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Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Encyclopedia
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), or PC(USA), 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. The PC(USA) was established by the 1983 merger of the former Presbyterian Church in the United States
, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
, whose congregations could be found in every state.
With 2,077,158 members and 13,462 ordained
minister
s in 10,657 congregations in 2009, the reunited denomination is the most visible and influential Presbyterian denomination in North America. The denomination reported a loss of 61,047 members (-2.9%) in 2010 and had a membership of 2,016,091 at the end of 2010. Denominational offices are located in Louisville, Kentucky
. The PC(USA) is a member of the National Council of Churches
, the World Communion of Reformed Churches
, the World Council of Churches
, and Christian Churches Together
.
. Presbyterian heritage, and much of what they believe, began with the Swiss/French theologian/lawyer John Calvin
(1509–1564), whose writings solidified much of the Reformed thinking that came before him.
Calvin did most of his writing from Geneva, Switzerland. From there, the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe. John Knox
, a Scotsman who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland, took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland (see Scottish Reformation
). Other Reformed communities developed in England, Holland and France. The Presbyterian church traces its ancestry back primarily to Scotland.
The early Presbyterians in America came from Scotland and Ireland. The first American Presbytery was organized at Philadelphia in 1706. The first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
(PCUSA) was held in the same city in 1789. The Assembly was convened by the Rev. John Witherspoon
, the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence. This was indicative of the active support of most Presbyterians for the American War of Independence.
The First Great Awakening
had a major impact on the American Presbyterians. Inspired by the evangelical
preaching of George Whitefield
and others, Gilbert Tennent
delivered a sermon in West Nottingham, Maryland in 1740 on "The Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry." In the sermon, he asserted some current Presbyterian church leaders might be academic "Pharisee-teachers" who did not have the same faith or enthusiasm as newly converted followers, a controversial view which divided the church. Together with his brother William Tennent
, he led the Presbyterian part of the Great Awakening revivalist movement in America.
In the South the Presbyterians were evangelical dissenters, mostly Scots-Irish Americans who expanded into Virginia between 1740 and 1758. Spangler (2008) argues they were more energetic and held frequent services better atuned to the frontier conditions of the colony. Presbyterianism grew in frontier areas where the Anglicans had made little impress. Uneducated whites and blacks were attracted to the emotional worship of the denomination, its emphasis on biblical simplicity, and its psalm singing. Presbyterians were a cross-section of society; they were involved in slaveholding and in patriarchal ways of household management, while the Presbyterian Church government featured few democratic elements. Some local Presbyterian churches, such as Briery in Prince Edward County, owned slaves. The Briery church purchased five slaves in 1766 and raised money for church expenses by hiring them out to local planters.
In the early years of the 19th century, the church carried on revivals and organized congregations, presbyteries, and synods wherever pastors and lay people went, emphasizing the connectional nature of the church. Presbyterians also helped to shape voluntary societies that encouraged educational, missionary, evangelical, and reforming work. As the church began to realize that these functions were corporate in nature and as the century proceeded, it formed its own boards and agencies to address these needs at home and abroad. Mission to Native Americans, African Americans, and populations all over the world became a hallmark of the church.
The 19th century was also characterized by disagreement and division over theology, governance, and reform - particularly slavery
. In 1803, Barton W. Stone
led a group of revivalist New Light Presbyterian ministers to form independent Springfield Presbytery
which eventually became the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
. In 1810, a number of Presbyterian congregations and ministers, ejected by Kentucky Synod
for their pro-revival position and their relaxation of ordination requirements in a frontier setting, formed the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination, although they never intended the split to be permanent. In 1837, the church was split by the Old School-New School Controversy
. The century also saw the formation of the United Presbyterian Church of North America
. When the country could not reconcile the issue of slavery and the federal union, the southern Presbyterians split from the original PCUSA, forming the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America in 1861, which became the Presbyterian Church in the United States
after the American Civil War
.
(a movement of those who believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible as the fundamental source of the religion) as distinguished from Modernist Christianity (a movement holding the belief that Christianity needed to be re-interpreted in light of modern scientific theories such as evolution
or the rise of degraded social conditions brought on by industrialization and urbanization
).
This controversy reached a head in 1924 after the General Assembly of the PCUSA adopted five "essential and necessary" pillars of Christian belief. This move toward aggressively anti-modernist fundamentalism
caused a backlash in the form of the Auburn Affirmation
— a document embracing modernism and "liberty of thought and teaching." Although the 1930s and 1940s and the ensuing neo-orthodox theological consensus mitigated much of the polemics during the mid-20th century, disputes erupted again beginning in the mid-1960s, over the extent of involvement in the Civil Rights Movement
and the issue of ordination of women
, and, especially since the 1990s, over the issue of ordination of gays and lesbians.
, mostly congregations in the border and Southern states, in 1906. In 1920, it absorbed the Welsh Calvinist Methodist Church. The United Presbyterian Church of North America merged with the PCUSA in 1958 to form the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
(UPCUSA).
This sparked a period of ecumenical activism which culminated in the UPCUSA's development of the Confession of 1967
which was the church's first new confession of faith in three centuries. The 170th General Assembly in 1958 authorized a committee to develop a brief contemporary statement of faith. The 177th General Assembly in 1965 considered and amended the draft confession and sent a revised version for general discussion within the church. The 178th General Assembly in 1966 accepted a revised draft and sent it to presbyteries throughout the church for final ratification. As the confession was ratified by more than 90% of all presbyteries, the 178th General Assembly finally adopted it in 1967.
An attempt to reunite the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. with the Presbyterian Church in the United States in the late 1950s failed when the latter church was unwilling to accept centralization
. This reflected its support for local decision making and concern about central organizations having greater power, a historically Southern attitude about civil government as well as ecclesiastical. In the meantime, a conservative group broke away from the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1973, mainly over the issues of women's ordination and a perceived drift toward theological liberalism. This group formed the Presbyterian Church in America
(PCA).
Attempts at union between the churches (UPCUSA and PCUS) were renewed in the 1970s, culminating in the merger of the two churches to form the Presbyterian Church (USA) on June 10, 1983. At the time of the merger, the churches had a combined membership of 3,121,238. Many of the efforts were spearheaded by the financial and outspoken activism of retired businessman Thomas Clinton
who died two years before the merger. A new national headquarters was established in Louisville, Kentucky
in 1988 replacing the headquarters of the UPCUSA in New York City
and the PCUS located in Atlanta, Georgia
.
The merger essentially consolidated those moderate-to-liberal American Presbyterians into one body. Practically all other U.S. Presbyterian bodies (the Cumberland Presbyterians being a partial exception) profess some measure of doctrinal Calvinist propositionalism, literalist hermeneutics, and conservative politics.
For the most part, PC(USA) Presbyterians, not unlike similar mainline traditions such as the Episcopal Church
and the United Church of Christ
, are fairly (in some instances, strongly) progressive (liberal) on matters such as doctrine, environmental issues, sexual morality, and economic issues. Like other mainline denominations, the PC(USA) has also seen a great deal of demographic aging, with fewer and fewer new members and a steadily declining membership total in every consecutive year since 1967.
A recent phenomenon is that of conservative-minded groups in the PC(USA) (such as the Confessing church movement) remaining in the main body, rather than leaving to form new, break-away groups, as those most theologically conservative usually did (e.g., the Presbyterian Church in America
, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
, and the Bible Presbyterian Church
).
and Part II, the Book of Order
. The Book of Confessions outlines the beliefs of the PC(USA) by declaring the creeds by which the Church's leaders are instructed and led. Complementing that is the Book of Order which gives the rationale and description for the organization and function of the Church at all levels. The Book of Order is currently divided into three sections - 1) Form of Government, 2) The Directory For Worship, and 3) The Rules of Discipline.
, with four levels of government and administration, as outlined in the Book of Order. The councils(governing bodies) are as follows:
, the church is governed by presbyters (a term and category that includes elders and Ministers of Word and Sacrament, historically also referred to as "ruling or canon elders" because they measure the spiritual life and work of a congregation and ministers as "teaching elders").
The elders are nominated by a nominating committee of the congregation; in addition, nominations from the floor are permissible. Elders are then elected by the congregation. All elders elected to serve on the congregation's session of elders are required to undergo a period of study and preparation for this order of ministry, after which the session examines the elders-elect as to their personal faith; knowledge of doctrine, government, and discipline contained in the Constitution of the church, and the duties of the office of elder. If the examination is approved, the session appoints a day for the service of ordination and installation. Session meetings are normally moderated by a called and installed pastor and minutes are recorded by a clerk, who is also an ordained presbyter. If the congregation does not have an installed pastor, the Presbytery appoints a minister member or elected member of the presbytery as moderator with the concurrence of the local church session. The moderator presides over the session as primus inter pares
and as moderator also serves a "liturgical" bishop over the ordination and installation of elders and deacons within a particular congregation.
The session takes care of the guidance and direction of the ministry of the local church, including almost all responsibilities of spiritual and fiduciary leadership. The congregation as a whole has only the responsibility to vote on: 1) the call of the pastor (subject to presbytery approval) and the terms of call (the church's provision for compensating and caring for the pastor); 2) the election of its own officers (elders & deacons); 3) buying, mortgaging, or selling real property. All other church matters such as the budget, personnel matters, and all programs for spiritual life and mission, are the responsibility of the session. In addition, the session serves as an ecclesiastical court to consider disciplinary charges brought against church officers or members.
The session also oversees the work of the deacons, a second body of leaders also tracing its origins to the Book of Acts. The deacons are a congregational-level group whose duty is "to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress both within and beyond the community of faith." In some churches, the responsibilities of the deacons are taken care of by the session, so there is no board of deacons in that church. In some states, churches are legally incorporated and members or elders of the church serve as trustees of the corporation. However, "the power and duties of such trustees shall not infringe upon the powers and duties of the Session or of the board of deacons." The deacons are a ministry board but not a governing body.
Note re. "non-geographical": The five presbyteries are "non-geographical" only in that they overlay other pre-existing English-speaking geographical presbyteries; they are in fact "geographical" in that they are geographically limited to the boundaries of a particular synod. It may be more accurate to refer to them as "trans-geographical" presbyteries.
