History
Bryn Athyn College has been educating undergraduates since its incorporation under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1877. Then known as the Academy of the New Church, its original purpose was (like most institutions of higher learning in those days) to train ministers. In 1890 the Academy established a separate organization: the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a religious body based on the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg. A generous endowment from John Pitcairn and others enabled the Academy of the New Church to very quickly expand from a seminary into a high school and a two-year college. In 1914 it became a four-year college and by 1922 the College was conferring both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. In 1997, the Academy of the New Church College adopted a new name: Bryn Athyn College of the New Church.
Today, while remaining grounded in the tenets of the New Church and the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, the College is growing rapidly. In August 2008 the College opened several new student residence cottages, and broke ground for a new science center and a new admissions and student life building, both of which were completed in September 2009.
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