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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Trustees for Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge say because of financial challenges the seminary will stop granting degrees at the end of the upcoming academic year and transition to a new mission.
The decision came Thursday after an 11-4 vote.
The board's treasurer says the school is spending $6 million a year from its endowment, far above what is reasonable.
An independent report found that it is losing about $133,000 per month.
Possible future missions of the school include merging with another seminary, establishing a center for Abrahamic studies, fostering lay ministry, or using the assets to fund scholarships for seminarians.
The school formed in 1974 with the merger of the Episcopal Theological School and the Philadelphia Divinity School is one of the smallest of the 10 accredited Episcopal Church seminaries.
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