Only the presbytery (not a congregation, session, synod, or General Assembly) has the responsibility and authority to ordain church members to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament, to install Ministers of Word and Sacrament to (and/or remove them from) congregations, and to remove a minister from the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. A Minister of Word and Sacrament is a Presbyterian minister only by virtue of membership on a roll of a presbytery. The Office of the General Assembly maintains and publishes a national directory with the help of each presbytery's stated clerk. A pastor cannot be a member of the congregation he or she serves as pastor because his or her primary ecclesiastical accountability lies with the presbytery. Members of the congregation generally choose their own pastor with the assistance and support of the presbytery. The presbytery must approve the choice and officially install the pastor at the congregation. Additionally, the presbytery must approve if either the congregation or the pastor wishes to dissolve that pastoral relationship.
The presbytery has authority over many affairs of its local congregations. Only the presbytery can approve the establishment, dissolution, or merger of congregations. The presbytery also maintains a Permanent Judicial Commission, which acts as a court of appeal from sessions, and which exercises original jurisdiction in disciplinary cases against minister members of the presbytery.
A presbytery has two elected officers: a moderator and a stated clerk. The Moderator of the presbytery is elected annually and is either a minister member or an elder commissioner from one of the presbytery's congregations. The Moderator presides at all presbytery assemblies and is the chief overseer at the ordination and installation of ministers in that presbytery. The stated clerk is the chief ecclesial officer and serves as the presbytery's executive secretary and parliamentarian in accordance with the church Constitution and Robert's Rules of Order. While the moderator of a presbytery normally serves one year, the stated clerk normally serves a designated number of years and may be re-elected indefinitely by the presbytery. Additionally, an Executive Presbyter
(sometimes designated as General Presbyter, Pastor to Presbytery, Transitional Presbyter) is often elected as a staff person to care for the administrative duties of the presbytery, often with the additional role of a pastor to the pastors. Presbyteries may be creative in the designation and assignment of duties for their staff. A presbytery is required to elect a Moderator and a Clerk, but the practice of hiring staff is optional. Presbyteries must meet at least twice a year, but they have the discretion to meet more often and most do.
See "Map of Presbyteries and Synods"
in 2004, the General Assembly met once a year; since 2004, the General Assembly has met biennially in even-numbered years. It consists of commissioners elected by presbyteries (not synods), and its voting membership is proportioned with parity between elders and Ministers of Word and Sacrament. There are many important responsibilities of the General Assembly. Among them, The Book of Order lists these four:
The General Assembly elects a moderator
at each assembly who moderates the rest of the sessions of that assembly meeting and continues as moderator until the next assembly convenes (two years later) to elect a new moderator. The current Moderator of the 219th General Assembly is Elder Cynthia Bolbach
. The moderator of the 218th General Assembly was the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow
.
A Stated Clerk is elected to a four year term and is responsible for the Office of the General Assembly which conducts the ecclesiastical work of the church. The Office of the General Assembly carries out most of the ecumenical functions and all of the constitutional functions at the Assembly. The current Stated Clerk of the General Assembly is the Rev. Gradye Parsons.
The General Assembly also elects a General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC). There are 48 elected members of the General Assembly Mission Council (40 voting members; 17 non-voting delegates), who represent synods, presbyteries, and the church at-large. Members serve one six-year term, with the exception of the present Moderator of the General Assembly (one 2-year term), the past Moderator of the General Assembly (one 2-year term), the moderator of Presbyterian Women (one 3-year term), ecumenical advisory members (one 2-year term, eligible for two additional terms), and stewardship and audit committee at-large members (one 2-year term, eligible for two additional terms). Among the elected members’ major responsibilities is the coordination of the work of the program areas in light of General Assembly mission directions, objectives, goals and priorities. The GAMC meets three times a year. The General Assembly elects an Executive Director of the General Assembly Mission Council who is the top administrator overseeing the mission work of the PC(USA). The current Executive Director of the GAMC is Elder Linda Bryant Valentine.
Two other seminaries are related to the PC(USA) by covenant agreement: Auburn Theological Seminary
in New York, New York, and Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
There are numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States affiliated with PC(USA). For a complete list, see the article Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities
. For more information, see the article PC(USA) seminaries
.
The average Presbyterian Church has 195 members (the mean in 2009). About 25% of the total congregations report between 1 and 50 members. Another 23% report between 51 and 100 members. The average worship attendance as a percentage of membership is 51.7%. The largest congregation in the PC(USA) is Peachtree Presbyterian Church
in Atlanta, Georgia
, with a reported membership of 8,989 (2009).
Most PC(USA) members are white (92.9%). Other racial and ethnic members include African-Americans (3.1% of the total membership of the denomination), Asians (2.3%), Hispanics (1.2%), Native Americans (0.2%), and others (0.3%). Despite declines in the total membership of the PC(USA), the percentage of racial-ethnic minority members has stayed about the same since 1995. The ratio of female members (58%) to male members (42%) has also remained stable since the mid-1960s.
" and "Low Church
" styles of the Anglican Church
. The Book of Order suggests a worship service ordered around five themes: "gathering around the Word, proclaiming the Word, responding to the Word, the sealing of the Word, and bearing and following the Word into the world." Prayer is central to the service and may be silent, spoken, sung, or read in unison (including The Lord's Prayer). Music plays a large role in most PC(USA) worship services and ranges from chant to traditional Protestant hymns, to classical sacred music, to more modern music, depending on the preference of the individual church and is offered prayerfully and not "for entertainment or artistic display." Scripture is read and usually preached upon. An offering is usually taken.
"The pastor has certain responsibilities which are not subject to the authority of the session. In a particular service of worship the pastor is responsible for:
The pastor may confer with a worship committee in planning particular services of worship." [W-1.4005]
The Directory for Worship in the Book of Order
provides the directions for what must be, or may be included in worship. During the 20th century, Presbyterians were offered optional use of liturgical book
s:
For more information, see Liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
In regard to vestments, the Directory for Worship leaves that decision up to the ministers. Thus, on a given Sunday moring service, a congregation may see the minister leading worship in street clothes, Geneva gown, or an alb. Among the Paleo-orthodoxy
and emerging church
Presbyterians, clergy are moving away from the traditional black Geneva gown
and reclaiming not only the more ancient Eucharist
vestments of alb
and chasuble
, but also cassock
and surplice
(typically a full length Old English style surplice which resembles the Celtic alb, an ungirdled liturgical tunic of the old Gallican Rite
).
The church is committed to "engage in bilateral and multilateral dialogues with other churches and traditions in order to remove barriers of misunderstanding and establish common affirmations." At the present time it is in dialog with the Episcopal Church
, the Moravian Church, the Korean American Presbyterian Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America
, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It also participates in international dialogues through the World Council of Churches
and the World Communion of Reformed Churches
. The most recent international dialogues include Pentecostal churches, Seventh-day Adventist, Orthodox Church in America
, and others.
, the World Communion of Reformed Churches
, and the World Council of Churches
. It is a member of Churches for Middle East Peace
.
The term “full communion” is understood here to specifically mean that the four churches:
commit themselves to an ongoing process of theological dialogue in order to clarify further the common understanding of the faith and foster its common expression in evangelism, witness, and service;
The agreement assumed the doctrinal consensus articulated in A Common Calling:The Witness of Our Reformation Churches in North America Today, and is to be viewed in concert with that document. The purpose of A Formula of Agreement is to elucidate the
complementarity of affirmation and admonition as the basic principle of entering into full communion and the implications of that action as described in A Common Calling.
The 209th General Assembly (1997) approved A Formula of Agreement and in 1998 the 210th General Assembly declared full communion among these Protestant bodies.
, the World Communion of Reformed Churches
, Christian Churches Together
, and the World Council of Churches
.
to form the World Communion of Reformed Churches
. The result will be a form of full communion similar to that outline in the Formula of Agreement, including orderly exchange of ministers.
, which initially sought a merger of the denominations. In 1998 the Seventh Plenary of the Consultation on Church Union approved a document "Churches in Covenant Communion: The Church of Christ Uniting" as a plan for the formation of a covenant communion of churches. In 2002 the nine denominations inaugurated the new relationship and became known as Churches Uniting in Christ
. The partnership is considered incomplete until the partnering communions reconcile their understanding of Holy Orders and devise and orderly exchange of clergy.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is currently struggling with the issue of Biblical interpretation and faithfulness, particularly as it relates to homosexuality
. Paragraph G-6.0106b of the Book of Order
prohibits the ordination of those who are not faithful in marriage or chaste in singleness. This paragraph was added in 1997 and is commonly referred to by its pre-ratification designation, "Amendment B". Several attempts have been made to remove this from the Book of Order, and in 2011, the Presbyteries of the PC(USA) passed the amendment 10-A permitting congregations to ordain elders and deacons and presbyteries to ordain ministers in same-sex partnerships and marriages if they feel called to do so.
Many Presbyterian scholars, pastors, and theologians have been heavily involved in the debate over homosexuality. In 2005, a female minister in Pennsylvania came under scrutiny after performing a marriage between a lesbian couple, including infusion of Buddhist rites in the ceremony. Her case is to be heard by the church's court
. Officially, the church does not prohibit clergy-performed blessing ceremonies for same sex unions, as long as it clear that the blessing ritual is not a marriage ceremony.
Since 1980, the More Light Churches Network has served many congregations and individuals within American Presbyterianism who take positions on one side of this issue. The Covenant Network of Presbyterians was formed in 1997 to support repeal of "Amendment B", and to encourage networking amongst like-minded clergy and congregations. Other organizations of Presbyterians, such as the Confessing Movement
and the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
, have also organized on the other side of the issue to support maintaining the current standards of ordination.
is viewed by its opposition as a method for bypassing the constitutional restrictions currently in place concerning ordination and marriage, effectively making the constitutional "standard" entirely subjective.
