The Presbyterian Church in Singapore (

Abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

: PCS; ) is a

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 n ...

Reformed church. The current moderator is the Rt Rev Keith Lai. The denomination motto is ''"Nec tamen consumebatur"'' which means ''"Yet it was not consumed"''.

History

In 1965,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

became independent from

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. The Presbyterian Church in Singapore held its first Synod in January 1975. Two language presbyteries, English and Chinese, were formed. The church also runs several schools.

Founding and development

The church's origin can be traced back to the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...

. In 1829, the Rev Benjamin Keasberry came to Malaysia and Singapore, and started Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church in 1843. In 1856, Scottish residents established Orchard Road Presbyterian Church, and in 1881 the English Presbyterian Missionary Society under the leadership of John Cook, established a Chinese church called Glory Presbyterian Church. Three other churches were organised in 1883: Prinsep Street Life Church, Tanjong Pagar Church and Upper Serangoon Road Bethel Church. In 1903, the Upper Serangoon Road Bethel Church was combined with Tekka Church (now Life Bible-Presbyterian Church) and Bukit Timah Church (now Glory Presbyterian Church) as Siah Tek Church with the Rev Lin Xi appointed as the pastor. In 1999, the name of the church was changed from The Chinese Christian Church Bethel Congregation to Bethel Presbyterian Church. In 1901, the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

of the Presbyterian Church was formed. The name was changed to

Presbyterian Church in Singapore and Malaysia Presbyterian Church in Singapore and Malaysia was a Christian denomination in Malaysia and Singapore. It was founded in 1881 and had its first synod in 1901. It was known as the Singapore and Malaysia Synod of the Church of Christ in China until 1 ...

in 1968. In 1975, following the separation of Singapore and Malaysia and in view of political geographical and church administrative factors, the Synod was formally separated into the

Presbyterian Church in Malaysia The Presbyterian Church in Malaysia or GPM ( ms, Gereja Presbyterian Malaysia) is a Christian church in Malaysia. Established as an independent synod in 1974, it currently has approximately 7,000 members in 100 congregations nationwide.Coun ...

and the Presbyterian Church in Singapore. The first AGM was convened that year and the first Moderator was Rev Stephen Tan. In 1993, with the increase of English churches, the Chinese Presbytery and English Presbytery were formed. The Church grew rapidly and 2001, a combined worship service was held to celebrate her 120th anniversary in the setting up of churches. In 2003, the Singapore Presbyterian Foundation was formed.
OrchardRoadPresbyterianChurch01-20091220

OrchardRoadPresbyterianChurch01-20091220

Doctrine

The Presbyterian Church in Singapore acknowledges the

Apostles Creed The Apostles' Creed ( Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...

and

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" o ...

. It believes in the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. The Church believes that

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

is the Head of the Church. All powers and functions of the Church are subject to Christ's authority.

Statistics

The Presbyterian Church in Singapore has 21,000 members in 37 congregations. It has one Synod and two Presbyteries, the English Presbytery and the Chinese Presbytery.

Interchurch relations

The church is a member of the

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...

and the

Council for World Missions The Council for World Mission (CWM) is a worldwide community of mainly protestant Christian churches. The 32 members share their resources of money, people, skills and insights to carry out their mission work. Leadership The 32 member churches a ...

. Sister church relations with 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 ...

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 ...

, and the Presbyterian churches in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

were established.

Schools

* Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School * Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School *

Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School (KCPSS) is a co-educational government-aided secondary school located in Bishan, Singapore. History In 1924, two Christian ministers, reverends Tay Sek Tin and Tan Leng Tian, founded Katong Girls' School a ...

Presbyterian High School Presbyterian High School is a co-educational government-aided Presbyterian secondary school in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore. It is located directly opposite Yio Chu Kang MRT station. History Li Sun High School In 1960, under the vision and convicti ...

References

External links

Official Church website
{{Authority control Presbyterianism in Singapore Members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches Presbyterian denominations in Asia Christian organizations established in 1975