Who we Are
Ryle Seminary is an evangelical, cross-denominational school seeking to equip students for confident gospel ministry. Founded in the Fall of 2012 as Ottawa Theological College, our name was changed in 2015 to Ryle Seminary in honour of John Charles Ryle, the noted Anglican evangelical clergyman, bishop, and biblical commentator of the late 19th century.
We are evangelical and reformed in theological outlook, cherishing the spiritual heritage passed on to us from the Reformation. Our objective is to train future generations of Church ministers, missionaries, and leaders, as well as providing lay Christian education. Our faculty and students come from a variety of evangelical denominations.
Our Story
Ryle Seminary has been training potential pastors, missionaries, and lay leaders since 2009. It was started by a church in Ottawa, The Church of the Messiah, an Anglican Evangelical church in the tradition of J. I. Packer and John Stott.
From the very beginning, the vision and mission were to be cross-denominational, serving evangelical churches in Ottawa and beyond. We express our mission as "Equipping unashamed workers, unashamed of the Gospel, and unashamed of the whole counsel of God." We express our vision as "Building strong local Gospel churches at home and abroad, one leader at a time." We have graduates who have been ordained and serve in churches.
We have developed a strong Masters level curriculum taught by godly professors. With the exception of some "hands-on courses" like preaching, all of our courses are taught by PhDs. Our courses are live, either in person or by Zoom. In person instruction is offered in Ottawa and Burlington. Training is both taught and caught, so we are developing a local and distance mentorship aspect for those training for vocational ministry.
Please note that we have an articulation agreement with Southern Seminary, and are working on others, but that we are not yet accredited. If that is a bit confusing, give us a call or send us an email, we would love to share with you the benefits of attending Ryle.
Campus
Ryle Seminary has sites for on-campus learning in Ottawa and Burlington, Ontario. Ryle also offers online and hybrid learning for students who choose not to relocate to these locations.
Founding Principles
Bible
We affirm the sufficiency and supremacy of the Holy Bible, “God‘s Word written,” as our rule of faith containing all things necessary for salvation.
Jesus
We affirm that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross on our behalf was a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for sin, that we are regenerated by the grace of God, justified through faith in Christ, and that there is no salvation available apart from him.
Church
We affirm the Christian Church throughout the world as the company of faithful people where the pure Word of God is preached, and the two sacraments instituted by Christ – baptism and the Lord’s Supper – are observed.
Doctrine
We affirm the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion as containing the true doctrine of the Church and the Jerusalem Declaration as a contemporary expression of this heritage.*
Discipleship
We affirm the Great Commission’s mandate to make disciples of all nations and to help believers reach maturity in the faith.
Morality
We affirm and uphold a traditional understanding of biblical norms for marriage and personal morality.
Unity
We affirm working together with Christians across denominational lines in authentic, biblical ways and celebrating unity with fellow believers in essential matters, while respecting freedom of conscience in secondary areas.
Holy Spirit
We affirm the ministry of the Holy Spirit throughout history and in today’s world as equipping believers for ministry to others and building up God’s church through miraculously changed lives.
* Non-Anglicans should note this principle does not assert the exclusive validity of Anglican polity.