In the General Assembly gathering of June 2006, Presbyterian voting Commissioners passed an "authoritative interpretation", recommended by the Theological Task Force, of the Book of Order (the church constitution). Some argued that this gave presbyteries the "local option" of ordaining or not ordaining anyone based on a particular presbytery's reading of the constitutional statute. Others argued that presbyteries have always had this responsibility and that this new ruling did not change but only clarified that responsibility. On June 20, 2006, the General Assembly voted 298 to 221 (or 57% to 43%) to approve such interpretation. In that same session on June 20, the General Assembly also voted 405 to 92 (with 4 abstentions) to uphold the constitutional standard for ordination requiring fidelity in marriage or chastity in singleness. A clear understanding of the effect of what the General Assembly voted upon in 2006 may have to wait until the ecclesiastical courts make decisions on specific cases.
from 1962, removing the words "homosexual perversions" among other changes. This will require the approval of the 2010 and 2012 General Assemblies as well as the votes of the presbyteries after the 2010 Assembly. The second action was to approve a new Authoritative Interpretation of G-6.0108 of the Book of Order allowing for the ordaining body to make decisions on whether or not a departure from the standards of belief of practice is sufficient to preclude ordination. Some argue that this creates "local option" on ordaining homosexual persons. The third action was to replace the text of "Amendment B" with new text: "Those who are called to ordained service in the church, by their assent to the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003), pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions. In so doing, they declare their fidelity to the standards of the Church. Each governing body charged with examination for ordination and/or installation (G-14.0240 and G-14.0450) establishes the candidate's sincere efforts to adhere to these standards." This would have removed the "fidelity and chastity" clause. This third action failed to obtain the required approval of a majority of the presbyteries by June, 2009. Fourth, a resolution was adopted to affirm the definition of marriage from Scripture and the Confessions as being between a man and a woman.
At the General Assembly of 2004 an overture to consider adoption of the Belhar Confession
was adopted. That confession was written by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa in response to apartheid. The 2008 General Assembly voted to create a committee to study the confession and bring a recommendation to the 2010 General Assembly. This is the first step in the PC(USA) process of changing the Book of Confessions
, a process that will require approval at General Assemblies in 2010 and 2012 and approval of the presbyteries after the 2010 Assembly.
Despite the historically connectional structure of Presbyterianism, this issue is, surprisingly, relatively new. Until recently the "connection" referred to doctrinal coherence and had no reference to physical property. In 1981, UPCUSA leaders persuaded the General Assembly to amend the Book of Order in order to add the "property trust" elements. The denomination did this in reaction to three developments over the previous decade:
1) A case involving a Pittsburgh ministerial candidate who opposed the ordination of women led several congregations in western Pennsylvania
and eastern Ohio
to leave in favor of the new Presbyterian Church in America
, a conservative body with origins in the Southern U.S., in the mid-1970s.
2) The Supreme Court
case Jones v. Wolf, , allowed for church property cases to be adjudicated in civil courts in the U.S., giving churches hostile to national or regional bodies a possible platform to secede.
3) Some months prior to that General Assembly, a number of disaffected congregations formed a new conservative denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. UPCUSA loyalists interpreted that move as having been encouraged by the 1979 ruling.
The secessions in the first and third points were occasioned in part by factors including the UPCUSA's approval of abortion rights, its stands on world peace
and concomitant suspicion of an aggressive U.S. foreign policy (brought about by the trauma of the Vietnam War
), and its support of controversial social justice causes such as a well-publicized General Assembly contribution to the defense fund of imprisoned activist Angela Davis
. The first instance in particular reflected that candidate's and those churches' opposition to female leadership in the church and feminism
in general. Later, in the 1980s, Presbyterian evangelicals added homosexuality
to their list of grievances, although the UPCUSA decided in 1978 not to ordain non-celibate gays to the ministry or eldership, a decision that liberal groups have been trying to reverse for most of the first decade of the 21st century.
The PCUS, already deeply in preparation for the UPCUSA merger, followed suit in 1982, but managed to gain a concession for its conservative congregations in the form of a two-year grace period to take effect after the consummation of the merger, to enable dissenting churches to defect, by consent of presbytery, without suffering any loss of assets. The PCUS had to agree to this limit on eligibility as a condition of union, due to the so-called "Northern Presbyterians" being by far the majority numerically.
In ensuing years, disaffection has grown among PC(USA) conservatives (from both predecessor traditions) due to feelings that presbyteries have no right to congregational property, since national agencies and local pledges usually finance building programs, with little or no presbytery fiduciary interest. In fact, prior to World War II, more often than not, new churches started from the initiative of larger congregations (e.g., Sunday School missions), not presbyteries, as became the case increasingly from the 1950s onward, due to suburban mission planning and ecumenical concerns. Several cases in California
seem to have halted the practice in that state—the courts have allowed individual churches to leave the PC(USA) and keep their own assets, as well as parishes of the United Methodist and Episcopal denominations. In most other states, however, courts have generally deferred to the provisions in the Book of Order, permitting presbytery takeovers and/or dissolutions of some dissenting churches.
and adopted by a vote of 431-62 a resolution that called on the church's committee on Mission Responsibility through Investment (MRTI) "to initiate a process of phased, selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel." The resolution also said "the occupation . . . has proven to be at the root of evil acts committed against innocent people on both sides of the conflict." The church statement at the time noted that "divestment is one of the strategies that U.S. churches used in the 1970s and 80s in a successful campaign to end apartheid in South Africa
."
A second resolution, calling for an end to the construction of a wall by the state of Israel, passed. The resolution opposed to the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier
, regardless of its location, and opposed the United States government making monetary contribution to the construction. The General Assembly also adopted policies rejecting Christian Zionism
and allowing the continued funding of conversionary activities aimed at Jews
. Together, the resolutions caused tremendous dissent within the church and a sharp disconnect with the Jewish community. Leaders of several American Jewish groups communicated to the church their concerns about the use of economic leverages that apply specifically to companies operating in Israel. Some critics of the divestment policy accused church leaders of anti-Semitism
.
In June 2006, after the General Assembly in Birmingham, Alabama
changed policy (details), both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups praised the resolution. Pro-Israel groups, who had written General Assembly commissioners to express their concerns about a corporate engagement/divestment strategy focused on Israel, praised the new resolution, saying that it reflected the church stepping back from a policy that singled out companies working in Israel. Pro-Palestinian groups said that the church maintained the opportunity to engage and potentially divest from companies that support the Israeli occupation, because such support would be considered inappropriate according to the customary MRTI process.
Ahead of its scheduled July 2012 General Assembly meeting, there is talk that this issue will be raised again. According to an article in the Jewish Week, "several observers said, however, that they believe the church laity will similarly reject this proposal." In addition, the group Presbyterians for Middle East Peace has issued a statement against the divestment vote as well, saying, "We are not surprised by the MRTI recommendation because there is a small group of activists within the PCUSA that has relentlessly sought to punish Israel. Wanting to find one party at fault in a conflict where all parties have engaged in positive and negative actions, this small group believes that Israel is solely to blame for the current conflict."
In August 2011, the American National Middle Eastern Presbyterian Caucus (NMEPC) endorsed the boycott, divestment, and sanctions
(BDS) campaign against Israel.
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest 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,...
denomination in the U.S. The PC(USA) was established by the 1983 merger of the former Presbyterian Church in the United States
Presbyterian Church in the United States
The Presbyterian Church in the United States was a Protestant Christian denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983...
, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958 to 1983...
, whose congregations could be found in every state.
With 2,077,158 members and 13,462 ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
s in 10,657 congregations in 2009, the reunited denomination is the most visible and influential Presbyterian denomination in North America. The denomination reported a loss of 61,047 members (-2.9%) in 2010 and had a membership of 2,016,091 at the end of 2010. Denominational offices are located in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. The PC(USA) is a member of the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
, the World Communion of Reformed Churches
World Communion of Reformed Churches
The World Communion of Reformed Churches is an ecumenical Christian body formed in June 2010 by the union of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council...
, the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
, and Christian Churches Together
Christian Churches Together
Christian Churches Together in the USA is a Christian ecumenical group formed in 2006 to "broaden and expand fellowship, unity and witness among the diverse expressions of Christian faith today"....
.
Origins
Presbyterians trace their history to the 16th century and the Protestant ReformationProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. Presbyterian heritage, and much of what they believe, began with the Swiss/French theologian/lawyer John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
(1509–1564), whose writings solidified much of the Reformed thinking that came before him.
Calvin did most of his writing from Geneva, Switzerland. From there, the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe. John Knox
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
, a Scotsman who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland, took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland (see Scottish Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
). Other Reformed communities developed in England, Holland and France. The Presbyterian church traces its ancestry back primarily to Scotland.
The early Presbyterians in America came from Scotland and Ireland. The first American Presbytery was organized at Philadelphia in 1706. The first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was a Presbyterian denomination in the United States. It was organized in 1789 under the leadership of John Witherspoon in the wake of the American Revolution and existed until 1958 when it merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North...
(PCUSA) was held in the same city in 1789. The Assembly was convened by the Rev. John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. As president of the College of New Jersey , he trained many leaders of the early nation and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration...
, the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence. This was indicative of the active support of most Presbyterians for the American War of Independence.
The First Great Awakening
First Great Awakening
The First Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of personal...
had a major impact on the American Presbyterians. Inspired by the evangelical
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
preaching of George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
and others, Gilbert Tennent
Gilbert Tennent
Gilbert Tennent was a religious leader. Gilbert was one of the leaders of the Great Awakening of religious feeling in Colonial America, along with Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield...
delivered a sermon in West Nottingham, Maryland in 1740 on "The Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry." In the sermon, he asserted some current Presbyterian church leaders might be academic "Pharisee-teachers" who did not have the same faith or enthusiasm as newly converted followers, a controversial view which divided the church. Together with his brother William Tennent
William Tennent
William Tennent was an early American religious leader and educator in British North America.-Early life:Tennent was born in Mid Calder, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, in 1673. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1695 and was ordained in the Church of Ireland in 1706...
, he led the Presbyterian part of the Great Awakening revivalist movement in America.
In the South the Presbyterians were evangelical dissenters, mostly Scots-Irish Americans who expanded into Virginia between 1740 and 1758. Spangler (2008) argues they were more energetic and held frequent services better atuned to the frontier conditions of the colony. Presbyterianism grew in frontier areas where the Anglicans had made little impress. Uneducated whites and blacks were attracted to the emotional worship of the denomination, its emphasis on biblical simplicity, and its psalm singing. Presbyterians were a cross-section of society; they were involved in slaveholding and in patriarchal ways of household management, while the Presbyterian Church government featured few democratic elements. Some local Presbyterian churches, such as Briery in Prince Edward County, owned slaves. The Briery church purchased five slaves in 1766 and raised money for church expenses by hiring them out to local planters.
