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The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a
mainline Protestant The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and chari ...
denomination in the United States. It is the largest
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
and members of the
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
community as elders and ministers. The PC(USA) was established by the 1983 merger of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That ye ...
, whose churches were located in the
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
and border states, with the
United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958, to 1983. It was formed by the union of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of Ame ...
, whose congregations could be found in every state. The similarly named Presbyterian Church in America is a separate denomination whose congregations can also trace their history to the various schisms and mergers of Presbyterian churches in the United States. Unlike the PCA, the PC(USA) supports evangelical feminism and supports practise of same gender marriages. It also welcomes practicing gay and lesbian persons to serve in leadership positions as ministers, deacons, elders, and trustees. The denomination had 1,193,770 active members and 18,458
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
ministers (including retired) in 8,813 congregations at the end of 2021. This number does not include members who are baptized but who are not confirmed or the inactive members also affiliated. For example, in 2005, the PC(USA) claimed 318,291 baptized, but not confirmed, members and nearly 500,000 inactive members in addition to active members. Its membership has been declining over the past several decades; the trend has significantly accelerated in recent years, partly due to breakaway congregations. Average denominational worship attendance dropped to 423,721 in 2021 from 748,774 in 2013. The PC(USA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States.


History


Origins

Presbyterians trace their history to the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...
in the 16th century. The Presbyterian heritage, and much of its theology, began with the French theologian and lawyer
John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
(1509–64), whose writings solidified much of the Reformed thinking that came before him in the form of the sermons and writings of Huldrych Zwingli. From Calvin's headquarters in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
, the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe.
John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...
, a former Roman Catholic priest from Scotland who studied with Calvin in Geneva, took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland and led the
Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...
of 1560. Because of this reform movement, the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...
embraced Reformed theology and
presbyterian polity Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") 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 o ...
. The Ulster Scots brought their Presbyterian faith with them to Ireland, where they laid the foundation of what would become the
Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...
. Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought Presbyterianism to America as early as 1640, and immigration would remain a large source of growth throughout the colonial era. Another source of growth were a number of New England
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
who left the
Congregational churches Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs it ...
because they preferred presbyterian polity. In 1706, seven ministers led by
Francis Makemie Francis Makemie (1658–1708) was an Ulster Scots clergyman, considered to be the founder of Presbyterianism in the United States of America. Early and family life Makemie was born in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland (part of the Province o ...
established the first American presbytery at Philadelphia, which was followed by the creation of the Synod of Philadelphia in 1717. The
First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...
and the revivalism it generated had a major impact on American Presbyterians. Ministers such as
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and
Gilbert Tennent Gilbert Tennent (5 February 1703 – 23 July 1764) was a pietistic Protestant evangelist in colonial America. Born in a Presbyterian Scots-Irish family in County Armagh, Ireland, he migrated to America as a teenager, trained for pastoral mini ...
, a friend of
George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at ...
, emphasized the necessity of a conscious conversion experience and pushed for higher moral standards among the clergy. Disagreements over revivalism, itinerant preaching, and educational requirements for clergy led to a division known as the Old Side–New Side Controversy that lasted from 1741 to 1758. In the South, the Presbyterians were evangelical
dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, ...
s, mostly Scotch-Irish, who expanded into Virginia between 1740 and 1758. Spangler (2008) argues they were more energetic and held frequent services better attuned to the frontier conditions of the colony. Presbyterianism grew in frontier areas where the
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
s had made little impression. Uneducated whites and blacks were attracted to the emotional worship of the denomination, its emphasis on biblical simplicity, and its psalm singing. 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. After the United States achieved independence from Great Britain, Presbyterian leaders felt that a national Presbyterian denomination was needed, and the
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was the first national Presbyterian denomination in the United States, existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North Americ ...
(PCUSA) was organized. The first
general assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...
was held in Philadelphia in 1789.
John Witherspoon John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense real ...
, president of
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
and the only minister to sign the
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
, was the first moderator. Not all American Presbyterians participated in the creation of the PCUSA General Assembly because the divisions then occurring in the Church of Scotland were replicated in America. In 1751, Scottish
Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from '' Covena ...
s began sending ministers to America, and the Seceders were doing the same by 1753. In 1858, the majority of Covenanters and Seceders merged to create the
United Presbyterian Church of North America The United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA) was an American Presbyterian denomination that existed for one hundred years. It was formed on May 26, 1858 by the union of the Northern branch of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church ...
(UPCNA).


