St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

Self Accreditation Requirements

Who We Are

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary is an integral component specified under the Charter of Operations and Bylaws of the United Episcopal Catholic Communion. The United Episcopal Catholic Communion is formed under the laws of the United States of America IRS Code 26 (508) (508c1a which is a 501c3 component with code specified exemptions) and under Missouri Statute Section 355, RSMo. This organization operates as a Faith Based Organization under stated statutes and are recognized under the precepts inherent in the Hague Convention worldwide.

MO§ 173.616. Schools and courses that are exempt from sections 173.600 to 173.618. The following is a list of the types of institutions and training programs that may be eligible for exemption from the requirements of the Proprietary School Certification Program.  For details regarding exemption criteria, please see Section 173.616, RSMo:

  • Missouri public institutions

  • Missouri colleges or universities represented on the Presidential Advisory Committee as provided in subsection 2 of section 173.005

  • Missouri approved private institutions as defined per subdivision (2) of section 173.1102

  • Not-for-profit religious institutions accredited by the American Association of Bible Colleges, the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, or a regional accrediting association, such as the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, which is recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education

  • Not-for-profit religious institutions offering only religiously designated degrees and programs

  • Charitable institutions that provide instruction without financial charge

  • Schools offering only non-vocational or recreational courses or programs

  • Employer sponsored instruction or training available only to employees

  • Training by restricted membership trade or professional associations for members only

  • Schools or training programs regulated and approved by other state agencies

  • Elementary and/or secondary schools (i.e., schools enrolling students primarily under the age of 16)

The St. Charles Borromeo Seminary does not operate as an independent entity. As an integral component of the parent church, the operations are inseparable. This has precedence over the centuries of church operations regarding missions and monasteries as integral components inseparable from the parent organization. We herein state clearly that the parent church and the seminary are one cohesive entity.

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in current state is a non-accredited institution with the specific mission to train clergy for our specific organization in aspects of theology, divinity, biblical history, teachings of the church fathers, search for faith, church formation, proper dress and sanctuary protocols, monastic practices, sermon/homily design and presentation, ethics, religious philosophy, morality, shepherding and outreach.

This organization does not claim, real or imagined, that the training is designed for any organization outside of the parent church or associated organizations. Within the Independent Churches, if one so desires to recognize our training precepts, it is their right to recognize this organization.

Under the laws of the United States of America and the State of Missouri the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary offers degrees of ‘Theological Nature Only’. Under legal precedence in the United States this practice is beyond refute.

Details regarding the non-accredited status of seminaries in the United States and also various States will be presented in the appendix. There are critical issues regarding private, regional or nation accreditation associations. Those issues will also be presented in the appendix.

Within the context of declaring St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, hence forthcalled ‘seminary’ we hereby present our self examination practices for credibility and success.

Before we declare our ‘internal accreditation/examination’ process we must herein define the seminary outcome. It is stated that the seminary assists individuals with a learning process so they may reach the potential of their faith and apply that to church operations and hence bring the word of biblical text, and the solace of the church, to the people in a meaningful manner. This institution does not, real or imagined, train theologians.

Definition of priest (clergy):

An ordained clergy of the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican or other Christian Church having the authority to perform certain rites and administer certain sacraments.

Definition of Theologian:

Theologians study and debate the idiosyncrasies and minutia of the workings of religion. Theologians examine the human experience of faith, and how different people and cultures express it. Theologians examine the many different religions of the world and their impact on society.

Why are these definitions critical? For over 1500 years of history, Christian individuals did not attend universities in order to become practicing clergy. Practicing priests generally had their training in a monastic environment. A large portion of priests received their training via an apprenticeship with a knowledgeable parish priest. Even though universities existed from the earliest time of Christianity, it was the purview of theologians or ranking church members (bishops and above) to attend universities. University training did not become quasi available until the Roman Catholic Church began the ‘counter reformation’ during and after the Council of Trent. 1

One example of this was the priesthood of Martin Luther. In 1507, Luther was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Jerome Schultz. Luther did not earn his bachelor's degree in biblical studies until March 9, 1508. 2 Hence, he was a practicing priest long before he held a religious degree. Once he achieved higher degrees, he then became a professor of ‘biblia’. The previous statement is of great consequence, Luther was a priest BEFORE university training in religion.