19th century
The 19th century was also characterized by disagreement and division over theology, governance, and reform - particularly slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. In 1803, Barton W. Stone
Barton W. Stone
Barton Warren Stone was an important preacher during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. He was first ordained a Presbyterian minister, then was expelled from the church after the Cane Ridge, Kentucky revival for his stated beliefs in faith as the sole prerequisite for salvation...
led a group of revivalist New Light Presbyterian ministers to form independent Springfield Presbytery
Springfield Presbytery
The Springfield Presbytery was an independent presbytery that became one of the earliest expressions of the Stone-Campbell Movement. It was composed of Presbyterian ministers who withdrew from the jurisdiction of the Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky on September 10, 1803...
which eventually became the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
. In 1810, a number of Presbyterian congregations and ministers, ejected by Kentucky Synod
Kentucky Synod
In the history of the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition in the United States, there have been a number of judicatories named Kentucky Synod.- Kentucky Synod, PC :...
for their pro-revival position and their relaxation of ordination requirements in a frontier setting, formed the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination, although they never intended the split to be permanent. In 1837, the church was split by the Old School-New School Controversy
Old School-New School Controversy
The Old School-New School Controversy was a schism of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America which began in 1837. Later, both the Old School and New School branches further split over the issue of slavery, into southern and northern churches...
. The century also saw the formation of the United Presbyterian Church of North America
United Presbyterian Church of North America
The United Presbyterian Church of North America was an American Presbyterian denomination that existed for exactly one hundred years. It was formed on May 26, 1858 by the union of the Northern branch of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church with the Associate Presbyterian Church at a...
. When the country could not reconcile the issue of slavery and the federal union, the southern Presbyterians split from the original PCUSA, forming the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America in 1861, which became the Presbyterian Church in the United States
Presbyterian Church in the United States
The Presbyterian Church in the United States was a Protestant Christian denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983...
after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
20th century to the present
The early part of the 20th century saw continued growth in both major sections of the church. It also saw the growth of Fundamentalist ChristianityFundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
(a movement of those who believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible as the fundamental source of the religion) as distinguished from Modernist Christianity (a movement holding the belief that Christianity needed to be re-interpreted in light of modern scientific theories such as evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
or the rise of degraded social conditions brought on by industrialization and urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
).
This controversy reached a head in 1924 after the General Assembly of the PCUSA adopted five "essential and necessary" pillars of Christian belief. This move toward aggressively anti-modernist fundamentalism
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
caused a backlash in the form of the Auburn Affirmation
Auburn Affirmation
The Auburn Affirmation was a document dated May 1924, with the title "AN AFFIRMATION designed to safeguard the unity and liberty of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America", authored by an eleven-member Conference Committee and signed by 1274 ministers of the PCUSA...
— a document embracing modernism and "liberty of thought and teaching." Although the 1930s and 1940s and the ensuing neo-orthodox theological consensus mitigated much of the polemics during the mid-20th century, disputes erupted again beginning in the mid-1960s, over the extent of involvement in the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
and the issue of ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
, and, especially since the 1990s, over the issue of ordination of gays and lesbians.
Mergers
The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was joined by the majority of the Cumberland Presbyterian ChurchCumberland Presbyterian Church
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Christian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. In 2007, it had an active membership of less than 50,000 and about 800 congregations, the majority of which are concentrated in the United States...
, mostly congregations in the border and Southern states, in 1906. In 1920, it absorbed the Welsh Calvinist Methodist Church. The United Presbyterian Church of North America merged with the PCUSA in 1958 to form the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958 to 1983...
(UPCUSA).
This sparked a period of ecumenical activism which culminated in the UPCUSA's development of the Confession of 1967
Confession of 1967
The Confession of 1967 is a confessional standard of the Presbyterian Church . The Special Committee on a Brief Contemporary Statement of Faith began preparing the Confession of 1967 in 1958 as a response to the Presbytery of Amarillo's 1957 overture to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian...
which was the church's first new confession of faith in three centuries. The 170th General Assembly in 1958 authorized a committee to develop a brief contemporary statement of faith. The 177th General Assembly in 1965 considered and amended the draft confession and sent a revised version for general discussion within the church. The 178th General Assembly in 1966 accepted a revised draft and sent it to presbyteries throughout the church for final ratification. As the confession was ratified by more than 90% of all presbyteries, the 178th General Assembly finally adopted it in 1967.
An attempt to reunite the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. with the Presbyterian Church in the United States in the late 1950s failed when the latter church was unwilling to accept centralization
Centralization
Centralisation, or centralization , is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location and/or group....
. This reflected its support for local decision making and concern about central organizations having greater power, a historically Southern attitude about civil government as well as ecclesiastical. In the meantime, a conservative group broke away from the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1973, mainly over the issues of women's ordination and a perceived drift toward theological liberalism. This group formed the 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...
(PCA).
Attempts at union between the churches (UPCUSA and PCUS) were renewed in the 1970s, culminating in the merger of the two churches to form the Presbyterian Church (USA) on June 10, 1983. At the time of the merger, the churches had a combined membership of 3,121,238. Many of the efforts were spearheaded by the financial and outspoken activism of retired businessman Thomas Clinton
Thomas Clinton
Thomas "Tom" Clinton was a businessman and religious leader instrumental in the formation of the Presbyterian Church .-Early life:...
who died two years before the merger. A new national headquarters was established in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
in 1988 replacing the headquarters of the UPCUSA in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the PCUS located in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
.
The merger essentially consolidated those moderate-to-liberal American Presbyterians into one body. Practically all other U.S. Presbyterian bodies (the Cumberland Presbyterians being a partial exception) profess some measure of doctrinal Calvinist propositionalism, literalist hermeneutics, and conservative politics.
For the most part, PC(USA) Presbyterians, not unlike similar mainline traditions such as the Episcopal Church
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
and the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
, are fairly (in some instances, strongly) progressive (liberal) on matters such as doctrine, environmental issues, sexual morality, and economic issues. Like other mainline denominations, the PC(USA) has also seen a great deal of demographic aging, with fewer and fewer new members and a steadily declining membership total in every consecutive year since 1967.
A recent phenomenon is that of conservative-minded groups in the PC(USA) (such as the Confessing church movement) remaining in the main body, rather than leaving to form new, break-away groups, as those most theologically conservative usually did (e.g., the 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...
, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the 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...
, and the Bible Presbyterian Church
Bible Presbyterian Church
The Bible Presbyterian Church is an American Protestant denomination.-History:The Bible Presbyterian Church was formed in 1937, predominantly through the efforts of such conservative Presbyterian clergymen as Carl McIntire, J. Oliver Buswell and Allen A. MacRae. Francis Schaeffer was the first...
).
Youth
Since 1983 the Presbyterian Youth Triennium has been held every three years at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S. and is open to Presbyterian high school students throughout the world. The very first Youth Triennium was held in 1980 at Indiana University and the conference for teens is an effort of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the nation; Cumberland Presbyterian Church; and Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, the first African American denomination to embrace Presbyterianism in the reformed tradition. For information on this year's triennium, go to http://presbyterianyouthtriennium.org/Constitution
The Constitution of PC(USA) is composed of two portions: Part I, the Book of ConfessionsBook of Confessions
The Book of Confessions is the book of doctrinal statements of the Presbyterian Church and is designated "Part 1" of the PCUSA Constitution, "Part 2" being the Book of Order. The BOC consists of eleven ecumenical, Reformed, and modern statements of the Christian faith. These are the updated...
and Part II, the Book of Order
Book of Order
The Book of Order is composed of three parts, entitled Form of Government, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline. It is for the Presbyterian Church , and it is designated "Part 2" of the PCUSA Constitution, with "Part 1" being the Book of Confessions.-Organization:The Book of Order does...
. The Book of Confessions outlines the beliefs of the PC(USA) by declaring the creeds by which the Church's leaders are instructed and led. Complementing that is the Book of Order which gives the rationale and description for the organization and function of the Church at all levels. The Book of Order is currently divided into three sections - 1) Form of Government, 2) The Directory For Worship, and 3) The Rules of Discipline.
Councils
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) has a representative form of government, known as presbyterian polityPresbyterian polity
Presbyterian polity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply...
, with four levels of government and administration, as outlined in the Book of Order. The councils(governing bodies) are as follows:
- Session (of a Congregation)
- Presbytery
- Synod
- General Assembly
Session
At the congregational level, the governing body is called the session, from the Latin word sessio, meaning "a sitting". The session is made up of the pastors of the church and all elders elected and installed to active service. Following a pattern set in the first congregation of Christians in Jerusalem described in the Book of Acts in the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, the church is governed by presbyters (a term and category that includes elders and Ministers of Word and Sacrament, historically also referred to as "ruling or canon elders" because they measure the spiritual life and work of a congregation and ministers as "teaching elders").
The elders are nominated by a nominating committee of the congregation; in addition, nominations from the floor are permissible. Elders are then elected by the congregation. All elders elected to serve on the congregation's session of elders are required to undergo a period of study and preparation for this order of ministry, after which the session examines the elders-elect as to their personal faith; knowledge of doctrine, government, and discipline contained in the Constitution of the church, and the duties of the office of elder. If the examination is approved, the session appoints a day for the service of ordination and installation. Session meetings are normally moderated by a called and installed pastor and minutes are recorded by a clerk, who is also an ordained presbyter. If the congregation does not have an installed pastor, the Presbytery appoints a minister member or elected member of the presbytery as moderator with the concurrence of the local church session. The moderator presides over the session as primus inter pares
Primus inter pares
Primus inter pares is Latin phrase describing the most senior person of a group sharing the same rank or office.When not used in reference to a specific title, it may indicate that the person so described is formally equal, but looked upon as an authority of special importance by their peers...
and as moderator also serves a "liturgical" bishop over the ordination and installation of elders and deacons within a particular congregation.
The session takes care of the guidance and direction of the ministry of the local church, including almost all responsibilities of spiritual and fiduciary leadership. The congregation as a whole has only the responsibility to vote on: 1) the call of the pastor (subject to presbytery approval) and the terms of call (the church's provision for compensating and caring for the pastor); 2) the election of its own officers (elders & deacons); 3) buying, mortgaging, or selling real property. All other church matters such as the budget, personnel matters, and all programs for spiritual life and mission, are the responsibility of the session. In addition, the session serves as an ecclesiastical court to consider disciplinary charges brought against church officers or members.