19th century

In the decades after independence, many Americans including Calvinists (Presbyterians and Congregationalists), Methodists, and Baptists were swept up in Protestant religious revivals that would later become known as the
Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
. Presbyterians also helped to shape voluntary societies that encouraged educational, missionary, evangelical, and reforming work. As its influence grew, many non-Presbyterians feared that the PCUSA's informal influence over American life might effectively make it an
established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
. The Second Great Awakening divided the PCUSA over revivalism and fear that revivalism was leading to an embrace of Arminian theology. In 1810, frontier revivalists split from the PCUSA and organized the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. Matthew H. Gore, The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988, (Memphis, Tennessee: Joint Heritage Committee, 2000) ...
. Throughout the 1820s, support and opposition to revivalism hardened into well-defined factions, the New School and Old School respectively. By the 1838, the
Old School–New School Controversy Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...
had divided the PCUSA. There were now two general assemblies each claiming to represent the PCUSA. In 1858, the New School split along sectional lines when its Southern synods and presbyteries established the pro-slavery United Synod of the Presbyterian Church. Old School Presbyterians followed in 1861 after the start of hostilities in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
with the formation of the Presbyterian Church in the
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
. The Presbyterian Church in the CSA absorbed the smaller United Synod in 1864. After the war, this body was renamed the
Presbyterian Church in the United States The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That ye ...
(PCUS) and was commonly nicknamed the "Southern Presbyterian Church" throughout its history. In 1869, the northern PCUSA's Old School and New School factions reunited as well and was known as the "Northern Presbyterian Church".


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 Christianity (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 is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
or the rise of degraded social conditions brought on by
industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
and
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly th ...
). Open controversy was sparked in 1922, when Harry Emerson Fosdick, a modernist and a
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
pastoring a PCUSA congregation in New York City, preached a sermon entitled "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" The crisis reached a head the following year when, in response to the New York Presbytery's decision to ordain a couple of men who could not affirm the virgin birth, the PCUSA's General Assembly reaffirmed the "five fundamentals": the deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the vicarious atonement, the inerrancy of Scripture, and Christ's miracles and resurrection. This move against modernism caused a backlash in the form of the '' Auburn Affirmation'' — a document embracing liberalism and modernism. The liberals began a series of ecclesiastical trials of their opponents, expelled them from the church and seized their church buildings. Under the leadership of
J. Gresham Machen John Gresham Machen (; 1881–1937) was an American Presbyterian New Testament scholar and educator in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1906 and 1929, and led a revolt against modernist ...
, a former
Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...
New Testament professor who had founded Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929, and who was a PCUSA minister, many of these conservatives would establish what became known as the
Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyter ...
in 1936. Although the 1930s and 1940s and the ensuing
neo-orthodox In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of ...
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 The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
and the issue of
ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordin ...
, and, especially since the 1990s, over the issue of ordination of homosexuals.


Mergers

The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was joined by the majority of the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. Matthew H. Gore, The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988, (Memphis, Tennessee: Joint Heritage Committee, 2000) ...
, 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 The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958, to 1983. It was formed by the union of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of Ame ...
(UPCUSA). Under
Eugene Carson Blake Eugene Carson Blake (November 7, 1906 – July 31, 1985) was an American Presbyterian Church leader. From 1954 to 1957 he served as president of the National Council of Churches in the United States; from 1966 to 1972 he served as General Sec ...
, the UPCUSA's stated clerk, the denomination entered into a period of social activism and ecumenical endeavors, which culminated in the development of the
Confession of 1967 The Confession of 1967 is a confession of faith of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), abbreviated PC(USA). It was written as a modern statement of the faith for the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA), the "northern ...
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. The UPCUSA also adopted a ''Book of Confessions'' in 1967, which would include the Confession of 1967, the
Westminster Confession The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the " subordinate standard ...
and
Westminster Shorter Catechism The Westminster Shorter Catechism is a catechism written in 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Assembly, a synod of English and Scottish theologians and laymen intended to bring the Church of England into greater conformity with the Church of Sco ...
, the
Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Calvinist Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg ...
, the Second Helvetic and Scots Confessions and the Barmen Declaration. An attempt to reunite the United Presbyterian Church in the USA with the
Presbyterian Church in the United States The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That ye ...
in the late 1950s failed when the latter church was unwilling to accept ecclesiastical
centralization Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a particu ...
. In the meantime, a conservative group broke away from the
Presbyterian Church in the United States The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That ye ...
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.Kibler, Craig M
PCUSA projects largest membership loss ever in 2007
. ''Presbyterian Layman'', February 19, 2008.
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 Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
in 1988 replacing the headquarters of the UPCUSA in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and the PCUS located in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...
. The merger essentially consolidated moderate-to-liberal American Presbyterians into one body. Other US Presbyterian bodies (the Cumberland Presbyterians being a partial exception) place greater emphasis on doctrinal Calvinism, 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 The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...
, are fairly progressive on matters such as doctrine, environmental issues, sexual morality, and economic issues, though the denomination remains divided and conflicted on these issues. Like other mainline denominations, the PC(USA) has also seen a great deal of demographic aging, with fewer new members and declining membership since 1967.


