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Tenth Presbyterian Church is a congregation of approximately 1,600 members located in Center City,
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,
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. Tenth is a part of the
Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...
(PCA), a denomination in the
Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...
(Calvinist) tradition. It is located at the southwest corner of 17th & Spruce Streets in Philadelphia's
Rittenhouse Square Rittenhouse Square is a public park in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that is the center of the eponymous Rittenhouse neighborhood. The square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas ...
neighborhood, in the southwestern quadrant of Center City.


History

The original Tenth Presbyterian Church, founded in 1829 as a congregation part of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was a Presbyterian denomination existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The new church was named the United ...
, was located on the northeast corner of 12th & Walnut Streets. It established a daughter church in 1855–1856 called the West Spruce Street Presbyterian Church on the southwest corner of 17th & Spruce Streets. The two churches worked together, with the ministers exchanging pulpits each week. Because of membership decline in the original Tenth Church caused by population shifts, the two churches merged in 1893 at the 17th & Spruce Streets location, taking the name of the older church (Tenth Presbyterian Church). West Spruce Street/Tenth Church was designed by architect John McArthur Jr., who was a member of the congregation. Its tower-and-spire was the tallest structure in Philadelphia from 1856 to the erection of the tower of
Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the office ...
in 1894, also designed by McArthur. In 1893, architect
Frank Miles Day Frank Miles Day (April 5, 1861 – June 15, 1918) was a Philadelphia-based architect who specialized in residences and academic buildings. Early life and education In 1883, Day graduated from the Towne School of the University of Pennsylvania, an ...
was hired to perform major alterations to the church's exterior and interior decoration. The church's steeple with its 150-foot wooden spire was weakened due to structural decay of the timber frame, and was removed in 1912 due to fears that it would collapse. The Philadelphia Presbytery (PC-USA) was a conservative bastion during the fundamentalist-modernist controversy of the 1920s and 1930s, and Tenth Presbyterian was no exception. Under the influence of longtime pastor
Donald Barnhouse Donald Grey Barnhouse (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1960), was an American Christian preacher, pastor, theologian, radio pioneer, and writer. He was pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1927 to his dea ...
(1927–1960), the congregation became the conservative Presbyterian church in Center City, and it has remained a conservative and evangelical congregation until this day. Under
James Montgomery Boice James Montgomery Boice (July 7, 1938 – June 15, 2000) was an American Reformed Christian theologian, Bible teacher, author, and speaker known for his writing on the authority of Scripture and the defense of Biblical inerrancy. He was also the ...
(1968–2000), the congregation continued to be a center of conservative Reformed theology. Tenth membership continued to grow after World War II, and ministry efforts to college students gave the congregation a metropolitan focus. Under Boice's pastorate, Tenth grew from 350 members to a congregation over 1,200. In 1979, following a denominational ruling by 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 Ameri ...
requiring congregations to elect both men and women as ruling elder, Tenth Presbyterian left the UPCUSA in 1980, joining the more conservative
Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod was a Reformed and Presbyterian denomination in the United States and Canada between 1965 and 1982. Formation The RPCES was formed in 1965 with the union of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, ...
. Three years afterward, Tenth followed the RPCES into the
Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...
, a church of Southern origin. After a lengthy property battle, the congregation was allowed to leave the UPCUSA while keeping its Byzantine-style property. Tenth Presbyterian is considered the "big-steeple" PCA congregation in the northeastern United States. The church sponsors an extensive global missions program, and an outreach to the neighborhood includes a strong connection to the rising generation of doctors, interns, and residents attending the medical schools in the neighborhood. In December 1, 2023, Tenth Presbyterian senior pastor Rev. Dr. William "Liam" Goligher resigned, nine years after pleading guilty to "personal conduct" charges in a park in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...
, charges disclosed by church watchdog group Anglican Watch. On May 20, 2024 the Philadelphia Presbytery Presbyterian Church in America suspended Liam Goligher indefinitely for contumacy - defined by the Presbyterian Church in America as refusing to cooperate in church disciplinary proceedings.


Publications


Tenth Presbyterian Church

*''Tenth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia: 175 Years of Thinking and Acting Biblically'' edited by Philip G. Ryken with contributors Allen C. Guelzo, William S. Barker and Paul S. Jones in celebration of the 175th anniversary of the church. Published in 2004.


Burials


Tenth Presbyterian Church

The Tenth Presbyterian Church grew out of the Sixth Presbyterian Church, being organized in its session room in March, 1829. It was located on the northeast corner of Twelfth and Walnut Streets and there remained until merged (retaining its name) with its daughter, the West Spruce Street Church, at the corner of Seventeenth and Spruce in 1895. The church's burial ground at 17th and Cherry Streets had been established by what became the Seventh Presbyterian Church in 1808, and was sold to the Tenth Presbyterian Church in 1832. The bodies in this cemetery were removed in May, 1849 to the
Woodlands Cemetery The Woodlands is a National Historic Landmark District on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. It includes a Federal-style mansion, a matching carriage house and stable, and a garden landscape that in 1840 was transformed int ...
, Section C, Lots 498-500. The former burial ground was subsequently sold for redevelopment 1851.


Current

Currently, there is no traditional burial grounds maintained by Tenth Presbyterian Church.