The session also oversees the work of the deacons, a second body of leaders also tracing its origins to the Book of Acts. The deacons are a congregational-level group whose duty is "to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress both within and beyond the community of faith." In some churches, the responsibilities of the deacons are taken care of by the session, so there is no board of deacons in that church. In some states, churches are legally incorporated and members or elders of the church serve as trustees of the corporation. However, "the power and duties of such trustees shall not infringe upon the powers and duties of the Session or of the board of deacons." The deacons are a ministry board but not a governing body.
Presbytery
A presbytery is formed by all the congregations and the Ministers of Word and Sacrament in a geographic area together with elders selected (proportional to congregation size) from each of the congregations. Four PC(USA) synods (see below) have a non-geographical presbytery for Korean language Presbyterian congregations. One synod has a non-geographical presbytery for Native American congregations, the Dakota Presbytery. There are currently 173 presbyteries for the more than 11,000 congregations in the PC(USA).Note re. "non-geographical": The five presbyteries are "non-geographical" only in that they overlay other pre-existing English-speaking geographical presbyteries; they are in fact "geographical" in that they are geographically limited to the boundaries of a particular synod. It may be more accurate to refer to them as "trans-geographical" presbyteries.
Only the presbytery (not a congregation, session, synod, or General Assembly) has the responsibility and authority to ordain church members to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament, to install Ministers of Word and Sacrament to (and/or remove them from) congregations, and to remove a minister from the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. A Minister of Word and Sacrament is a Presbyterian minister only by virtue of membership on a roll of a presbytery. The Office of the General Assembly maintains and publishes a national directory with the help of each presbytery's stated clerk. A pastor cannot be a member of the congregation he or she serves as pastor because his or her primary ecclesiastical accountability lies with the presbytery. Members of the congregation generally choose their own pastor with the assistance and support of the presbytery. The presbytery must approve the choice and officially install the pastor at the congregation. Additionally, the presbytery must approve if either the congregation or the pastor wishes to dissolve that pastoral relationship.
The presbytery has authority over many affairs of its local congregations. Only the presbytery can approve the establishment, dissolution, or merger of congregations. The presbytery also maintains a Permanent Judicial Commission, which acts as a court of appeal from sessions, and which exercises original jurisdiction in disciplinary cases against minister members of the presbytery.
A presbytery has two elected officers: a moderator and a stated clerk. The Moderator of the presbytery is elected annually and is either a minister member or an elder commissioner from one of the presbytery's congregations. The Moderator presides at all presbytery assemblies and is the chief overseer at the ordination and installation of ministers in that presbytery. The stated clerk is the chief ecclesial officer and serves as the presbytery's executive secretary and parliamentarian in accordance with the church Constitution and Robert's Rules of Order. While the moderator of a presbytery normally serves one year, the stated clerk normally serves a designated number of years and may be re-elected indefinitely by the presbytery. Additionally, an Executive Presbyter
Presbyter
Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...
(sometimes designated as General Presbyter, Pastor to Presbytery, Transitional Presbyter) is often elected as a staff person to care for the administrative duties of the presbytery, often with the additional role of a pastor to the pastors. Presbyteries may be creative in the designation and assignment of duties for their staff. A presbytery is required to elect a Moderator and a Clerk, but the practice of hiring staff is optional. Presbyteries must meet at least twice a year, but they have the discretion to meet more often and most do.
See "Map of Presbyteries and Synods"
Synod
Presbyteries are organized within a geographical region to form a synod. Each synod contains at least three presbyteries, and its elected voting membership is to include both elders and Ministers of Word and Sacrament in equal numbers. Synods have various duties depending on the needs of the presbyteries they serve. In general, their responsibilities (G-12.0102) might be summarized as: developing and implementing the mission of the church throughout the region, facilitating communication between presbyteries and the General Assembly, and mediating conflicts between the churches and presbyteries. Every synod elects a Permanent Judicial Commission, which has original jurisdiction in remedial cases brought against its constituent presbyteries, and which also serves as an ecclesiastical court of appeal for decisions rendered by its presbyteries' Permanent Judicial Commissions. Synods are required to meet at least biennially. Meetings are moderated by an elected synod Moderator with support of the synod's Stated Clerk. There are currently 16 synods in the PC(USA) and they vary widely in the scope and nature of their work. An ongoing current debate in the denomination is over the purpose, function, and need for synods.General Assembly
The General Assembly is the highest governing body of the PC(USA). Until the 216th assembly met in Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
in 2004, the General Assembly met once a year; since 2004, the General Assembly has met biennially in even-numbered years. It consists of commissioners elected by presbyteries (not synods), and its voting membership is proportioned with parity between elders and Ministers of Word and Sacrament. There are many important responsibilities of the General Assembly. Among them, The Book of Order lists these four:
- to set priorities for the work of the church in keeping with the church's mission under Christ
- to develop overall objectives for mission and a comprehensive strategy to guide the church at every level of its life
- to provide the essential program functions that are appropriate for overall balance and diversity within the mission of the church, and
- to establish and administer national and worldwide ministries of witness, service, growth, and development.
The General Assembly elects a moderator
Moderator of the General Assembly
The Moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a presbyterian or reformed church. Kirk Sessions and Presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator....
at each assembly who moderates the rest of the sessions of that assembly meeting and continues as moderator until the next assembly convenes (two years later) to elect a new moderator. The current Moderator of the 219th General Assembly is Elder Cynthia Bolbach
Cynthia Bolbach
Cynthia Bolbach is the Moderator of the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church . Bolbach was elected as Moderator on July 3, 2010 from a field of six candidates. Of the candidates, Bolbach was the only Elder and the only one to express unqualified support for same-sex marriage. She...
. The moderator of the 218th General Assembly was the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow
Bruce Reyes-Chow
Bruce Reyes-Chow is a minister of the Presbyterian Church .Bruce was the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church . Reyes-Chow was elected as Moderator on June 21, 2008 from a field of four candidates...
.
A Stated Clerk is elected to a four year term and is responsible for the Office of the General Assembly which conducts the ecclesiastical work of the church. The Office of the General Assembly carries out most of the ecumenical functions and all of the constitutional functions at the Assembly. The current Stated Clerk of the General Assembly is the Rev. Gradye Parsons.
The General Assembly also elects a General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC). There are 48 elected members of the General Assembly Mission Council (40 voting members; 17 non-voting delegates), who represent synods, presbyteries, and the church at-large. Members serve one six-year term, with the exception of the present Moderator of the General Assembly (one 2-year term), the past Moderator of the General Assembly (one 2-year term), the moderator of Presbyterian Women (one 3-year term), ecumenical advisory members (one 2-year term, eligible for two additional terms), and stewardship and audit committee at-large members (one 2-year term, eligible for two additional terms). Among the elected members’ major responsibilities is the coordination of the work of the program areas in light of General Assembly mission directions, objectives, goals and priorities. The GAMC meets three times a year. The General Assembly elects an Executive Director of the General Assembly Mission Council who is the top administrator overseeing the mission work of the PC(USA). The current Executive Director of the GAMC is Elder Linda Bryant Valentine.
Affiliated seminaries
The denomination maintains affiliations with ten seminaries in the United States. These are:- Austin Presbyterian Theological SeminaryAustin Presbyterian Theological SeminaryAustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1902 by Presbyterian ministers, Robert Lewis Dabney and Richmond Kelley Smoot....
in Austin, Texas - Columbia Theological SeminaryColumbia Theological SeminaryColumbia Theological Seminary is one of the ten theological institutions affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . It is located in Decatur, Georgia. Dr. Stephen A. Hayner is the seminary's president.-Description:...
in Decatur, Georgia - Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological CenterInterdenominational Theological CenterThe Interdenominational Theological Center is a consortium of denominational seminaries located in Atlanta, Georgia. Today ITC educates and nurtures women and men who commit to and practice a liberating and transforming spirituality; academic discipline; religious, gender, and cultural diversity;...
in Atlanta, Georgia - Louisville Presbyterian Theological SeminaryLouisville Presbyterian Theological SeminaryLouisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary affiliated with the Presbyterian Church , located in Louisville, Kentucky. It is one of ten official PC seminaries....
in Louisville. Kentucky - McCormick Theological SeminaryMcCormick Theological SeminaryMcCormick Theological Seminary is one of eleven schools of theology of the Presbyterian Church . It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois...
in Chicago, Illinois - Pittsburgh Theological SeminaryPittsburgh Theological SeminaryPittsburgh Theological Seminary, founded in 1794, is a graduate theological institution associated with the Presbyterian Church USA. It is located in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and houses one of the largest theological libraries in the nation...
, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Princeton Theological SeminaryPrinceton Theological SeminaryPrinceton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
, the first chartered by the General Assembly, in Princeton, New Jersey - San Francisco Theological SeminarySan Francisco Theological SeminarySan Francisco Theological Seminary is a graduate school affiliated with Presbyterian Church located in San Anselmo, California. Founded in 1871, SFTS is a graduate theological institution that is focused on graduate theological education in the Reformed tradition...
in San Anselmo, Marin County, California - Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina
- University of Dubuque Theological SeminaryDubuque Theological SeminaryThe University of Dubuque Theological Seminary is one of the ten official seminaries of the Presbyterian Church . It is located in Dubuque, Iowa. Originally classes were taught in German to serve the immigrant population, but today the school is well known for its emphasis on Native American and...
in Dubuque, Iowa
Two other seminaries are related to the PC(USA) by covenant agreement: Auburn Theological Seminary
Auburn Theological Seminary
Auburn Theological Seminary was founded in 1818. Auburn Theological Seminary focuses on religious leadership development, movement-building, and research. Auburn is based in New York City and exists in covenant with the Presbyterian Church ....
in New York, New York, and Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
There are numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States affiliated with PC(USA). For a complete list, see the article Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities
Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities
The Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities is a private, not-for-profit organization of colleges and universities associated with the Presbyterian Church , a Mainline Protestant Christian religious denomination.- Member schools :...
