Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr., president of Greenville Seminary, told the Commencement gathering that by adopting a new practice of awarding honorary doctorates, the seminary “recognizes those individuals whose accomplishments are of such excellence that they provide leadership and inspiration to its students and graduates” and the seminary “thereby makes a public declaration of its own values.”

Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary set new academic precedent in May by awarding honorary doctorate degrees to two scholars.

Honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees were conferred upon Rev. Ian Hamilton of Cambridge, England, and Rev. Rick Phillips of Greenville, S.C., during the seminary’s 22^nd annual Commencement ceremonies on May 18. Greenville Seminary is a conservative transdenominational theological school located in Taylors, S.C.

Hamilton is pastor of Cambridge Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Greenville Seminary and has been a lecturer at GPTS conferences as well as conferences in Brazil, South Africa, Australia and forthcoming in South Korea. He serves on the board of Banner of Truth, London Theological Seminary and the John Owen Centre. He is the author or contributor to numerous books and articles and has lectured at colleges and seminaries in England, Scotland and the United States. He holds a B.A. from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow; B.D. and M. Phil. from the University of Edinburgh.

“I count it a great privilege to be awarded this degree from GPTS,” Hamilton said. ”GPTS seeks to equip young men to be faithful, godly and effective preacher/pastors in Christ’s church, for which I am deeply thankful to almighty God. My plans for the foreseeable future are straightforward, to continue doing what I have been doing for the past thirty years, preaching the glorious gospel of the blessed God. I greatly value your prayers for me and the congregation I serve in England.”

Phillips is senior pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America in downtown Greenville. He is a member of the council and board of directors of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and chairman of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology. He is a radio speaker, widely known conference speaker, and author or contributor to more than 40 books and nearly 20 published articles. Pastor Phillips taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the 1990s. His previous degrees include a B.A. in economics from the University of Michigan, M.B.A. in strategic management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and M.Div. with first honors from Westminster Theological Seminary.

“I am grateful for the honor being bestowed on me, all the more because of my high regard for Greenville Seminary’s faithfulness to God’s Word and zeal for the gospel mission of Christ,” said Phillips. “I am honored to join the GPTS fraternity of men committed to advancing the historic Reformed faith.”

Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr., president of Greenville Seminary, told the Commencement gathering that by adopting a new practice of awarding honorary doctorates, the seminary “recognizes those individuals whose accomplishments are of such excellence that they provide leadership and inspiration to its students and graduates” and the seminary “thereby makes a public declaration of its own values.”

Candidates for the honor should be ordained ministers in a Presbyterian or Reformed denomination recognized by the seminary and recognized as faithful pastors, preachers and edifying teachers in a local church and the broader Christian community, according to the seminary’s criteria. Candidates should also be recognized as accomplished, published writers and leaders who are actively engaged in the defense of the Christian faith. To be approved for an honorary doctorate, the candidate must be elected by three-fourths of the member of the seminary’s trustees.

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