Social justice initiatives and renewal movements

In the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, the General Assembly of PC(USA) adopted several social justice initiatives, which covered a range of topics including: stewardship of God's creation, world hunger, homelessness, and LGBT issues. As of 2011, the PC(USA) no longer excludes Partnered Gay and Lesbian ministers from the ministry. Previously, the PC(USA) required its ministers to remain "''chastely in singleness or with fidelity in marriage''." Currently, the PC(USA) permits teaching elders to perform same-gender marriages. On a congregational basis, individual sessions (congregational governing bodies) may choose to permit same-gender marriages. These changes have led to several renewal movements and denominational splinters. Some conservative-minded groups in the PC(USA), such as the Confessing Movement and the Presbyterian Lay Committee (formed in the mid-1960s) have remained in the main body, rather than leaving to form new, break-away groups.


Breakaway Presbyterian denominations

Several Presbyterian denominations have split from PC(USA) or its predecessors over the years. For example, the
Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyter ...
broke away from the Presbyterian Church in the USA (PC-USA) in 1936. More recently formed Presbyterian denominations have attracted PC(USA) congregations disenchanted with the direction of the denomination, but wishing to continue in a Reformed, Presbyterian denomination. The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), which does not allow ordained female clergy, separated from Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1973 and has subsequently become the second largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), which gives local presbyteries the option of allowing ordained female pastors, broke away from the United Presbyterian Church and incorporated in 1981. A PC(USA) renewal movement,
Fellowship of Presbyterians The Fellowship Community, formerly known as the Fellowship of Presbyterians (FOP), arose from a movement started by seven pastors from some of the largest PC(USA) churches in the United States in 2010. The movement gained momentum when they met in ...
(FOP) (now The Fellowship Community), held several national conferences serving disaffecting Presbyterians. FOP's organizing efforts culminated with the founding of ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO), a new Presbyterian denomination that allows ordination of women but is more conservative theologically than PC(USA). In 2013 the presbyteries ratified the General Assembly's 2012 vote to allow the ordination of openly gay persons to the ministry and in 2014 the General Assembly voted to amend the church's constitution to define marriage as the union of two persons instead of the union of a man and woman, which was ratified (by the presbyteries) in 2015. This has led to the departure of several hundred congregations. The majority of churches leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA) have chosen to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church or ECO. Few have chosen to join the larger more conservative Presbyterian Church in America, which does not permit female clergy.


Youth

Since 1983 the Presbyterian Youth Triennium has been held every three years at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, US, 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 (USA), 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. Since 1907, Montreat, North Carolina has hosted a youth conference every year. In 1983, Montreat Conference Center became a National Conference Center of the PC(USA) when the northern and southern denominational churches reunited.


Structure


Constitution

The Constitution of PC(USA) is composed of two portions: Part I, the ''
Book of Confessions The ''Book of Confessions'' contains the creeds and confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The contents are the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed, the Scots Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Second Helvetic Confession, the We ...
'' and Part II, the ''
Book of Order The Book of Order is a governing document of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), abbreviated as PC(USA). It is divided into four parts: The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity, Form of Government, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline. The B ...
''. 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 four sections – 1) The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity 2) The Form of Government, 3) The Directory For Worship, and 4) The Rules of Discipline.


