The United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA) was an American

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 ...

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 The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), as it exists today, is the historical descendant of the Synod of the South, a Synod of the Associate Reformed Church. The original Associate Reformed Church resulted from a merger of the Associate ...

( Covenanter and

Seceder The First Secession was an exodus of ministers and members from the Church of Scotland in 1733. Those who took part formed the Associate Presbytery and later the United Secession Church. They were often referred to as seceders. The underlying ...

) with the Associate Presbyterian Church (Seceders) at a convention at the Old City Hall in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. On May 28, 1958, it merged with the

Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was the first national Presbyterian denomination in the United States, existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North Americ ...

(PCUSA) at a conference in Pittsburgh to form the

United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958, to 1983. It was formed by the union of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of Ameri ...

(UPCUSA). It began as a mostly ethnic Scottish denomination, but after some years it grew somewhat more and more ethnically diverse, although universally English-speaking, and was geographically centered in

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

and eastern

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, areas of heavy Scottish and Scotch-Irish settlement on the American frontier. Within that territory, a large part of its adherents lived in rural areas, which amplified the denomination's already highly traditionalist worldview.

Seceders

The founders of the Associate Presbyterian Church of North America, nicknamed the "Seceders", were direct immigrants from Scotland, and reflected the numerous quarrels and divisions which rent Scottish Presbyterianism. Even after the Scot Seceders had made their peace with other elements in the mother country, American Seceders retained their separate identity until 1858, when most of them united with much of the

to form the United Presbyterian Church of North America.

Associate Reformed Church

Historian William L. Fisk traces the history of the Associate Reformed Church in the Old Northwest from its formation by a union of Associate and Reformed Presbyterians in 1782 to the merger of this body with other groups to form the United Presbyterian Church in 1858. It became the Associate Reformed Synod of the West and remain centered in the Midwest. It withdrew from the parent body in 1820 because of the drift of the Eastern churches toward assimilation into the larger Presbyterian Church. The Associate Reformed Synod of the West maintained the characteristics of an immigrant church with Scotch-Irish roots, emphasized the Westminster standards, used only the psalms in public worship, was Sabbatarian, and was strongly abolitionist and anti-Catholic. In the 1850s it exhibited many evidences of assimilation. It showed greater ecumenical interest, greater interest in evangelization of the West and of the cities, and a declining interest in maintaining the unique characteristics of its immigrant past.

Beliefs and practices

Its theology was a conservative

Calvinism 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 Ca ...

and also held the distinctives of the Covenanters and Seceders, such as public covenanting, adherence to the Solemn League and Covenant, and exclusive use of the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

in singing. (These are very similar to a sister body that still exists, the

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

.) The church moderated some of its stances in the twentieth century, such as when it released its ''Confessional Statement and Testimony'' (1925), abandoning compulsion of such practices as

exclusive psalmody Exclusive psalmody is the practice of singing only the biblical Psalms in congregational singing as worship. Today it is practised by several Protestant, especially Reformed denominations. Hymns besides the Psalms have been composed by Christians ...

Merger

Around this time, the UPCNA sought mergers with various other

Reformed churches 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 finally agreed to merge with the much larger PCUSA in 1958, the year of its centennial, to form the UPCUSA. Most UPCNA-heritage congregations entered into the present Presbyterian Church (USA) (which succeeded the UPCUSA in 1983), but some of more evangelical conservative orientation departed in the 1970s to denominations such as 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 ...

(founded 1973) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (1981).

Missions

Egypt

American missionaries first came to Egypt in 1854; British Protestant missions already existed but the Associate Reformed missionaries had 600 converts in a network of stations by 1875, and 4600 members by 1895, seeking to convert Copts, with occasional outreach to Muslims as well. local government officials were hostile but by 1917, the " American Mission" was the largest Protestant group in Egypt, and had spent over £E800,000 on its missionary efforts. The American Mission was the largest Protestant operation in Egypt. It trained local clerics, built schools by 1894 reached the status of a synod with four presbyteries. By 1926 it became the "Evangelical Church in Egypt," and while still part of the UPC it was self-governing, and operated its own seminary. However, with the "Anti-Missionary Campaign" of the 1930s, the Americans were forced to rethink their strategy. There were tensions between Egyptian ministers and American missionaries, particularly over the idea of converting Muslims and the adoption of "modern" Western attitudes. The independent, postcolonial church grew out of the political and social environment of Egypt. The synod became the Coptic Evangelical Church, and was wholly controlled by Egyptians in 1957. Separately the American Mission also created the American University in Cairo in 1919, which quickly became a center for

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, te ...

and modernization in the Arab world. However, due to Religious Controversies and the waning interest in evangelicalism by the university's founder Charles A. Watson, the relationship slowly deteriorated and now the university is no longer connected to the UPCNA.

Colonial India

From the beginning, the goal of the Sialkot Mission of the UPCNA, established in 1854, was the encouragement and nurturing of leadership for the Synod of the Punjab in colonial India, which was later partitioned in 1947 between independent India and the newly created state of Pakistan. In the Punjab Province of undivided India, United Presbyterian churches were established in the cities of Rawalpindi (1856), Gujranwala (1863), Gurdaspur (1872), Jhelum (1874), Zafarwal (1880), Pathankot (1882), Pasrur (1884), Dhariwal (1890), Lyallpur (1895), Sangla Hill (1901), Sargodha (1905), Lahore (1913), and Badomali (1915), Campbellpur (1916), Martinpur (1918), Taxila (1921), Sheikhupura (1923). Christian missionaries established hospitals, schools, technical training centers, and colleges as well. These leaders have ranged from illiterate village elders to pastors of important city congregations, as well as a bishop in the Church of Pakistan. They have included Christian craftsmen and artisans, teachers and professors, doctors and nurses - all of whom have given themselves to building up a strong Christian Church in the Punjab. After the partition of India, mission schools have been nationalized by the Muslim Pakistani government; the problem of training future leadership faces a hazardous and difficult future.Wilbur C. Christy, "The United Presbyterian Church and the Development of Leadership for the Punjabi Christian Church," ''Journal of Presbyterian History'' 1984 62(3): 223-229

References

External link

* {{Authority control Religious organizations established in 1858 Religious organizations disestablished in 1958 Presbyterian denominations in the United States Presbyterian Church (USA) predecessor churches Former Presbyterian denominations Scottish-American history Scotch-Irish American history 1858 establishments in the United States Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church 1958 disestablishments in the United States