. For more information, see the article PC(USA) seminaries
PC(USA) seminaries
Presbyterian Church seminaries are educational institutions run by the Presbyterian Church , geared primarily towards the training of ministers. The seminaries are independent institutions but relate dynamically to the PC through the Committee on Theological Education, a committee of seminary...
.
Demographics
The PC(USA) maintains extensive statistics on its members. Total "communicant" membership fell by 2.9% in 2009 to 2,077,138, the largest loss since 1975. This continues a three decade-long decline in membership for PC(USA). This is consistent with the trends of most mainline Protestant denominations in America since the late 1960s.The average Presbyterian Church has 195 members (the mean in 2009). About 25% of the total congregations report between 1 and 50 members. Another 23% report between 51 and 100 members. The average worship attendance as a percentage of membership is 51.7%. The largest congregation in the PC(USA) is Peachtree Presbyterian Church
Peachtree Presbyterian Church
Peachtree Presbyterian Church is a megachurch in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The largest congregation of the Presbyterian Church , its membership in 2010 was approximately 9,000.Peachtree began as a Sunday school for children in Atlanta founded in 1910...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, with a reported membership of 8,989 (2009).
Most PC(USA) members are white (92.9%). Other racial and ethnic members include African-Americans (3.1% of the total membership of the denomination), Asians (2.3%), Hispanics (1.2%), Native Americans (0.2%), and others (0.3%). Despite declines in the total membership of the PC(USA), the percentage of racial-ethnic minority members has stayed about the same since 1995. The ratio of female members (58%) to male members (42%) has also remained stable since the mid-1960s.
Worship
The session of the local congregation has a great deal of freedom in the style and ordering of worship within the guidelines set forth in the Directory for Worship section of the Book of Order. Worship varies from congregation to congregation. The order may be very traditional and highly liturgical, or it may be very simple and informal. This variance is not unlike that seen in the "High ChurchHigh church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
" and "Low Church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
" styles of the Anglican Church
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
. The Book of Order suggests a worship service ordered around five themes: "gathering around the Word, proclaiming the Word, responding to the Word, the sealing of the Word, and bearing and following the Word into the world." Prayer is central to the service and may be silent, spoken, sung, or read in unison (including The Lord's Prayer). Music plays a large role in most PC(USA) worship services and ranges from chant to traditional Protestant hymns, to classical sacred music, to more modern music, depending on the preference of the individual church and is offered prayerfully and not "for entertainment or artistic display." Scripture is read and usually preached upon. An offering is usually taken.
"The pastor has certain responsibilities which are not subject to the authority of the session. In a particular service of worship the pastor is responsible for:
- the selection of Scripture lessons to be read,
- the preparation and preaching of the sermon or exposition of the Bible,
- the prayers offered on behalf of the people and those prepared for the use of the people in worship,
- the music to be sung,
- the use of drama, dance, and other art forms.
The pastor may confer with a worship committee in planning particular services of worship." [W-1.4005]
The Directory for Worship in the Book of Order
Book of Order
The Book of Order is composed of three parts, entitled Form of Government, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline. It is for the Presbyterian Church , and it is designated "Part 2" of the PCUSA Constitution, with "Part 1" being the Book of Confessions.-Organization:The Book of Order does...
provides the directions for what must be, or may be included in worship. During the 20th century, Presbyterians were offered optional use of liturgical book
Liturgical book
A liturgical book is a book published by the authority of a church, that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services.-Roman Catholic:...
s:
- The Book of Common Worship of 1906The Book of Common Worship of 1906The Book of Common Worship of 1906 was the first liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. It was replaced by a new edition in 1932.The book was the result of overtures from the Synod of New York and the Presbytery of Denver...
- The Book of Common Worship of 1932The Book of Common Worship of 1932The Book of Common Worship of 1932 was the second liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church . It was superseded by a new edition in 1946....
- The Book of Common Worship of 1946The Book of Common Worship of 1946The Book of Common Worship of 1946 was the third liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church and provided for more congregational participation than previous versions....
- The Worshipbook of 1970The Worshipbook of 1970The Worshipbook of 1970 is a liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church and was a radical departure from previous works. This book was composed in the shadow of a great ecumenical movement that included the Consultation on Church Union, the Second Vatican Council , the Jesus Movement, and many...
(spelling is correct) - The Book of Common Worship of 1993The Book of Common Worship of 1993The Book of Common Worship of 1993 is the fifth liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church .With the reunion of the United Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church , which took place in 1983, the need arose for a new liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church...
For more information, see Liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
There have been several liturgical books used in American Presbyterian Churches. The main service book in current use is the Book of Common Worship , published by the Presbyterian Church in cooperation with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church....
In regard to vestments, the Directory for Worship leaves that decision up to the ministers. Thus, on a given Sunday moring service, a congregation may see the minister leading worship in street clothes, Geneva gown, or an alb. Among the Paleo-orthodoxy
Paleo-Orthodoxy
Paleo-orthodoxy is a broad Christian theological movement of the late 20th and early 21st centuries which focuses on the consensual understanding of the faith among the Ecumenical Councils and Church Fathers...
and emerging church
Emerging Church
The emerging church is a Christian movement of the late 20th and early 21st century that crosses a number of theological boundaries: participants can be described as evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, post-evangelical, anabaptist, adventist, liberal, post-liberal, reformed, charismatic,...
Presbyterians, clergy are moving away from the traditional black Geneva gown
Geneva gown
The Geneva gown, also called a pulpit gown, pulpit robe, or preaching robe, is an ecclesiastical garment customarily worn by ordained ministers in the Christian churches that arose out of the historic Protestant Reformation.- Description :...
and reclaiming not only the more ancient Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
vestments of alb
Alb
The alb , one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and many Protestant churches, is an ample white garment coming down to the ankles and usually girdled with a cincture. It is simply the long linen tunic used by the Romans...
and chasuble
Chasuble
The chasuble is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian Churches that use full vestments, primarily in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, as well as in some parts of the United Methodist Church...
, but also cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
and surplice
Surplice
A surplice is a liturgical vestment of the Western Christian Church...
(typically a full length Old English style surplice which resembles the Celtic alb, an ungirdled liturgical tunic of the old Gallican Rite
Gallican rite
The Gallican Rite is a historical sub-grouping of the Roman Catholic liturgy in western Europe; it is not a single rite but actually a family of rites within the Western Rite which comprised the majority use of most of Christianity in western Europe for the greater part of the 1st millennium AD...
).
Missions
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has, historically, been a leading United States denomination in mission work, and many hospitals, clinics, colleges and universities worldwide trace their origins to the pioneering work of Presbyterian missionaries who founded them more than a century ago. Currently, despite having more than 2 million members, the church supports less than 215 missionaries abroad annually. This may be represented more starkly by the fact that, as of the proposed missionary goals of 2009, missionaries as a function of total church membership represent less than %0.008. A vital part of the world mission emphasis of the denomination is building and maintaining relationships with Presbyterian, Reformed and other churches around the world. The PC(USA) is a leader in disaster assistance relief and also participates in or relates to work in other countries through ecumenical relationships.Ecumenical relationships and full communion partnerships
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) determines and approves ecumenical statements, agreements, and maintains correspondence with other Presbyterian and Reformed bodies, other Christians churches, alliances, councils, and consortia. Ecumenical statements and agreements are subject to the ratification of the presbyteries. The following are some of the major ecumenical agreements and partnerships.The church is committed to "engage in bilateral and multilateral dialogues with other churches and traditions in order to remove barriers of misunderstanding and establish common affirmations." At the present time it is in dialog with the Episcopal Church
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
, the Moravian Church, the Korean American Presbyterian Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Cumberland Presbyterian Church
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Christian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. In 2007, it had an active membership of less than 50,000 and about 800 congregations, the majority of which are concentrated in the United States...
, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America
Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America is a primarily African-American denomination which developed from the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1874....
, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It also participates in international dialogues through the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
and the World Communion of Reformed Churches
World Communion of Reformed Churches
The World Communion of Reformed Churches is an ecumenical Christian body formed in June 2010 by the union of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council...
. The most recent international dialogues include Pentecostal churches, Seventh-day Adventist, Orthodox Church in America
Orthodox Church in America
The Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...
, and others.
National and international ecumenical memberships
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is in corresponding partnership with the National Council of ChurchesNational Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
, the World Communion of Reformed Churches
World Communion of Reformed Churches
The World Communion of Reformed Churches is an ecumenical Christian body formed in June 2010 by the union of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council...
, and the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
. It is a member of Churches for Middle East Peace
Churches for Middle East Peace
Churches for Middle East Peace is a 501 non-profit advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. As a coalition of Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches, CMEP works to influence American policy in ways that will bring justice and peace for all people and countries in the Middle East...
.
Formula of agreement
In 1997 four churches of Reformation heritage acted on an ecumenical proposal of historic importance. The timing reflected a doctrinal consensus which had been developing over the past thirty-two years coupled with an increasing urgency for the church to proclaim a gospel of unity in contemporary society. In light of identified doctrinal consensus, desiring to bear visible witness to the unity of the Church, and hearing the call to engage together in God’s mission, it was recommended:
That the Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Reformed Church in AmericaReformed Church in AmericaThe 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 United Church of ChristUnited Church of ChristThe United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
declare on the basis of A Common Calling and their adoption of this A Formula of Agreement that they are in full communion with one another. Thus, each church is entering into or affirming full communion with three other churches.
The term “full communion” is understood here to specifically mean that the four churches:
- recognize each other as churches in which the gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered according to the Word of God;
- withdraw any historic condemnation by one side or the other as inappropriate for the life and faith of our churches today;
- continue to recognize each other’s Baptism and authorize and encourage the sharing of the Lord’s Supper among their members; recognize each others’ various ministries and make provision for the orderly exchange of ordained ministers of Word and Sacrament;
- establish appropriate channels of consultation and decision-making within the existing structures of the churches;
commit themselves to an ongoing process of theological dialogue in order to clarify further the common understanding of the faith and foster its common expression in evangelism, witness, and service;
- pledge themselves to living together under the Gospel in such a way that the principle of mutual affirmation and admonition becomes the basis of a trusting relationship in which respect and love for the other will have a chance to grow.