The accreditation system in American higher education began in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a way for colleges and universities with high academic standards to distinguish themselves from institutions that had curricula based on the primary education model. 3

Accreditation was a ‘voluntary’ process until 1944. The GI Bill of that era allowed veterans to use federal funds for a college of their choice. After an initial attempt to allow states to generate a list of ‘approved’ colleges, the issue of corruption in the process was raised and affected the release of federal funds. The Federal Government did not process a law until 1952 to create a federal system of accepted accreditation agencies. 4

If this is put into perspective, accreditation of ‘seminaries’ did not exist for nearly 1900 years in Christian history.

By the historical facts surrounding monastic seminaries versus universities, we as an organization embrace 1500 to 1800 years of our preceding church fathers training precepts. The St. Charles Borromeo Seminary trains clergy to bring the solace of the church to the masses and NOT theologians.

So let us now proceed into our standards and self examination.

The seminary respects the need for standards. That comment not withstanding there is a major difference in how standards should be handled with respect to accredited and non-accredited seminaries. One aspect that is critical to understand from the start: Accredited Seminaries operate ‘as a business’ in most respects and large sums of money change hands. It is not unusual for an accredited seminary to charge $650.00 U.S dollars or more per credit for any degree level.

It is herein declared that the St. Borromeo Seminary is tuition free. It is integral to the church and operates as part of the parent church. The operations are based on a Free Will Tithe, that is a decision to be made by the requestor (detailed below). The tithe is made to the parent church, of free will, and is not to be construed as payment for a service, real or imagined. Therefore, there is no implied contract or agreement, real or imagined.

The St. Charles Borromeo Seminary does NOT charge tuition. We have no plan to do so any time soon. Technically, the seminary is free. Here is the caveat, there is a Donation Commitment that must be made. This donation commitment is non-refundable and is not tax deductible. The process is similar to a 'pledge' to a church. Upon completion, a certificate and letter of good standing will be presented as a 'gift'.

The donation commitment per degree offering is non-refundable, donation commitment must be made in advance of submission. This type of donation is not tax deductible.

The certificates issued by the UECC Seminary are legal documents of authority, yet are considered incidental tokens of the UECC Seminaries appreciation of your donation level and commitment in knowledge and or faith. The certificate or document simply displays your office, as you receive the factual authority of office through placement of your information within the various registries of authority in the UECC Seminary. A degree of higher learning becomes legal by granting authority within the School registry. Religious authority is the placement within the Church registry.

That is how it works. It is much like donating to a charity and receiving a stuffed animal as a gift.

For those who desire to take the curriculum, but not make the donation commitment, this is acceptable with these caveats; the certificate and letter of good standing will not be 'gifted' and depending on certain factors, these individual may be put on a short or long term waiting list and worse case may not be accepted as postulants in the seminary. [Note: As of this day May 28, 2023 the 'free' option, by not making the donation commitment, has been suspended until further notice]

 

It is hereby declared another difference exists between the non-accredited format of the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary that departs from the more secular, political and monetary based accredited seminaries. We declare that for clergy to build their faith, that process does not end with the seminary training. Faith building and the understanding of the divine must continue for the rest of their natural lives, or disenfranchisement from the clergy. Any independent church organization may require continued studies for their clergy as specified by their superiors. This also extends to the length of calendar and clock time required for a seminarian to reach their potential. Our curriculum is designed so that a seminarian can progress through the materials and hands on training at a pace conducive to their secular life and general learning capacity. This ‘formation’ process is a variable accredited seminaries rarely take into account.

Moving on, the decision was made to use a rough outline based on the standards set down by the Association of Theological Schools.