Hugh Goldie Lay/Theological Training Institution, Arochukwu is an educational institution of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria for the training of ministers. In its chequered history, Goldie had been also a training ground for evangelists, the deaconate and other church workers. It was established in 1918 by the Calabar Mission of the United Free Church in Scotland (later the Calabar Mission of the Church of Scotland Mission after the union in 1929). The Presbyterian mission in Nigeria was founded in Calabar in 1846. The training of preachers had been under the hand of Calabar missionaries, including Goldie, Anderson, Robb, and Edgerly. 1864, a class was formed and they met once a year for four years. This programme was done six weeks in a year.

Founding Years

When in 1916 the the Mission Council considered a formal programme for the training of evangelists and catechists, Rev Dr John Taylor Dean was given the responsibility of drawing up a proposal for the training. In May 1917 Dean rather made a proposal to the Mission Council for the training of ministers. Dean’s proposal was accepted. The first location of the training centre was Creek Town, and Dean was appointed its principal; but with the insistence of Dean, the training centre was changed from Creek Town to Arochukwu and named after Rev Hugh Goldie (died 1895).

Rev Dr John Taylor Dean was the only tutor of Hugh Goldie College. He trained ministers and evangelists, giving them some form of academic training but having the main focus on practical training. The students had field work on weekends and when he was on leave, they would be posted to nearby districts for practicum. Dean had chosen Arochukwu because it was then a more central location. He would admit a batch of students and graduate them before taking another batch.

The one-tutor college was easy to run, but fell short of the expectations of those who wanted something better. As early as 1921 they demanded that Goldie be affiliated to one of the Scottish colleges. They slackened in their support for the College as the Mission Council refused to yield. Despite the daunting challenges, Dean was able to produce a number of indigenous ministers and evangelists. He retired in 1936 and was succeeded by Rev. J. B. Cameron. Rev J. B. Cameron started a new class of pastors who completed their four-year course in 1944.

The Big Shifts

 Lewars started with a proposal to review the training programme. He recommended raising the entry qualifications to Higher Elementary Certificate and collaboration with the Anglicans for a joint theological college. The latter proposal came at a time when the inter-missions’ committee was working out details for joint sponsorship of some projects, including a seminary in Eastern Nigeria. Meanwhile, Rev J. B. Cameron started a new class in Arochukwu. By 1944 when the class was graduating, the joint seminary project was in the pipeline. This project was realized in the Trinity College in 1948. It became the seminary for Anglicans, Methodists, and Presbyterians.

Eventually, Goldie became merely a lay training center. When in 1949 the church proposed the order of deaconess or church sisters, the first batch of the church sisters were trained at Goldie by Miss Chrissie Denham. Between 1952 and 1967 she had graduated fifteen women. She also built a chapel, classroom, hostel, and the principal’s house.  

The Civil War interrupted the good works of Miss Denham. It also left the training institution in in ruins. Goldie was abandoned for years after the ending of the Civil War in January 1970. That was the time the indigenous of Arochukwu grossly encroached on its compound.

The Years of Reconstruction

In 1974, Rev James U. Ukaegbu was posted to Goldie to reopen it. In 1972 he had helped to reopen Ikot Obong training centre, where he ran 20-week training programme for evangelists. He was assisted by Rev B. I. Bassey, who also laboured in Goldie after the War. Ukaegbu became the Principal of Hugh Goldie Lay Training Centre between 1974 and 1976. He embarked on the training of evangelists, a programme which was supported by grants from the Netherland Reformed Church. With the overseas grants, he renovated some dilapidated buildings and purchased a bus for the Centre.

Ms. Mgbeke G. Okore was posted to Goldie after her return from Toronto to Nigeria in 1976. She eventually became the Principal of Hugh Goldie Lay Centre, a position she held till 1979 when she left for ministerial training at Trinity College, Umuahia. During this period, she trained male evangelists and organized workshops for lay church leaders. Between 1979 and 1982, Rev Ochu Mbila was in charge of the institution. Equally, in 1979 Miss Arlene Randall began teaching a class of evangelists at Goldie. 

The programme was closed down in 1980 for lack of funds. It was revived in 1982, and when that class finished there was no money for another class. Afterwards she started a refresher course for church sisters and also taught evangelists once a week at Itu. She left for Canada in 1986 to finish her degree.  Arlene returned in 1991 to teach the deaconate class in Goldie.

Another prominent person who worked in Goldie between 1986 and early 1990s was Rev Donald Mackay. He was transferred to Goldie in 1986 and became its principal. He spearheaded lay training, organizing retreats for evangelists, elders, and school teachers. In 1989 he began training of evangelists and graduated 19 of them on April 26, 1990. He then left for Trinity College, Umuahia, and taught part time in Goldie in the early 1990s. 

The New Leap

 Again, in 1991 Rev. Mgbeke G. Okore was posted to Goldie as Principal. In 1996, she became the first Rector of the institution until her retirement in 1997. It was during her time that Goldie resumed ministerial training in addition to lay training and was designated ‘Hugh Goldie Lay/Theological Institution’ in August 21, 1996. She was supported by a team of dedicated academic staff who taught the diploma in theology classes and organized lay training courses. The diploma class was an average of twelve students, and a class would graduate before a new intake. The training was supported by overseas grants and church sponsorship of students. The cooks, labourers, watch-night, driver, and typist worked together to ensure the smooth running of the Institution. 