Councils

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has a representative form of government, known as
presbyterian polity Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") 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 o ...
, 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 The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
in the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
, 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
first among equals ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their se ...
and also serves as a "liturgical" bishop over the ordination and installation of elders and deacons within a particular congregation. The session guides and directs the ministry of the local church, including almost all 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 and 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 special presbyteries are "non-geographical" in that they overlay other English-speaking presbyteries, though they are geographically limited to the boundaries of a particular synod (see
below Below may refer to: *Earth * Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) *Less than *Temperatures below freezing *Hell or underworld People with the surname *Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general *Fred Below ...
); it may be more accurate to refer to them as "trans-geographical." Three PC(USA) synods have a non-geographical presbytery for Korean language Presbyterian congregations, and one synod has a non-geographical presbytery for Native American congregations, the Dakota Presbytery. There are currently 166 presbyteries for the 8,813 congregations in the PC(USA). Only the presbytery (not a congregation, session, synod, or General Assembly) has the responsibility and authority to ordain church members to the ordered ministry of Word and Sacrament, also referred to as a Teaching Elder, to install ministers to (and/or remove them from) congregations as pastors, and to remove a minister from the ministry. A Presbyterian minister is a member of a presbytery. The General Assembly cannot ordain or remove a Teaching Elder, but the Office of the General Assembly does maintain and publish a national directory with the help of each presbytery's stated clerk. Bound versions are published bi-annually with the minutes of the General Assembly. A pastor cannot be a member of the congregation he or she serves as a 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, or approve the covenant for a temporary pastoral relationship. 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 () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning a ...
(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.


Synods of the Presbyterian Church (USA)

* Synod of Alaska-Northwest * Synod of Boriquen (Puerto Rico) * Synod of the Covenant * Synod of Lakes and Prairies * Synod of Lincoln Trails * Synod of Living Waters * Synod of Mid-America * Synod of Mid-Atlantic * Synod of the Northeast * Synod of the Pacific * Synod of the Rocky Mountains * Synod of South Atlantic * Synod of Southern California and Hawaii *
Synod of the Southwest A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...
* Synod of the Sun * Synod of the Trinity See also the
List of Presbyterian Church (USA) synods and presbyteries A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
.


General Assembly

The ''General Assembly'' is the highest governing body of the PC(USA). Until the 216th assembly met in
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
in 2004, the General Assembly met annually; 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.


=Elected officials

= The General Assembly elects a moderator at each assembly who moderates the rest of the sessions of that assembly meeting and continues to serve until the next assembly convenes (two years later) to elect a new moderator or co-moderator. Currently, the denomination is served by Co-Moderators Elona Street-Stewart and Gregory Bentley, who were elected at the 224th General Assembly (2020). At the 223rd Assembly in St Louis, MO, Co-Moderators Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Cindy Kohmann were elected. See a complete listing of past moderators at another Wikipedia Article. 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 former Stated Clerk of the General Assembly is Gradye Parsons, who had served in that role since 2008 and was unanimously reelected in 2012. Parsons did not stand for re-election at the 222nd General Assembly meeting in 2016, and J. Herbert Nelson was elected Stated Clerk at the 2016 General Assembly meeting in Portland. Nelson is the first African American to be elected to the office, and is a third-generation Presbyterian pastor. The Stated Clerk is also responsible for the records of the denomination, a function formalized in 1925 when the General Assembly created the "Department of Historical Research and Conservation" as part of the Office of the General Assembly. The current "Department of History" is also known as the Presbyterian Historical Society."Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A." Philadelphia, Pa.: Office of the General Assembly, 1925.


=Structure

= Six agencies carry out the work of the General Assembly. These are the Office of the General Assembly, the
Presbyterian Publishing Corporation The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation is a religious corporation, which is the publishing agency of the Presbyterian Church (USA). According to its official website, "The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation is one of six agencies of the Presb ...
, the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program, the Board of Pensions, the Presbyterian Foundation, and the Presbyterian Mission Agency (formerly known as the General Assembly Mission Council). The General Assembly elects members of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) (formerly General Assembly Mission Council). There are 48 elected members of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (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 two-year term), the past Moderator of the General Assembly (one two-year term), the moderator of Presbyterian Women (one three-year term), ecumenical advisory members (one two-year term, eligible for two additional terms), and stewardship and audit committee at-large members (one two-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 PMAB meets three times a year. The General Assembly elects an executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency who is the top administrator overseeing the mission work of the PC(USA). Past Executive Director of the PMA is Ruling Elder Linda Bryant Valentine(2006-2015), and Interim RE Tony De La Rosa. Elected in 2018 is Teaching Elder Diane Givens Moffett (2018- ). The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC) is the highest Church court of the denomination. It composed of one member elected by the General Assembly from each of its constituent synods (16). It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Synod Permanent Judicial Commission cases involving issues of Church Constitution, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases. The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission issues Authoritative Interpretations of The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) through its decisions. www.ipc-usa.org/worship/


