continuing education. It is dedicated to strengthening, sustaining and nourishing those who are called to the ministry of preaching. It also serves as a major conference center for the Episcopal Church. The College publishes the College of Preachers Newsletter.