International Presbyterian Church - geograph

The International Presbyterian Church (IPC) is a Reformed church in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, that holds to the

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 ...

confession of faith, with common commitments, purpose and accountability and government.

Origin

The church was founded by

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 autho ...

as a missionary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCES) in the United States. Schaeffer and his wife began

L'Abri L'Abri is an evangelical Christian organisation which was founded on June 5, 1955 by Francis Schaeffer and his wife Edith in Huémoz-sur-Ollon, Switzerland. They opened their alpine home as a ministry to curious travelers and as a forum to discu ...

("the Shelter") and then started the International Presbyterian Church. They moved from Switzerland to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, bringing the church with them. The first congregation started in Ealing in 1969. They also created congregations among Korean-speaking people, including the London Korean Church. Missionaries for the church worked in

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

, Targu Jiu,

Verona, Italy Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in north ...

Ghent, Belgium Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

and

Baku, Azerbaijan Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

. Recently dissatisfied

evangelical 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 expe ...

groups from 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 ...

have joined the church, with former ministers, elders and members creating the four new Scottish congregations out of existing Church of Scotland congregations. However, subsequently the Grace Community Church congregation located in

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh (from the Gaelic ''Caol Loch Aillse'', "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross-shire on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is located on the Lo ...

closed.

Organization

The IPC has four presbyteries, namely a British Presbytery, a European Proto-Presbytery, Korean Presbytery and a South-Korean Proto-Presbytery. The British Presbytery comprises twelve English-speaking congregations in the United Kingdom. They are:

England

*Brentford, Immanuel *Derby, Christ Church *Ealing *Ilford, All Nations Church *Liss, St Peters *Leeds: Christ Church Central *Romford, Christ Church Romford *Southall, New Life Masih Ghar *York, Trinity Church

Scotland

*Aberdeen, Trinity Church *Inverness, Highland International Church *Larbert: Grace Church Formerly, there was Grace Community Church, based in Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland. It closed during 2020. These Presbyteries form a synod.

Theology

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" ...

Three Forms of Unity The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by many Ca ...

** Belgic Confession **

Canons of Dort The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, is the judgment of the National Synod held in the Dutch city of Dordrecht in 1618� ...

** Heidelberg Catechism The five statements of the Reformed doctrine: *

Scripture Alone , meaning by scripture alone, is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of au ...

Grace Alone ''Sola gratia'', meaning by grace alone, is one of the five ''solae'' and consists in the belief that salvation comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only, not as something earned or deserved by the sinner. It is a Christian theologica ...

Faith Alone ''Justificatio sola fide'' (or simply ''sola fide''), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, fr ...

Christ Alone ''Solus Christus'' or ''In Christo solo'' (Latin in + ablative, sōlō Christō, meaning "in Christ alone") is one of the five solae that summarize the Protestant Reformers' basic belief that salvation is by faith ''in Christ alone''. Doctri ...

* the Glory of God Alone

External links

International Presbyterian Church

London Korean Church

References

{{Christianity in the United Kingdom Religious organisations based in England Presbyterian denominations in Europe Presbyterian denominations established in the 20th century Presbyterianism in the United Kingdom Presbyterianism in England Reformed denominations in the United Kingdom Presbyterianism in Scotland Presbyterian denominations in Scotland