The Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod was a Presbyterian denomination that came about due to a split amongst the Reformed Presbyterians, or

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 ''Covenan ...

s and existed between 1833 and 1965.

History

The division had come about in 1833 between the

Old and New Light The terms Old Lights and New Lights (among others) are used in Protestant Christian circles to distinguish between two groups who were initially the same, but have come to a disagreement. These terms originated in the early 18th century from a spl ...

Covenanters. The Old Lights had refused to swear allegiance to the constitution and thus become citizens, whereas the New Lights decide to allow for it. While the Old Light side was generally known as the

Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) is a Presbyterianism, Presbyterian church with congregations and missions throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, and Chile. Its beliefs—held in common with other members of the Refo ...

, the New Light was generally known as the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod. Initially, the church did well, including sending missionaries to India, and adopting both a Book of Discipline and a Directory for Public Worship.Hutchison, George.
The History Behind the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod
'. However, division soon began to plague the church, with a faction in Philadelphia arguing that the RPCGS had spent too much time arguing doctrinal points, as opposed to pursuing union with other Presbyterian denominations. Indeed, the Synod had rejected a plan of union with 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 ( ...

in 1859. Debates on issues such as exclusive psalmody, the use of instruments in worship, and union with the UPCNA led to even further dissension and division in the church. The first Stated Clerk of the RPCGS was Rev. John Black. The General Synod begun to shrinking in the 19th century and the early 20th century. At its low point the denomination had only 9 organized churches. In the 1940s and 1950s with new pastors it begun to grow, planting new congregations in the USA. In 1965 there were 28 churches.www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/12/december-16-the-duanesburg-fire-1951/
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Merger with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church

By the 1950s, the RPCGS had been moving away from its Covenanter heritage, including dropping its ''Reformation Principles Exhibited'' (1807) as a subordinate standard in 1959, and had also been looking to merge with another denomination. Eventually, thanks to influence of newer people in the denomination such as

Gordon Clark Gordon Haddon Clark (August 31, 1902 – April 9, 1985) was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. He was a leading figure associated with presuppositional apologetics and was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler Univer ...

, discussions began with the Bible Presbyterian Church-Columbus Synod, which included members such as

Francis Schaeffer Francis August Schaeffer (January 30, 1912 – May 15, 1984) was an American evangelical theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He co-founded the L'Abri community in Switzerland with his wife Edith Schaeffer, , a prolific author ...

and Jay E. Adams. During the years of negotiations, the BPC-Columbus Synod would eventually rename itself, becoming the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. In 1965, after coming to negotiations that had included revising the Westminster Larger Catechism to be more open to Premillennial eschatology, and resolutions against alcohol, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod celebrated a union at the EPC's

Covenant College Covenant College is a private, liberal arts, Christian college in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, located near Chattanooga, Tennessee. As the college of the Presbyterian Church in America, Covenant teaches subjects from a Reformed theological wor ...

in Georgia, adopting the name the

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, ...

. The RPCES would eventually merge with 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 Reformed in theology and presb ...

in 1982.

References

{{Authority control Religious organizations established in 1833 Religious organizations disestablished in 1965 Reformed denominations in North America