Senior Ministers

Some notable staff members of the church from its founding include: *Thomas McAuley, D.D., LL.D. Senior Pastor. 1829–1833 * Henry Augustus Boardman, D.D. Senior Pastor. 1833–1876 *Marcus A. Brownson, D.D. Senior Pastor. 1897–1924 * Donald Grey Barnhouse, Th.D., D.D. Senior Pastor. 1927–1960 *
Mariano Di Gangi Mariano Di Gangi (23 July 1923 in Brooklyn – 18 March 2008 in Ottawa) was a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Biography A native of Bushwick, Brooklyn, Di Gangi graduated from Brooklyn College in 1943 and earned a Bachelor of ...
, D.D. Senior Pastor. 1961–1967 *
James Montgomery Boice James Montgomery Boice (July 7, 1938 – June 15, 2000) was an American Reformed Christian theologian, Bible teacher, author, and speaker known for his writing on the authority of Scripture and the defense of Biblical inerrancy. He was also the ...
, Th.D., D.D. Senior Minister. 1968–2000 * Philip G. Ryken, DPhil. Senior Minister. 1995–2010, now president of Wheaton College *William "Liam" W. Goligher, D.Min. Senior Minister. May 22, 2011 – December 1, 2023, born in Glasgow, Scotland. *Jonathan "Jonny" Gibson, PhD. Stated Supply https://www.pcahistory.org/bco/fog/22/05.html Senior Minister. October 6, 2024 - present, born in Northern Ireland, con-currently serving as Associate Professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary.


Notable members

Some notable members have included: *
C. Everett Koop Charles Everett Koop (October 14, 1916 – February 25, 2013) was an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator who served as the 13th surgeon general of the United States under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1989. According ...
, MD
Surgeon General of the United States The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. T ...
served during the
Presidency of Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...
and provided guidance during the onset of the global
HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
pandemic. He first gained national attention as the head of pediatrics at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
and
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, also known by its acronym CHOP, is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its primary campus is located in the University City, Philadelphia, University City neighborhood of West Philadelph ...
. A plaque in the sanctuary notes his membership and service to the country. * Robert Elmore, who served as Music Director from 1969 until his death in 1985.


Ministries

*Three Sunday services with approximately 1,400 people in weekly attendance *ACTS Ministries: mercy ministries to the poor and homeless near Tenth Church *Tenth College Fellowship (TCF) is a group for college students. *Tenth City Network (TCN) is a group for young adults. *Maranatha is the youth group for students in grades 7–12, begun in 1984 and still continuing to meet weekly on Sunday nights and sponsor other events throughout the year. *Small group Bible studies meet weekly in host homes across the city of Philadelphia and throughout the suburbs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey *Various other discipleship groups, support groups, and prayer groups meet regularly in the church facilities and elsewhere


Gallery

File:Steeple of Tenth Presbyterian Church.jpg, Steeple of church and north side exterior File:Pulpit, platform at Tenth Presbyterian Church.jpg,
Pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
, platform by architect
Frank Miles Day Frank Miles Day (April 5, 1861 – June 15, 1918) was a Philadelphia-based architect who specialized in residences and academic buildings. Early life and education In 1883, Day graduated from the Towne School of the University of Pennsylvania, an ...
in
Neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a Revivalism (architecture), revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine architecture, ...
style File:Ceiling of sanctuary at Tenth Presbyterian Church.jpg, Apse and rear of sanctuary in Neo-Byzantine style with organ in the back File:Stained glass window of angel at Tenth Presbyterian Church.jpg, Stained glass window of angel on east side of sanctuary with folded glass File:Scottish Presbyterian, French Huguenot Stain glassed window at Tenth Presbyterian Church.jpg,
Scottish Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pre ...
,
French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
stain glassed window File:Benson Memorial Plaque Tenth Presbyterian Church.jpg, Memorial plaque in sanctuary File:Patterson Memorial plaque at Tenth Presbyterian Church.jpg, Memorial plaque in sanctuary by
Theophilus P. Chandler Jr. Theophilus Parsons Chandler Jr. (September 7, 1845 – August 16, 1928) was an American architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He spent his career at Philadelphia, and is best remembered for his churches and country houses. He fou ...
File:North side Doors at Tenth Prssbyterian church.jpg, Arched
Lombard Romanesque The term Lombard refers to people or things related to Lombardy, a region in northern Italy. History and culture * Lombards, a Germanic tribe * Lombardic language, the Germanic language spoken by the Lombards * Lombards of Sicily, a linguisti ...
doors with
pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
and Church's logo on top File:North Entrance at Tenth Presbyterian Church.jpg, Main entrance on north side of church in
Lombard Romanesque The term Lombard refers to people or things related to Lombardy, a region in northern Italy. History and culture * Lombards, a Germanic tribe * Lombardic language, the Germanic language spoken by the Lombards * Lombards of Sicily, a linguisti ...
style


References


External links


Official website

Tenth Presbyterian Church
at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings {{Authority control Churches in Philadelphia Presbyterian Church in America churches in Pennsylvania 19th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States Religious organizations established in 1829 Churches completed in 1856 1829 establishments in Pennsylvania Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia