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Presbyterian Churches in Scotland • the Reformed Churches Formed One Branch of the Protestant Churches That Broke from the Roman Catholic Church of That Day

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Presbyterian Churches in Scotland • the Reformed Churches Formed One Branch of the Protestant Churches That Broke from the Roman Catholic Church of That Day A Study of Denominations 1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV 1900) - 33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Origin of the Lord’s church • The ekklesia of God • Distinctive Founder and Head • Distinctive beginning and terms to become part of • Distinctive because of the purchase price • Distinctive simplicity in worship • Distinctive organization • Distinctive work and mission The Reformed Churches • A number of strands of Protestant churches began as a result of the Reformation: Lutheran and Anabaptist churches in Germany, Anglican (Episcopalian) churches in England, Reformed churches in Switzerland and France, and Presbyterian churches in Scotland • The Reformed Churches formed one branch of the Protestant churches that broke from the Roman Catholic Church of that day. They began in the sixteenth century in Switzerland under the leadership of Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin The Reformed Churches • Regarded as “the third man of the Reformation” along with Luther and Calvin. • Born and raised in Switzerland. • Served as Catholic priest beginning in 1506. • In 1523 wrote “67 Articles” emphasizing salvation by faith, the authority of the Bible, Christ as head of the church, and condemning unscriptural Roman Catholic practices. • Teachings influenced Reformed Churches. Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) Presbyterian Church- Origin • John Calvin was born in Noyon, France, in 1509, but moved to Switzerland in 1534. • Was influenced by the Reformation ideas of Luther. • His education and his knowledge of Greek and Hebrew gave him access to what for most people remained a hidden book. His study of the Bible prompted him to write commentaries on almost every book of Scripture. • Summarized his view of the Protestant doctrine in his work “Institutes of the Christian Religion” in 1536. • It was also in Geneva where he established a social-religious John Calvin system which some called "the Protestant Church State" (1509-1564) • Teachings have influenced most Protestant denominations and form the basis of doctrine for the Presbyterian Church. Presbyterian Church-Origin T1.—TotalTotal hereditary Hereditary depravity. Depravity This teaches that as a result of Adam's sin, all of his descendants are born totally depraved, "opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil," unable to U—do anythingUnconditional toward being Election saved. 2. Unconditional election. This states that God, before the L—creation,Limited unconditionally Atonement elected or predestined certain individuals to be saved. 3. Limited atonement. This says that since only the elected ones I —couldIrresistible be saved, then Grace Jesus died only for those who were to be saved-the elect. P4.—IrresistiblePerseverance grace. This statesOf The that Saints when God in His own due time acted upon a sinner who was among the unconditionally John Calvin elected, the sinner could not resist God's grace. He would be (1509-1564) saved no matter what. 5. Perseverance of the saints. This teaches that none of the elect, having received the grace of God, could fall away and be lost. Presbyterian Church - Origin • Born in Haddington, Scotland and educated at the University of Glasgow • Became a Roman Catholic priest, but he was then attracted to the preaching's of Scottish Protestant reformer George Wishart. • Knox fled England in 1533 because of the religious persecution which followed the coronation of Mary, daughter of Henry VllI and went to Geneva where he studied under Calvin. • He returned to Scotland in 1559 where he spent the rest of his life establishing Calvinistic theology in Scotland. • Presbyterianism was brought to North America primarily from John Knox Scotland and England. (1514-1572) Presbyterian Church - Origin • In its strict sense, Presbyterianism is the name given to one of the groups of ecclesiastical bodies that represent the features of Protestantism emphasized by French lawyer John Calvin (1509-1564), whose writings crystallized much of the Reformed thinking that came before him. • The most important standards of orthodox Presbyterianism are the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms of 1647. • The chief distinctive features set forth in the Westminster declarations of belief are Presbyterian church government, John Knox Calvinistic theology, and the absence of prescribed forms of (1514-1572) worship. Presbyterian Church – United States • Presbyterians were among the earliest Reformed immigrants to America. They settled up and down the East Coast, and began to push westward into the American wilderness, founding congregations as early as the 1630s. • Presbyterians have featured prominently in United States history. • Francis Makemie, who arrived in the United States from Ireland in 1683, helped to organize the first American • By the start of the Civil War, Presbyterians had founded over a Presbytery at Philadelphia in 1706. fourth of all the colleges in the United • In 1726 William Tennent founded a ministerial “log States. college” in Pennsylvania. Twenty years later, the College of • Today, 56 colleges and universities New Jersey (now Princeton University) was established. continue to emphasize their historical • One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, relationship with the Presbyterian Church (USA) through membership in John Witherspoon, was a Presbyterian minister and the the APCU president of Princeton University from 1768-1793. Presbyterian Church – United States • Presbyterian denominations in the United States have split and parts have reunited several times. • Currently the largest group is the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which has its national offices in Louisville, KY. • It was formed in 1983 as a result of reunion between the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS), the "southern stream," and the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA), the "northern stream." • The UPCUSA was formed by the merger (1958) of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, descending from the Philadelphia presbytery of 1706, and the United Presbyterian Church of North America, which had been constituted (1858) by a union of two older churches. • As of 2018, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) had approximately 1.4 million members, 9,300 congregations, and 19,000 ordained and active ministers. • Other Presbyterian churches in North America include: the Presbyterian Church in America, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and the Presbyterian Church of Canada. Presbyterian Church – Historical Facts Office of the General Assembly – OGA.PCUSA.ORG The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) consists of two parts: Part one is The Book of Confessions, and part two, the Book of Order, consisting of the Foundations of Presbyterian Polity, Form of Government, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline.” The Book of Order is Part II of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It includes: • Foundations of Presbyterian Polity • Form of Government • Directory for Worship • Rules of Discipline Office of the General Assembly – OGA.PCUSA.ORG Presbyterian Church – The Nature and Purpose of Confessions • “A confession is a public declaration of what a church believes. Individual Christians may and should confess their own personal faith, but a confession of faith is more than a personal affirmation of faith. It is an officially adopted statement of what a community of Christians believe.” • “These affirmations of the church's faith always have three reference points: God, the church itself, and the world. • Confessions of faith are first of all the church's solemn and thankful response to God's self- revelation, expressed with a sense of responsibility to be faithful and obedient to God • Secondly, in a confession of faith members of a Christian community seek to make clear to themselves who they are, what they believe, and what they resolve to do. • Finally, Christians confess their common faith not only to praise and serve God and not only to establish their self-identity but to speak to the world a unified word that declares who they are and what they stand for and against. Confessions thus have a social and political as well as theological and ecclesiological significance. Office of the General Assembly – OGA.PCUSA.ORG Presbyterian Church – The Nature and Purpose of Confessions Why a Book of Confessions • “For most of their history Presbyterians in the United States were guided by essentially a single confessional standard: the Westminster Confession with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms that translated it into question and answer form for educational purposes.” • “The theological reason for a book of confessions. We have just discussed the reasons why Reformed Christians cannot recognize anyone confession as a final, infallible encapsulation of true Christian faith and life for all Christians, everywhere, now and forever. A book of confessions that includes some classical Reformed confessions and leaves room for new confessions makes unmistakably clear one of the most distinctive marks of the Reformed tradition” The Book of Confessions and Ordination • “The church does not require acceptance of the church' s confessions for church membership. All who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are welcome to join and participate in fellowship. But to ensure that
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