Affiliated seminaries

The denomination maintains affiliations with ten seminaries in the United States. These are: * Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas *
Columbia Theological Seminary Columbia Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Decatur, Georgia. It is one of ten theological institutions affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Columbia Theological Seminary was founded in 1828 in Lexington, Geor ...
in Decatur, Georgia * Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia * Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville. Kentucky *
McCormick Theological Seminary McCormick Theological Seminary is a private Presbyterian seminary in Chicago, Illinois. It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago. A letter of intent was signed on May ...
in Chicago, Illinois *
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS) is a Presbyterian graduate seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1794, it houses one of the largest theological libraries in the tri-state area. History Pittsburgh Theological Seminary was formed ...
, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania *
Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...
, the first chartered by the General Assembly, in Princeton, New Jersey * San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, Marin County, California - Acquired by
University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university headquartered in Redlands, California. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Califo ...
(disputed) * Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina * University of
Dubuque Theological Seminary The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary is one of the ten official seminaries of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It is located in Dubuque, Iowa. Originally classes were taught in German to serve the immigrant population, but today the school ...
in Dubuque, Iowa Two other seminaries are related to the PC(USA) by covenant agreement:
Auburn Theological Seminary Auburn Theological Seminary, located in New York City, teaches students about progressive social issues by offering workshops, providing consulting, and conducting research on faith leadership development. The seminary was established in Auburn, N ...
in New York, New York, and
Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico The Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico —or Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico (SEPR) in Spanish — is a private mainline Protestant seminary in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. It offers graduate studies in religion. It was founded on S ...
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 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seminaries are educational institutions run by the Presbyterian Church (USA), geared primarily towards the training of ministers. The seminaries are independent institutions but relate dynamically to the PC(USA) through ...
. While not affiliated with the PC(USA),
Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compr ...
has educated many candidates for PC(USA) ministry and its president,
Mark Labberton Mark Labberton is the Clifford L. Penner Presidential Chair at Fuller Theological Seminary. Before he became Fuller's president, he served for 16 years as senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, California. Early life and ed ...
, is an ordained minister of the PC(USA).


Demographics

When the United Presbyterian Church in the USA merged with the
Presbyterian Church in the United States The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That ye ...
there were 3,131,228 members. Statistics shows steadily decline since 1983. (The combined membership of the PCUS and United Presbyterian Church peaked in 1965 at 4.25 million communicant members.) According to the PC(USA) data collection, active membership is defined as a member who has been confirmed, or made similar profession of faith, has been baptized, and attends regularly. The reported data on active members do not include "inactive members." In addition to active members, the PC(USA) archives data on members who are baptized, but not confirmed, and who are inactive. For example, in 2005, the PC(USA) reported 2.3 million active members, 318,291 baptized, but not confirmed, members, and 466,889 inactive members; the total number of members in 2005 was 3.1 million. The PC (USA) has had the sharpest decline in their active membership among the Protestant denominations in U.S.A. The denomination lost more than a million active members during last 14 years (2005-2019). As of 2021, the denomination has 1,193,770 active members and about 8,813 local congregations. The average local Presbyterian Church has 148 members (the mean in 2018). About 37% of the total congregations report between 1 and 50 members. Another 23% report between 51 and 100 members. The average worship attendance of a local Presbyterian congregation is 77 (51.7% of members). The largest congregation in the PC(USA) is Peachtree Presbyterian Church in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...
, with a reported membership of 7,136 (2021). It was reported that about 32% of the Presbyterian members are over 71 years old (2021). 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.


Beliefs

The Presbyterian Church (USA) adheres to
Reformed theology Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...
. The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church teaches:


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 Church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
" and " Low Church" styles of the
Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
. 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 The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
). 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 Directory for Worship in the
Book of Order The Book of Order is a governing document of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), abbreviated as PC(USA). It is divided into four parts: The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity, Form of Government, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline. The B ...
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 A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic C ...
s: * The Book of Common Worship of 1906 * The Book of Common Worship of 1932 * The Book of Common Worship of 1946 * The Worshipbook of 1970 (spelling is correct) *
The Book of Common Worship of 1993 There have been several liturgical books used in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Presently, the primary liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is ''The Book of Common Worship'' of 1993, published in cooperation with the Cumberland Presby ...
For more information, see Liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church (USA) In regard to
vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; th ...
, the Directory for Worship leaves that decision up to the ministers. Thus, on a given Sunday morning 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 The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...
vestments of
alb The alb (from the Latin ''albus'', meaning ''white''), one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reformed and Congregational churches, is an ample white garment coming down to the an ...
and chasuble, but also
cassock The cassock or soutane is a Christian clerical clothing coat used by the clergy and male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in certain Protestant denom ...
and
surplice A surplice (; Late Latin ''superpelliceum'', from ''super'', "over" and ''pellicia'', "fur garment") is a liturgical vestment of Western Christianity. The surplice is in the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton fabric, reaching to th ...
(typically a full-length Old English style surplice which resembles the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
alb, an ungirdled liturgical tunic of the old Gallican Rite).


