Continuing churches
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Continuing churches are
Christian denominations Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
that form when a
church union Church union is the name given to a merger of two or more Christian denominations. Such unions may take on many forms, including a united church and a federation. United churches {{main, United and uniting churches A united church is the resu ...
between different denominations occurs and members or congregations do not wish to join the new denomination but instead choose to continue the heritage and identity of their old denomination. The phrase is sometimes used by denominations that separate from a parent body and wish to express their faithfulness to the denomination's heritage.


Examples

Continuing churches are particularly common in
Presbyterianism 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 nam ...
and are present in Australia, Canada, Scotland, and the United States. Examples include the
Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...
(1900), 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). ...
(1906), the
Presbyterian Church in Canada The Presbyterian Church in Canada (french: Église presbytérienne du Canada) is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to ...
(1925), the
United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...
(1929), the Congregational Federation (1972), the Presbyterian Church in America (1973), and the
Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...
(1977). In the US, the
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 "ordina ...
beginning in the 1970s played a major part in the formation of a number of Continuing Churches, as did Fundamentalist and Evangelical convictions. The
Southern Methodist Church The Southern Methodist Church is a conservative Protestant Christian denomination with churches located in the southern part of the United States. The church maintains headquarters in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The church was formed in 1940 by ...
(1940) and the
Evangelical Church Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...
(1968), for example, were both bodies which refused to join with the
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
the United Methodist Church, respectively, on grounds of theology and polity. And there are many remnants of the former Congregationalist denominations which now comprise the United Church of Christ merger, such as the
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC or 4Cs) is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul. It is a member of t ...
(1948). The North American Baptist landscape is replete with organizations that originate from a refusal to join a larger body. In Australia, both
Fellowship of Congregational Churches The Fellowship of Congregational Churches is a conservative Congregational denomination in Australia. It was formed by the forty congregations of the Congregational Union of Australia who chose not to join the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977 ...
and the
Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...
continued after the Uniting Church in Australia formed in 1977. Examples of denominations that separated from a parent body rather than staying out of a union include the Continuing Anglican movement and the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing). In the case of the Presbyterian Church in America, it separated 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 y ...
in 1973, ten years before that body merged with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America to form the
Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...
.


Legal issues

Some continuing churches have been embroiled in legal disputes with parent bodies over property and/or the right to use the original denominational name. In Canada, the United Church of Canada Act expressly stipulated that the "
Presbyterian Church in Canada The Presbyterian Church in Canada (french: Église presbytérienne du Canada) is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to ...
" had ceased to exist, but the continuing Presbyterians continued to use the name and the Act was amended in 1939 to recognize their right to do so. Conversely, the
Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...
was recognized as a continuing church in the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act of 1971, before the church union occurred. The continuing Free Church of Scotland entered into a protracted legal dispute with the
United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...
after the majority of the
Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions from ...
entered into church union with the United Presbyterian Church in 1900. This was finally resolved by the '' Bannatyne v. Overtoun'' decision in 1904. The court ruled that the continuing church was the "true heir of the previous denomination's properties."


Character

Many continuing churches have found their identity in a commitment to their denominational tradition's historic doctrinal standards. For example, the Presbyterian Church in America resolved to maintain the "historic doctrinal position of the Reformed faith as expressed in the Westminster Standards." M. H. Ogilvie notes that the continuing Presbyterians in Canada "clung to the inherited marks of
Presbyterianism 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 nam ...
: the
subordinate standard A subordinate standard is a Reformed confession of faith, catechism or other doctrinal or regulatory statement subscribed to by a Protestant church, setting out key elements of religious belief and church governance. It is ''subordinate'' to the B ...
of the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Presbyterian polity of government by church courts and perhaps a dash of the
Covenanting Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian polity, Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious af ...
spirit. The continuing
Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...
also "remained committed to Presbyterian polity and affirmed a more conservative Reformed theological stance." One the other hand, motivations on the part of individuals and congregations for staying out of church unions was often mixed. Some continuing Presbyterians in Australia and Canada (described as the " haggis and bagpipe" group) were "Scots nationalists who regarded the kirk and their ethnic inheritance as Scots as being coterminous."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Continuing Church Christian denominations Christian terminology Church organization