The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland 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 ...

church in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. The church currently has forty-three congregations, of which thirty-five are located in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

; the remaining eight are located in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

. As of 2011, its total communicant membership is 1,952. The distribution of Reformed Presbyterians accords with the distribution of the Ulster Scots, with most congregations based in counties Antrim, Londonderry and Down. Several new congregations have, however, been formed recently in the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

area, along with new fellowships in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

History

The church's roots date back to the 17th-century

plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation ('' plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of th ...

by Scots

settlers. When the Revolution Settlement was entered into in 1690 following the victory of William III in the

Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

, a minority of Presbyterians refused to subscribe, claiming its failure to specifically recognise the kingship of

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 ...

was a departure from the

Solemn League and Covenant The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August 1 ...

of 1643. These dissenters, or

Covenanters 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 '' Covena ...

, began to hold separate meetings from the mainstream

Presbyterians 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 ...

. The Ulster branch of the denomination was dependent on visits from Scottish ministers until 1757. A separate Irish presbytery was organised in April 1763, and its

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 ...

was constituted at

Cullybackey Cullybackey or Cullybacky () is a large village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies 3 miles north-west of Ballymena, on the banks of the River Main, and is part of Mid and East Antrim district. It had a population of 2,569 people in the ...

on 1 May 1811.Glasgow, William M. ''A History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America''.

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

: Hill and Harvey, 1888, 51.

Doctrine and practice

Being a member church of the RP Global Alliance and part of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, the RPCI conforms to the following: *

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 ...

* Westminster Larger Catechism *

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 ...

*The testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland which contains a very short article outlining the two points where the RPCI disagrees with Westminster Confession of Faith, followed by fourteen short essays on points of 'practical application' which are essentially facets of Christian living on which the RPCI has a theological opinion. Some such essays relate to the relationship between church and state, how it understands its relationship to Catholicism, or what it thinks about membership of the secret societies.

References

External links

Denominational website
{{Authority control Presbyterianism in Northern Ireland Presbyterianism in the Republic of Ireland Reformed Presbyterian Church (denominational group) Religious organizations established in 1763 Protestant denominations established in the 18th century All-Ireland organisations

History

Doctrine and practice

See also

References

External links