The Service for the Lord's Day

The Service for the Lord's Day is the name given to the general format or ordering of worship in the Presbyterian Church as outlined in its Constitution's
Book of Order The Book of Order is a governing document of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), abbreviated as PC(USA). It is divided into four parts: The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity, Form of Government, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline. The B ...
. There is a great deal of liberty given toward worship in that denomination, so while the underlying order and components for the Service for the Lord's Day is extremely common, it varies from congregation to congregation, region to region. Typical Presbyterian Church USA Order of Worship would look like this. This is taken from Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, NY
Order of Worship , Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church
The creation of the Service for the Lord's Day was one of the most positive contributions of the Worshipbook of 1970.
The Book of Common Worship of 1993 There have been several liturgical books used in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Presently, the primary liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is ''The Book of Common Worship'' of 1993, published in cooperation with the Cumberland Presby ...
leaned heavily upon this service.


Influence

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
are among the wealthiest religious groups and are disproportionately represented in American
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...
, law, and
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
. Many of the nation's oldest
educational institutions An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments an ...
, such as
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
, were founded by Presbyterian clergy or were associated with the Presbyterian Church. Historically, Presbyterians were overrepresented among American scientific elite and
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winners. According to ''Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States'' by Harriet Zuckerman, between 1901 and 1972, 72% of American
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureates have come from a
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
background, mostly from Episcopalian,
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
or Lutheran background. The ''
Boston Brahmin The Boston Brahmins or Boston elite are members of Boston's traditional upper class. They are often associated with Harvard University; Anglicanism; and traditional Anglo-American customs and clothing. Descendants of the earliest English coloni ...
s'', who were regarded as the nation's social and cultural elites, were often associated with the
American upper class The American upper class is a social group within the United States consisting of people who have the highest social rank, primarily due to economic wealth. The American upper class is distinguished from the rest of the population due to the fac ...
,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
; and the Episcopal and the Presbyterian Church.
Old money Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families (i.e. gentry, patriciate)" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". The term typically describes a social class of the rich who have been able t ...
in the United States was typically associated with
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant In the United States, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or WASPs are an ethnoreligious group who are the white, upper-class, American Protestant historical elite, typically of British descent. WASPs dominated American society, culture, and polit ...
("WASP") status, particularly with the Episcopal and Presbyterian Church. Many Presbyterians have been Presidents, the latest being
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
; and they represent 13% of the U.S. Senate, despite being only 2.2% (under 0.4% as of 2021) of the general population. Presbyterians are among the wealthiest Christian denominations in the United States, Presbyterians tend also to be better educated and they have a high number of graduate (64%) and post-graduate degrees (26%) per capita. According to a 2014 study by the
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...
, Presbyterians ranked as the fourth most financially successful religious group in the United States, with 32% of Presbyterians living in households with incomes of at least $100,000.


Missions

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has, in the past, 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, the church supports about 215 (70 as of 2021) missionaries abroad annually. Many churches sponsor missionaries abroad at the session level, and these are not included in official statistics. 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, even if this is not usually considered missions. The PC(USA) is a leader in disaster assistance relief and also participates in or relates to work in other countries through ecumenical relationships, in what is usually considered not missions, but deaconship.


Ecumenical relationships and full communion partnerships

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) 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." As of 2012 it is in dialog with the Episcopal Church, the
Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...
, the
Korean Presbyterian Church in America The Korean Presbyterian Church in America now Korean Presbyterian Church Abroad (changed name in 2012) is an independent Presbyterian denomination in the United States. It was founded in 1976 as a union of 3 Korean language Presbyteries. The moth ...
, the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. Matthew H. Gore, The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988, (Memphis, Tennessee: Joint Heritage Committee, 2000) ...
, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. It also participates in international dialogues through the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
and the
World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...
. The most recent international dialogues include Pentecostal churches, the
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
,
Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions ...
, and others. In 2011 the
National Presbyterian Church in Mexico The National Presbyterian Church in Mexico ( es, La Iglesia Nacional Presbiteriana de México A.R.) is the second-largest Protestant church, and the largest Reformed denomination in Mexico. It is present throughout the country, and is particularl ...
, in 2012 the Mizoram Presbyterian Church and in 2015 the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil along with the Evangelical Presbyterian and Reformed Church in Peru severed ties with the PCUSA because of the PCUSA's teaching with regard to homosexuality.


