The Covenant Presbyterian Church (CPC) is a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, Reformed denomination, founded in

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 2006 by a group of churches that split from the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly for supporting paedocommunion.

History

The Presbyterian churches originate from 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 ...

of the 16th century. It is the Christian churches

that adhere 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 ...

and whose form of ecclesiastical organization is characterized by the government of an assembly of elders. Government

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 nam ...

is common in Protestant churches that were modeled after the Reformation

Switzerland, notably in Switzerland,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, France and portions of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and, later, of

. In 1983 the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES) merged with

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 Reformed in theology and presb ...

(PCA). Since then, a group of churches in the PCA's Georgia Presbytery has objected to the way the merged denomination made its decisions. Therefore, these churches separated from the PCA and formed the ''Presbytery of the Covenant''. In 1985 this presbytery grew and split into four presbyteries, thus organizing the assembly of the

Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States The Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States was a small Presbyterian denomination based in the United States that merged into the Vanguard Presbytery. The RPCUS was established in 1983, subscribes to the unrevised Westminster Confession ...

. In 1990, the denomination changed its name to the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the Americas. In 1991 the four presbyteries of this denomination came into conflict. One of these was Hanover Presbytery, which became a separate denomination, the

Reformed Presbyterian Church - Hanover Presbytery Reform is beneficial change Reform 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 *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

. Meanwhile, Westminster Presbytery and Geneva Presbytery formed the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly (RPCGA), leaving the fourth presbytery as a remnant of the

. In 2006, a group of churches, under the leadership of Pastor James MacDonald, split from RPCGA and formed the Covenant Presbyterian Church (CPCC). Among the main causes for the formality of the denomination is the tolerance of its churches with the practice of necessity, as well as for not in which pastors had a theological training. The CPC has grown since 2022 and has established itself in a total of 13 churches.

Doctrine

The CPC, like other Presbyterian denominations, subscribes to the

Westminster Confession of Faith 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" ...

Westminster Larger Catechism The Westminster Larger Catechism, along with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is a central catechism of Calvinists in the English tradition throughout the world. History In 1643 when the Long Parliament of England called the Westminster As ...

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 ...

. In addition, it teaches

Young Earth Creationism Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between approximately 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In its most widespre ...

and allows their churches to practice paedocommunion. The denomination is conservative in its doctrines and practices. Therefore, it opposes

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

References

Presbyterian denominations in the United States Christian organizations established in 2006 Presbyterian denominations established in the 21st century {{Christian-denomination-stub