In 1998, Rev Chukwu Mmahi assumed office as the Rector of the institution. He introduced the degree programme and worked towards the affiliation of the institution with a Nigerian University. The library was established during his tenure and was manned by Rev Ndidi Ikwecheghe, who was also a lecturer in the institution. She labored in Goldie from 1999 to 2016 when she retired. Rev Mmahi retired in 2004 and was succeeded Rev Christian Umesi, who stayed only one year. Mrs. Obiageri Bassey was employed as typist in 1991, and she has over the time been promoted to the position of the Bursar. She has put in 30 years, becoming the longest serving staff.

The Years of Consolidation

Rev Dr Onuoha A. Orji succeeded Rev Dr Umesi in in 2006. His tenure recorded appreciable academic and infrastructural development. The consolidation of the degree program and its affiliation to Abia State University, Uturu was a boon to the administration. This was accompanied by boom in students’ admission. He gallantly rose up to the challenges of growing student population and built hostels, a mega-chapel and classrooms. Rev Dr Miracle Aja, whose brief tenure was also loaded with striking impact, became the Rector in September 2010.  He completed the classroom block started by the Orji’s administration, introduced Master of Theology programme, and had the Goldie Annex—a property near Goldie—negotiated for the Institution. He also introduced such spiritually enriching programmes as Prayer Summit, Reading through the Bible, and Victory Wednesday.  The bookshop was part of his initiative to diversify income base.

In 2012 Rev Dr Olo Ndukwe became the Rector of the Institution, and after serving for five years he was reappointed for a second tenure. He has strengthened the affiliation. Through the shoring up of standards and the organisation of conferences and seminars, he laboured to raise the institution to a higher academic pedestal. This was made possible with the help of increased and eminently academic qualified staff. He also established the ICT centre, made further payment for Goldie annex, and built a new classroom/office block. The Master of Theology programme received a boost under his administration. Rev Dr Elijah Obinna brought in certain dynamism into the programme when he became Director of Research and Postgraduate Studies. Equally, under the competent leadership of Rev Dr Nte Nome, the Postgraduate School has recorded much success and the Master of Theology has gained wide recognition. 

The programmes currently run by the Institution includes: Diploma in Theology, Bachelor of Divinity, Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, Postgraduate Diploma in Theology, and Master of Theology. The Institution is funded by tuition and sundry fees from the students and monthly subvention from the General Assembly for payment of salaries for only eight months of the year. The total number of graduands had risen to 116 in 2015 when the students’ population was at its peak. 

The partnership of the Netherlands Reformed Church (NRC) gave some aid for training programmes in the school. hip of the creation to the CreatThe institution was, thus, rightly renamed Hugh Goldie Lay/Theological Training Institution (HGLTTI) in acknowledgement of the theological and lay-training programmes that ran concurrently in it. The following academics have led the school as rectors in this lay-theological training arrangement up until the present: Rev. M. G. Okore, Rev. C. Mmahi, Rev. Dr C. Umesi, Rev. Dr Orji A. Onuoha, Rev. Dr. Miracle Ajah, Rev. Dr. OloNdukwe and Rev. Theophilus Chukwu Ngele Philosophy. The institution has an essential philosophy that is concerned with the relationsor. This philosophy is enunciated on the revelation of the authority of God over the universe and God’s purpose for humans on earth, including their eternal destiny. Furthermore, this philosophy is lubricated by a ‘vision for Christian pedagogical witness’ that underscores ‘a holistic/praxis-based research and activities of the whole people of God in a sustained attempt at making ‘substantive contributions towards nation-building, social transformation and the development of our habitats’ (Ndukwe, 2012, p. 4). In this wise, Hugh Goldie Lay/Theological Training Institution hopes to remain a ‘reformed institution that seeks to equip the clergy and the non-clergy with the necessary knowledge and practices that will make them relevant in this generation’ (Ndukwe, 2012, p. 9).

Thus, it can be said unequivocally that the college currently effectively balances the concern of the founding fathers of the Church for an uncompromisingly high standard of theological education with the unwavering philosophy of J. T. Dean for training competent ministers for the work of the church. Between 2021 and 2025, the school housed the following staff who are working tirelessly to improve the institution and inculcate the right theological lessons for the young ministers. They include

Rev Theophilus Chukwu Ngele, PhD

Rev Ucheoma James Ucheoma

Rev Eke Ogbonnaya Eke

Rev Ademe Eke Jp2

Mrs Obiageri Chukwuemeka Bassey

Rev Alozie Chukwunyere Iroanya, PhD

Rev Voice Ole

Rev Albert Ikechukwu Chima, PhD

Prince Stephen Orji

Rev  Amarachi Peter Ajama

Rev Okeebulu Okebulu Amadi

Rev Gift Uche Ebere

Most Rev Uma Agwu Onwunta, PhD

Most Rev Benebo Fubara-Manuel, PhD

Rev Fidelis Nnakalu Okorie

Rev. Obono, Samson Ibiang

Pst Miracle Chukwu Ngele

Mrs Chinemerem Oti

Pst Uka Onyemachi Prince