National and international ecumenical memberships

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is in corresponding partnership with the National Council of Churches, the
World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...
, and the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
. It is a member of Churches for Middle East Peace.


Formula of agreement

In 1997 the PCUSA and three other churches of Reformation heritage: the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
, the
Reformed Church in America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed ...
and the
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...
, acted on an ecumenical proposal of historic importance, known as '' A Formula of Agreement''. 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: 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 other's 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 (USA) is in corresponding partnership with the National Council of Churches, the
World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...
,
Christian Churches Together Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT) is an organization formed in 2006 to "broaden and expand fellowship, unity and witness among the diverse expressions of Christian traditions in the USA." Christian Churches Together was created as a ...
, and the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
.


World Communion of Reformed Churches

As of June 2010, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches merged with the Reformed Ecumenical Council to form the
World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...
. The result was 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(USA) is one of nine denominations that joined to form the Consultation on Church Union, 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 ordination and devise an orderly exchange of clergy.


Current controversies


Homosexuality

Paragraph G-6.0106b of the
Book of Order The Book of Order is a governing document of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), abbreviated as PC(USA). It is divided into four parts: The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity, Form of Government, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline. The B ...
, which was adopted in 1996, prohibited the ordination of those who were not faithful in heterosexual marriage or chaste in singleness. This paragraph was included in the Book of Order from 1997 to 2011, and was commonly referred to by its pre-ratification designation, "Amendment B". Several attempts were made to remove this from the Book of Order, ultimately culminating in its removal in 2011. In 2011, the Presbyteries of the PC(USA) passed Amendment 10-A permitting congregations to ordain openly gay and lesbian elders and deacons, and allowing presbyteries to ordain ministers without reference to the fidelity/chastity provision, saying "governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates". Many Presbyterian scholars, pastors, and theologians have been heavily involved in the debate over homosexuality over the years. The
Presbyterian Church of India The Presbyterian Church of India (PCI) is a mainline Protestant church based in India, with over one million adherents, mostly in Northeast India. It is one of the largest Christian denominations in that region. Origin and history In 1799, Seram ...
's cooperation with the Presbyterian Church (USA) was dissolved in 2012 when the PC(USA) voted to ordain openly gay clergy to the ministry. In 2012, the PC(USA) granted permission, nationally, to begin ordaining openly gay and lesbian clergy. Since 1980, the More Light Churches Network has served many congregations and individuals within American Presbyterianism who promote the full participation of all people in the PC(USA) regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. 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 organized on the other side of the issue to support the fidelity/chastity standard for ordination, which was removed in 2011. The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to allow same-sex marriages on June 19, 2014, during its 221st General Assembly, making it one of the largest Christian denominations in the world to allow same-sex unions. This vote lifted a previous ban, and allows pastors to perform marriages in jurisdictions where it is legal. Additionally, the Assembly approved amending the Book of Order that would change the definition of marriage from "between a man and a woman" to "between two people, traditionally between a man and a woman".


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 sessions 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.


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 Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Calvinist Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg ...
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

In July 2010, by a vote of 373 to 323, the General Assembly voted to propose to the presbyteries for ratification a constitutional amendment to remove from the Book of Order section G-6.0106.b. which included this explicit requirement for ordination: "Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness." This proposal required ratification by a majority of the 173 presbyteries within 12 months of the General Assembly's adjournment. A majority of presbytery votes was reached in May 2011. The constitutional amendment took effect July 10, 2011. This amendment shifted back to the ordaining body the responsibility for making decisions about whom they shall ordain and what they shall require of their candidates for ordination. It neither prevents nor imposes the use of the so-called "fidelity and chastity" requirement, but it removes that decision from the text of the constitution and places that judgment responsibility back upon the ordaining body where it had traditionally been prior to the insertion of the former G-6.0106.b. in 1997. Each ordaining body, the session for deacon or elder and the presbytery for minister, is now responsible to make its own interpretation of what scripture and the confessions require of ordained officers.


General Assembly 2014

In June 2014, the General Assembly approved a change in the wording of its constitution to define marriage a contract "between a woman and a man" to being "between two people, traditionally a man and a woman". It allowed gay and lesbian weddings within the church and further allow clergy to perform same-sex weddings. That revision gave clergy the choice of presiding over same-sex marriages, but clergy was not compelled to perform same-sex marriage.


Property ownership

PC(USA)'s book of order includes a "trust clause", which grants ownership of church property to the presbytery. Under this trust clause, the presbytery may assert a claim to the property of the congregation in the event of a congregational split, dissolution (closing), or disassociation from the PC(USA). 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.