The agreement assumed the doctrinal consensus articulated in A Common Calling:The Witness of Our Reformation Churches in North America Today, and is to be viewed in concert with that document. The purpose of A Formula of Agreement is to elucidate the
complementarity of affirmation and admonition as the basic principle of entering into full communion and the implications of that action as described in A Common Calling.
The 209th General Assembly (1997) approved A Formula of Agreement and in 1998 the 210th General Assembly declared full communion among these Protestant bodies.
National and international ecumenical memberships
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is in corresponding partnership with the National Council of ChurchesNational Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
, the World Communion of Reformed Churches
World Communion of Reformed Churches
The World Communion of Reformed Churches is an ecumenical Christian body formed in June 2010 by the union of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council...
, Christian Churches Together
Christian Churches Together
Christian Churches Together in the USA is a Christian ecumenical group formed in 2006 to "broaden and expand fellowship, unity and witness among the diverse expressions of Christian faith today"....
, and the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
.
World Communion of Reformed Churches
In June 2010, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches will merge with the Reformed Ecumenical CouncilReformed Ecumenical Council
The Reformed Ecumenical Council is an international organization of CalvinistChurches. It has 39 member denominations from 25 countries in its membership, and those churches have about 12 million people together. It was founded in 1946 as the Reformed Ecumenical Synod...
to form the World Communion of Reformed Churches
World Communion of Reformed Churches
The World Communion of Reformed Churches is an ecumenical Christian body formed in June 2010 by the union of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council...
. The result will be a form of full communion similar to that outline in the Formula of Agreement, including orderly exchange of ministers.
Churches Uniting in Christ
The PC (U.S.A.) is one of nine denominations that joined together to form the Consultation on Church UnionConsultation on Church Union
The Consultation on Church Union was an effort towards church unity in the United States, that began in 1962 and in 2002 became the Churches Uniting in Christ...
, which initially sought a merger of the denominations. In 1998 the Seventh Plenary of the Consultation on Church Union approved a document "Churches in Covenant Communion: The Church of Christ Uniting" as a plan for the formation of a covenant communion of churches. In 2002 the nine denominations inaugurated the new relationship and became known as Churches Uniting in Christ
Churches Uniting in Christ
Churches Uniting in Christ brings together ten mainline American denominations , and was inaugurated on January 20, 2002....
. The partnership is considered incomplete until the partnering communions reconcile their understanding of Holy Orders and devise and orderly exchange of clergy.
Homosexual ordination
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. Paragraph G-6.0106b of the Book of Order
Book of Order
The Book of Order is composed of three parts, entitled Form of Government, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline. It is for the Presbyterian Church , and it is designated "Part 2" of the PCUSA Constitution, with "Part 1" being the Book of Confessions.-Organization:The Book of Order does...
prohibits the ordination of those who are not faithful in marriage or chaste in singleness. This paragraph was added in 1997 and is commonly referred to by its pre-ratification designation, "Amendment B". Several attempts have been made to remove this from the Book of Order, and in 2011, the Presbyteries of the PC(USA) passed the amendment 10-A permitting congregations to ordain elders and deacons and presbyteries to ordain ministers in same-sex partnerships and marriages if they feel called to do so.
Many Presbyterian scholars, pastors, and theologians have been heavily involved in the debate over homosexuality. In 2005, a female minister in Pennsylvania came under scrutiny after performing a marriage between a lesbian couple, including infusion of Buddhist rites in the ceremony. Her case is to be heard by the church's court
Ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages in many areas of Europe these courts had much wider powers than before the development of nation states...
. Officially, the church does not prohibit clergy-performed blessing ceremonies for same sex unions, as long as it clear that the blessing ritual is not a marriage ceremony.
Since 1980, the More Light Churches Network has served many congregations and individuals within American Presbyterianism who take positions on one side of this issue. The Covenant Network of Presbyterians was formed in 1997 to support repeal of "Amendment B", and to encourage networking amongst like-minded clergy and congregations. Other organizations of Presbyterians, such as the Confessing Movement
Confessing Movement
The Confessing Movement is an Evangelical movement within several mainline Protestant denominations to return those churches to what the members of the movement see as theological orthodoxy....
and the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is a Christian ministry which produces print and internet resources, broadcasts radio programs The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is a Christian ministry which produces print and internet resources, broadcasts radio programs The Alliance of Confessing...
, have also organized on the other side of the issue to support maintaining the current standards of ordination.
General Assembly 2006
The 2006 Report of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church, in theory, attempted to find common ground. Some felt that the adoption of this report provided for a clear local option mentioned, while the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Clifton Kirkpatrick went on record as saying, "Our standards have not changed. The rules of the Book of Order stay in force and all ordinations are still subject to review by higher governing bodies." The authors of the report stated that it is a compromise and return to the original Presbyterian culture of local controls. The recommendation for more control by local presbyteries and sessionsPresbyterian polity
Presbyterian polity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply...
is viewed by its opposition as a method for bypassing the constitutional restrictions currently in place concerning ordination and marriage, effectively making the constitutional "standard" entirely subjective.
In the General Assembly gathering of June 2006, Presbyterian voting Commissioners passed an "authoritative interpretation", recommended by the Theological Task Force, of the Book of Order (the church constitution). Some argued that this gave presbyteries the "local option" of ordaining or not ordaining anyone based on a particular presbytery's reading of the constitutional statute. Others argued that presbyteries have always had this responsibility and that this new ruling did not change but only clarified that responsibility. On June 20, 2006, the General Assembly voted 298 to 221 (or 57% to 43%) to approve such interpretation. In that same session on June 20, the General Assembly also voted 405 to 92 (with 4 abstentions) to uphold the constitutional standard for ordination requiring fidelity in marriage or chastity in singleness. A clear understanding of the effect of what the General Assembly voted upon in 2006 may have to wait until the ecclesiastical courts make decisions on specific cases.
General Assembly 2008
The General Assembly of 2008 took several actions related to homosexuality. The first action was to adopt a different translation of the Heidelberg CatechismHeidelberg 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...
from 1962, removing the words "homosexual perversions" among other changes. This will require the approval of the 2010 and 2012 General Assemblies as well as the votes of the presbyteries after the 2010 Assembly. The second action was to approve a new Authoritative Interpretation of G-6.0108 of the Book of Order allowing for the ordaining body to make decisions on whether or not a departure from the standards of belief of practice is sufficient to preclude ordination. Some argue that this creates "local option" on ordaining homosexual persons. The third action was to replace the text of "Amendment B" with new text: "Those who are called to ordained service in the church, by their assent to the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003), pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions. In so doing, they declare their fidelity to the standards of the Church. Each governing body charged with examination for ordination and/or installation (G-14.0240 and G-14.0450) establishes the candidate's sincere efforts to adhere to these standards." This would have removed the "fidelity and chastity" clause. This third action failed to obtain the required approval of a majority of the presbyteries by June, 2009. Fourth, a resolution was adopted to affirm the definition of marriage from Scripture and the Confessions as being between a man and a woman.
General Assembly 2010
On July 8, 2010, by a vote of 373 to 323, the General Assembly voted to propose to the presbyteries a constitutional amendment to remove the restriction against the ordination of partnered homosexuals. This action required ratification by a majority of the 173 presbyteries within 12 months for the proposed amendment to take effect. The presbyteries voted to approve the constitutional change.At the General Assembly of 2004 an overture to consider adoption of the Belhar Confession
Belhar Confession
The Belhar Confession is a Christian statement of belief originally written in Afrikaans in 1982. It was adopted as a confession of faith by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa in 1986....
was adopted. That confession was written by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa in response to apartheid. The 2008 General Assembly voted to create a committee to study the confession and bring a recommendation to the 2010 General Assembly. This is the first step in the PC(USA) process of changing the Book of Confessions
Book of Confessions
The Book of Confessions is the book of doctrinal statements of the Presbyterian Church and is designated "Part 1" of the PCUSA Constitution, "Part 2" being the Book of Order. The BOC consists of eleven ecumenical, Reformed, and modern statements of the Christian faith. These are the updated...
, a process that will require approval at General Assemblies in 2010 and 2012 and approval of the presbyteries after the 2010 Assembly.
Property ownership
In the event of a congregational split, dissolution (closing), or disassociation from the PC(USA), the presbytery may assert a claim to the property. State law (which varies) determines the ownership of property despite the denomination's property clause in the Book of Order. This clause does not prevent particular churches from leaving the denomination, but if they do, they may not be entitled to any physical assets of that congregation unless by agreement with the presbytery. Recently this provision has been vigorously tested in courts of law.Despite the historically connectional structure of Presbyterianism, this issue is, surprisingly, relatively new. Until recently the "connection" referred to doctrinal coherence and had no reference to physical property. In 1981, UPCUSA leaders persuaded the General Assembly to amend the Book of Order in order to add the "property trust" elements. The denomination did this in reaction to three developments over the previous decade:
1) A case involving a Pittsburgh ministerial candidate who opposed the ordination of women led several congregations in western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and eastern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to leave in favor of the new 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...
, a conservative body with origins in the Southern U.S., in the mid-1970s.
2) The Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case Jones v. Wolf, , allowed for church property cases to be adjudicated in civil courts in the U.S., giving churches hostile to national or regional bodies a possible platform to secede.
3) Some months prior to that General Assembly, a number of disaffected congregations formed a new conservative denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. UPCUSA loyalists interpreted that move as having been encouraged by the 1979 ruling.
The secessions in the first and third points were occasioned in part by factors including the UPCUSA's approval of abortion rights, its stands on world peace
World peace
World Peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or people. World peace is an idea of planetary non-violence by which nations willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. The term is sometimes used to...
and concomitant suspicion of an aggressive U.S. foreign policy (brought about by the trauma of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
), and its support of controversial social justice causes such as a well-publicized General Assembly contribution to the defense fund of imprisoned activist Angela Davis
Angela Davis
Angela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
. The first instance in particular reflected that candidate's and those churches' opposition to female leadership in the church and feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
in general. Later, in the 1980s, Presbyterian evangelicals added homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
to their list of grievances, although the UPCUSA decided in 1978 not to ordain non-celibate gays to the ministry or eldership, a decision that liberal groups have been trying to reverse for most of the first decade of the 21st century.
