The United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan is the second-largest

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 ...

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

denominations and the third-largest

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

denomination in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It was formed in 1968 by churches that split from the United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (1855-1993).

History

In 1855 the United Presbyterian Mission of the United States opened work in Lahore with Andrew Gordon as a missionary; two years later he established a mission station in Sialkot, where he was joined by other missionaries. Schools and an orphanage were opened by the missionary group. In 1859 the Presbytery of Sialkot was formed. The "Sialkot Conventions", promoted by the church, have been held since 1904 and are recognized as fundamental to the strengthening and dissemination of the Christian faith in

. The Psalms used in the Sialkot Hymnbookwith Convention, as well as hymns in Punjabi and Urdu as Indian songs are widely used in all

churches in the country. The church grew, and other presbyteries were established. In 1893 the Synod of Punjab (SP) was formed as one of the synods of 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 ( ...

. The SP founded the Gujiranwala Seminary, which became a united seminary in 1954, which went on to serve for the training of ministers of various Protestant denominations in

such as the

Church of Pakistan The Church of Pakistan is a united Protestant Church in Pakistan, which is part of the Anglican Communion and a member of the World Communion of Reformed ChurchesDatabase (9 February 2006)"Sialkot Diocese of the Church of Pakistan" Reformed Onl ...

and Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Pakistan. The same synod became autonomous in 1961 forming the United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (1855-1993). In 1968, as a result of the movement opposing McIntire's

Liberal Theology Religious liberalism is a conception of religion (or of a particular religion) which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion (as opposed to criticism of religion from a secular position, ...

, part of the members split and founded another denomination with the same name "United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan" (UPCP). On November 18, 1993, the first United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (1855-1993) and the Lahore Council of Churches (which at the time was affiliated with

) united again and formed the present Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (PCP). As such, only the splinter denomination, formed in 1968, continued to use the name "United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan".

Policy & Statistics

The church's emphasis is on the Christian Bible as "the inspired, inerrant, infallible and revealed WORD of GOD". One of the oldest churches in the sub-continent, membership is estimated to be approximately 250,000, including 100 pastors, 100 evangelists, 500 elders and 150 church buildings. The session is the basic unit with teaching elders, ruling elders and deacons. The presbytery is a higher body. Activities of the church include

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

, education, agriculture, jail, community development and theological education. Their head office is located in

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

Interchurch Relations

The denomination is a member of the

World Reformed Fellowship The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical Christian organization which promotes unity between confessional Calvinist churches around the world. History The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches was formed in 1994 by the Presbyterian ...

. IPUP participates in the Society of Biblical Christian Churches of Pakistan and runs, together with the Anglican Orthodox Church of Pakistan, a seminar for training pastors.

References

External links

* {{World Reformed Fellowship Presbyterian denominations in Asia Protestantism in Pakistan Christian organizations established in 1992 Members of the World Reformed Fellowship

History

Policy & Statistics

Interchurch Relations

See also

References

External links