Israeli–Palestinian conflict

In June 2004, the General Assembly met in
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
, 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 Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
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 The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian ...
, 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 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 were in accordance with Bible prophecy. The term began to be used in the mid-20th century in ...
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 Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
. In June 2006, after the General Assembly in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...
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. In August 2011, the American National Middle Eastern Presbyterian Caucus (NMEPC) endorsed the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. In January 2014, The PC(USA) published "Zionism unsettled", which was commended as "a valuable opportunity to explore the political ideology of Zionism". One critic claimed it was
anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palesti ...
and characterised the Israeli–Palestinian as a conflict fueled by a "pathology inherent in Zionism". The Simon Wiesenthal Center described the study guide as "a hit-piece outside all norms of interfaith dialogue. It is a compendium of distortions, ignorance and outright lies – that tragically has emanated too often from elites within this church". The PC(USA) subsequently withdrew the publication from sale on its website. On June 20, 2014, the General Assembly in Detroit approved a measure (310–303) calling for divestment from stock in Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions in protest of Israeli policies on the West Bank. The vote was immediately and sharply criticized by the
American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish o ...
which accused the General Assembly of acting out of anti-Semitic motives. Proponents of the measure strongly denied the accusations. In June 2022, at its 225th General Assembly, the church's Committee on International Engagement voted to declare Israel an apartheid state and designate
Nakba Day Nakba Day ( ar, ذكرى النكبة, translit=Dhikra an-Nakba, lit=Memory of the Catastrophe) is the day of commemoration for the ''Nakba'', also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, which comprised the destruction of Palestinian society an ...
. The committee also called for an end to Israel's
blockade of the Gaza Strip The blockade of the Gaza Strip is the ongoing land, air, and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel and Egypt temporarily in 2005–2006 and permanently from 2007 onwards, following the Israeli disengagement from Gaza. The bloc ...
and affirmed the "right of all people to live and worship peacefully" in Jerusalem.


List of notable congregations


See also

*
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), as it exists today, is the historical descendant of the Synod of the South, a Synod of the Associate Reformed Church. The original Associate Reformed Church resulted from a merger of the Associate ...
* Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities * Churches Uniting in Christ *
Cumberland Presbyterian Church The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. Matthew H. Gore, The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988, (Memphis, Tennessee: Joint Heritage Committee, 2000) ...
* Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States) * Ghost Ranch *
Ordination exams Ordination 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. In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), there are five exams: Theology, Worship and ...
*
Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyter ...
* Presbyterian Church in America * Presbyterian Church (USA) Hezbollah controversy * Presbyterian Youth Connection *
Reformed Churches in North America This is a list of Presbyterian and Reformed denominations in North America. There are more than 6 million Presbyterians in North America. Presbyterian denominations Larger Presbyterian denominations *Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church - arou ...
*
Religion in Louisville, Kentucky Religion in Louisville, Kentucky, includes religious institutions of various faiths; including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Christianity Roman Catholic Church There are 135,421 Roman Catholic Louisvillia ...
*
Protestantism in the United States Protestantism is the largest grouping of Christians in the United States, with its combined denominations collectively comprising about 43% of the country's population (or 141 million people) in 2019. Other estimates suggest that 48.5% of the U ...
*
Christianity in the United States Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the United States. Estimates from 2021 suggest that of the entire US population (332 million) about 63% is Christian (210 million). The majority of Christian Americans are Protestant Christians (1 ...
* :American Presbyterians


References


Bibliography

* . * * * .


Further reading

* , 197 pp. * , 274 pp. Excellent survey by scholars; good starting place. * , 225 pp. * , 265 pp. * , 308 pp. * , 212 pp. * , 248 pp. * , 290 pp. * , 252 pp. * , 224 pp. A good overview. * , 333 pp. * . * . * , 311 pp. * . * , 347 pp. * . * . ** . 417 pp. ** . 391 pp. ** . 333 pp. ** . 263 pp. ** , 179 pp. * , 607 pp. * , 629 pp. * , 241 pp. (on Chicago's elite Fourth Presbyterian Church). * , 192 pp. * , 266 pp.


External links

* * . * . * . * . * .
A pastoral statement on COVID-19
{{Authority control Presbyterian denominations in North America Presbyterian denominations in the United States Members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches Members of the World Council of Churches Christian organizations established in 1983 Religious organizations based in Louisville, Kentucky Christianity in Louisville, Kentucky Presbyterian denominations established in the 20th century Members of the National Council of Churches