North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council
Encyclopedia
The North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) is an association of several Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...

 and Reformed churches in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The Council meets annually.

It lists biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that the Bible is accurate and totally free of error, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact." Some equate inerrancy with infallibility; others do not.Conservative Christians generally believe that...

 as its basis, along with the Westminster Confession of Faith
Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition. Although drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly, largely of the Church of England, it became and remains the 'subordinate standard' of doctrine in the Church of Scotland, and has been...

, the Belgic Confession
Belgic Confession
The Confession of Faith, popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a doctrinal standard document to which many of the Reformed churches subscribe. The Confession forms part of the Reformed Three Forms of Unity...

, the Westminster Larger
Westminster Larger Catechism
The Westminster Larger Catechism, along with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is a central catechism of Calvinists in the English tradition throughout the world.- History :...

and Shorter Catechisms
Westminster Shorter Catechism
The Westminster Shorter Catechism was written in the 1640s by English and Scottish divines. The assembly also produced the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger Catechism...

, the Heidelberg Catechism
Heidelberg Catechism
The Heidelberg Catechism is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine...

, and the Canons of Dordt.

Some Presbyterian and Reformed churches in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 do not belong to the Council, the reason for this typically being theological liberalism
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...

. These churches include the Presbyterian Church in Canada
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...

, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...

, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Reformed Church in America
Reformed Church in America
The Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...

, and the Christian Reformed Church in North America
Christian Reformed Church in North America
The Christian Reformed Church in North America is a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. Having roots in the Dutch Reformed churches of the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church was founded by Gijsbert Haan and Dutch immigrants who left the Reformed Church in...

 (expelled in 2001 after approval of the ordination of women as pastors).

The 34th Meeting was hosted by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a conservative Presbyterian seminary in Greenville, South Carolina, United States.Founded in 1986, Greenville trains men for Christian ministry using a curriculum with a focus on the biblical languages, expository preaching, and an emphasis on...

 in Taylors, South Carolina, from November 11-12, 2008.
The 35th Meeting was hosted by the Heritage Reformed Congregations at Puritan Reformed Seminary in Grand Rapids MI, from November 17-18, 2009.

Member denominations

  • Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
    Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
    The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as it exists today is the remnant of a small denomination, which was formed from the Synod of the South, a division of the Associate Reformed Church...

  • Canadian and American Reformed Churches
    Canadian and American Reformed Churches
    The Canadian and American Reformed Churches are a federation of over fifty Protestant Christian churches in Canada and the USA, with historical roots in the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands, and doctrinal roots in the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation...

  • L'Église réformée du Québec
    L'Église réformée du Québec
    L'Église Réformée du Québec, or "Reformed Church of Quebec", is a small conservative French-speaking Reformed Christian denomination located primarily within the Canadian province of Quebec.-History:...

     (ERQ), or "Reformed Church of Quebec" (RCQ) in English
  • Free Reformed Churches of North America
    Free Reformed Churches of North America
    The Free Reformed Churches of North America is a theologically conservative federation of churches in the Dutch Calvinist tradition with congregations in the United States and Canada. It officially adopted its current name in 1974...

  • Heritage Reformed Congregations
  • Korean-American Presbyterian Church
  • Orthodox Presbyterian Church
    Orthodox Presbyterian Church
    The Orthodox Presbyterian Church is a conservative Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America who strongly objected to the pervasive Modernist theology during the 1930s . Led...

  • Presbyterian Church in America
    Presbyterian Church in America
    The Presbyterian Church in America is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination, the second largest Presbyterian church body in the United States after the Presbyterian Church . The PCA professes a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work, and Christian education...

  • Reformed Church in the United States
    Reformed Church in the United States
    The Reformed Church in the United States is a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. The present RCUS is a conservative, Calvinist denomination. It affirms the principles of the Reformation: Sola scriptura , Solo Christo , Sola gratia , Sola fide , and Soli Deo gloria...

  • Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
    Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
    The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America , a Christian church, is a small Presbyterian denomination with churches throughout the United States, in southeastern Canada, and in a small part of Japan. Its beliefs place it in the conservative wing of the Reformed family of Protestant churches...

  • United Reformed Churches in North America
    United Reformed Churches in North America
    The United Reformed Churches in North America is a theologically conservative federation of churches. The United Reformed Churches trace their roots back to the earlier Protestant movements in Europe, and to the Reformed churches in Belgium and the Netherlands...

  • Presbyterian Reformed Church

Basis

The Constitution of NAPARC states that the Basis of the Council is "Confessing Jesus Christ as only Savior and Sovereign Lord over all of life, we affirm the basis of the fellowship of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches to be full commitment to the Bible in its entirety as the Word of God written, without error in all its parts and to its teaching as set forth in the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dordt, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms. That the adopted basis of fellowship be regarded as warrant for the establishment of a formal relationship of the nature of a council, that is, a fellowship that enables the constituent churches to advise, counsel, and cooperate in various matters with one another and hold out before each other the desirability and need for organic union of churches that are of like faith and practice."

Purpose and Function

  • Facilitate discussion and consultation between member bodies on those issues and problems which divide them as well as on those which they face in common and by the sharing of insights "communicate advantages to one another" (Institutes IV, 2, 1).
  • Promote the appointment of joint committees to study matters of common interest and concern.
  • Exercise mutual concern in the perpetuation, retention, and propagation of the Reformed faith.
  • Promote co-operation wherever possible and feasible on the local and denominational level in such areas as missions, relief efforts, Christian schools, and church education.

External links

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