The PCUS, already deeply in preparation for the UPCUSA merger, followed suit in 1982, but managed to gain a concession for its conservative congregations in the form of a two-year grace period to take effect after the consummation of the merger, to enable dissenting churches to defect, by consent of presbytery, without suffering any loss of assets. The PCUS had to agree to this limit on eligibility as a condition of union, due to the so-called "Northern Presbyterians" being by far the majority numerically.
In ensuing years, disaffection has grown among PC(USA) conservatives (from both predecessor traditions) due to feelings that presbyteries have no right to congregational property, since national agencies and local pledges usually finance building programs, with little or no presbytery fiduciary interest. In fact, prior to World War II, more often than not, new churches started from the initiative of larger congregations (e.g., Sunday School missions), not presbyteries, as became the case increasingly from the 1950s onward, due to suburban mission planning and ecumenical concerns. Several cases in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
seem to have halted the practice in that state—the courts have allowed individual churches to leave the PC(USA) and keep their own assets, as well as parishes of the United Methodist and Episcopal denominations. In most other states, however, courts have generally deferred to the provisions in the Book of Order, permitting presbytery takeovers and/or dissolutions of some dissenting churches.
Divestment from corporations operating in Israel
In June 2004, the General Assembly met in Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
and adopted by a vote of 431-62 a resolution that called on the church's committee on Mission Responsibility through Investment (MRTI) "to initiate a process of phased, selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel." The resolution also said "the occupation . . . has proven to be at the root of evil acts committed against innocent people on both sides of the conflict." The church statement at the time noted that "divestment is one of the strategies that U.S. churches used in the 1970s and 80s in a successful campaign to end apartheid in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
."
A second resolution, calling for an end to the construction of a wall by the state of Israel, passed. The resolution opposed to the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
, regardless of its location, and opposed the United States government making monetary contribution to the construction. The General Assembly also adopted policies rejecting Christian Zionism
Christian Zionism
Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. It overlaps with, but is distinct from, the nineteenth century movement for the Restoration of the Jews...
and allowing the continued funding of conversionary activities aimed at Jews
Jews for Jesus
Jews for Jesus is a conservative, Christian evangelical organization that focuses on the conversion of Jews to Christianity. Its members consider themselves to be Jews – either as defined by Jewish law, or as according to the view of Jews for Jesus. Jews for Jesus defines “Jewish” in terms of...
. Together, the resolutions caused tremendous dissent within the church and a sharp disconnect with the Jewish community. Leaders of several American Jewish groups communicated to the church their concerns about the use of economic leverages that apply specifically to companies operating in Israel. Some critics of the divestment policy accused church leaders of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
.
In June 2006, after the General Assembly in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
changed policy (details), both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups praised the resolution. Pro-Israel groups, who had written General Assembly commissioners to express their concerns about a corporate engagement/divestment strategy focused on Israel, praised the new resolution, saying that it reflected the church stepping back from a policy that singled out companies working in Israel. Pro-Palestinian groups said that the church maintained the opportunity to engage and potentially divest from companies that support the Israeli occupation, because such support would be considered inappropriate according to the customary MRTI process.
Ahead of its scheduled July 2012 General Assembly meeting, there is talk that this issue will be raised again. According to an article in the Jewish Week, "several observers said, however, that they believe the church laity will similarly reject this proposal." In addition, the group Presbyterians for Middle East Peace has issued a statement against the divestment vote as well, saying, "We are not surprised by the MRTI recommendation because there is a small group of activists within the PCUSA that has relentlessly sought to punish Israel. Wanting to find one party at fault in a conflict where all parties have engaged in positive and negative actions, this small group believes that Israel is solely to blame for the current conflict."
In August 2011, the American National Middle Eastern Presbyterian Caucus (NMEPC) endorsed the boycott, divestment, and sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions refers to a campaign first initiated on 9 July 2005 by 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations in support of the Palestinian cause ".....
(BDS) campaign against Israel.
Revision of Interfaith Relations resource on church anti-Jewish bias in materials related to Israeli-Palestinian conflict
In May 2008, the denomination's Office of Interfaith Relations issued a statement titled "Vigilance against anti-Jewish ideas and bias." This statement reported that "strains of an old anti-Jewish tradition are present in the way we ourselves sometimes speak and in the rhetoric and ideas of some writers that we may read" regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Church revised and expanded this document in June, removing acknowledgment of such sentiment as a matter of current church practice, instead declaring that the church's current stands are not anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish - in part because they reflect criticisms of Israel meted by Jews and Israelis. The revisions resulted in a rebuke from the major Jewish denominations in a June 13, 2008 letter to the head of the PCUSA and a similar condemnation in the form of a statement from the denominations and ten other organizations.See also
- Presbyterian Youth ConnectionPresbyterian Youth ConnectionThe Presbyterian Youth Connection is for all Presbyterian Church Youth and Adults. “Youth” is loosely defined as young people between the ages of 12 and 18. It is a common identity, theology, and structure for youth ministry across the Presbyterian Church and is based on a model that envisions...
- Associate Reformed Presbyterian ChurchAssociate Reformed Presbyterian ChurchThe 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...
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)
- Cumberland Presbyterian ChurchCumberland Presbyterian ChurchThe Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Christian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. In 2007, it had an active membership of less than 50,000 and about 800 congregations, the majority of which are concentrated in the United States...
- Orthodox Presbyterian ChurchOrthodox Presbyterian ChurchThe 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 AmericaPresbyterian Church in AmericaThe 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...
- Association of Presbyterian Colleges and UniversitiesAssociation of Presbyterian Colleges and UniversitiesThe Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities is a private, not-for-profit organization of colleges and universities associated with the Presbyterian Church , a Mainline Protestant Christian religious denomination.- Member schools :...
- Churches Uniting in ChristChurches Uniting in ChristChurches Uniting in Christ brings together ten mainline American denominations , and was inaugurated on January 20, 2002....
- Ghost RanchGhost RanchGhost Ranch is a retreat and education center located close to the village of Abiquiu in Rio Arriba County in north central New Mexico. The conference center and lodgings at Ghost Ranch are run by the Presbyterian Church but open to the general public.-History:Ghost Ranch is part of Piedra...
- Ordination examsOrdination examsOrdination examinations are given by an ecclesiastical body as a way to ensure that a candidate is adequately equipped, called and prepared for ministry in that body....
- Reformed Churches in North AmericaReformed Churches in North America-Presbyterian denominations in North America:*partially: United Church of Canada - around 2,800,000 members - Liberal, Presbyterian & Congregational & Methodist*Presbyterian Church - around 2,077,000 members - Liberal, Presbyterian...
- :Category:American Presbyterians
Further reading
- Alvis, Joel L., Jr. Religion and Race: Southern Presbyterians, 1946-1983. (1994). 197 pp.
- Balmer, Randall, and Fitzmier, John R. The Presbyterians (1993). 274 pp. excellent survey by scholars; good place to start
- Banker, Mark T. Presbyterian Missions and Cultural Interaction in the Far Southwest, 1850-1950. (1993). 225 pp.
- Bender, Norman J. Winning the West for Christ: Sheldon Jackson and Presbyterianism on the Rocky Mountain Frontier, 1869-1880. (1996). 265 pp.
- Boyd, Lois A. and Brackenridge, R. Douglas. Presbyterian Women in America: Two Centuries of a Quest for Status. (1983) 308 pp.
- Fraser, Brian J. The Social Uplifters: Presbyterian Progressives and the Social Gospel in Canada, 1875-1915. (1988) 212pp.
- Hirrel, Leo P. Children of Wrath: New School Calvinism and Antebellum Reform. (1998). 248 pp.
- Klempa, William, ed. The Burning Bush and a Few Acres of Snow: The Presbyterian Contribution to Canadian Life and Culture. (1994). 290 pp.
- LeBeau, Bryan F. Jonathan Dickinson and the Formative Years of American Presbyterianism. (1997). 252 pp.
- Loetscher, Lefferts A. A Brief History of the Presbyterians. (1983). 224 pp. good overview
- Longfield, Bradley J. The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists, and Moderates. (1991). 333 pp.
- Lucas, Sean Michael. On Being Presbyterian: Our Beliefs, Practices, and Stories (2006) excerpt and text search
- McKim, Donald K. Presbyterian Beliefs: A Brief Introduction (2003) excerpt and text search
- Moir, John S. Enduring Witness: A History of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. (1975). 311 pp.
- Noll, Mark; D. G. Hart, and Marilyn J. Westerkamp. "What Has Been Distinctly American about American Presbyterians?" Journal of Presbyterian History 2006 84(1): 6-22.
- Parker, Harold M., Jr. The United Synod of the South: The Southern New School Presbyterian Church. (1988). 347 pp.
- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Book of Confessions: Study Edition. Louisville. Kentucky.: Geneva Press, c1999. ISBN 0664500129
- "Presbyterian Presence: The Twentieth-Century Experience"
- Coalter, Milton J.; Mulder, John M.; and Weeks, Louis B., eds. The Pluralistic Vision: Presbyterians and Mainstream Protestant Education and Leadership. (1992). 417 pp.
- Coalter, Milton J.; Mulder, John M.; and Weeks, Louis B., eds. The Organizational Revolution: Presbyterians and the American Denominationalism. (1992). 391pp.
- Coalter, Milton J.; Mulder, John M.; and Weeks, Louis B., eds. The Confessional Mosaic: Presbyterians and Twentieth-Century Theology. (1990). 333pp.
- Coalter, Milton J.; Mulder, John M.; and Weeks, Louis B., eds. The Mainstream Protestant "Decline": The Presbyterian Pattern. (1990). 263pp.
- Coalter, Milton J.; Mulder, John M.; and Weeks, Louis B., eds. The Presbyterian Predicament: Six Perspectives. (1990) 179pp
- Smith, Frank Joseph. The History of the Presbyterian Church in America (1985). 607 pp.
- Thompson, Ernest Trice. Presbyterians in the South. Vol. 1, 1607-1861. (1963). 629 pp.
- Wellman, James K., Jr. The Gold Coast Church and the Ghetto: Christ and Culture in Mainline Protestantism. (1999). 241 pp. on Chicago's elite Fourth Presbyterian Church
- Weston, William J. Presbyterian Pluralism: Competition in a Protestant House. (1997). 192 pp.
- Yohn, Susan M. A Contest of Faiths: Missionary Women and Pluralism in the American Southwest. (1995). 266 pp.