Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod
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The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod was a
Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming 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 Places * Reform, Al ...
and
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
denomination in the
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and
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between 1965 and 1982.


Formation

The RPCES was formed in 1965 with the union of the
Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod The Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod was a Presbyterian denomination in the United States that came about due to a split amongst the Reformed Presbyterians, or Covenanters and existed between 1833 and 1965. History The division had co ...
and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (formerly the Bible Presbyterian Church-Columbus Synod) at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA held joint Synod meeting. The uniting service was held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 6, 1965, and this service was followed by sessions of the 143rd General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod. The business of the united synods was concluded on April 8, 1965. The denomination experienced immediate growth. The denomination subscribed to the 1647 version of the
Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, 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 becam ...
; however, the plan of union to form the denomination, in a concession to the largely
premillennial Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, heralding a literal thousand-year messianic age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a liter ...
Evangelical Presbyterian Church, called for modifications to the Larger Catechism to make it more hospitable to those who held to a premillennial eschatology.D.G. Hart & John Meuther ''Seeking a Better Country: Three Hundred Years of American Presbyterianism ''(P&R Publishing, 2007) pg. 221 It practiced traditional worship and was conservative in its theology. The RPCES had also planned to include resolutions warning members against the evils of dancing, liquor, television, gambling and tobacco, again, in a concession to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church's Bible Presbyterian heritage, yet these resolutions, despite being a basis for the merger, had no binding legislative power. The
Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyte ...
invited the RPCES to organic union third time (OPC had fraternal relation with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (1961) The OPC had extensive contact with this latter group already since 1945, when a committee was established to investigate the possibility of union with them 2 times, in 1949, and in 1959 unsuccessful.) The 42nd General Assembly of the OPC voted 95-42 in favour of the proposed union, but the vote in the RPCES failed to gain the two-thirds majority required to approve the plan.


Developments

In 1975, the RPCES collaborated with the
Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyte ...
, 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, Japan, and Chile. Its beliefs—held in common with other members of the Reformed Presbyterian Globa ...
, 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 Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...
and the
Christian Reformed Church in North America The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA or CRC) is a Protestant Calvinist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. Having roots in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church was found ...
in forming a fellowship of Presbyterian churches known as the
North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council The North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) is an association of several Presbyterianism, Presbyterian and Reformed church, Reformed churches in the United States and Canada. The Council meets annually. It lists biblical inerranc ...
(NAPARC), an alliance of conservative Reformed denominations in the U.S, as an alternative to both the liberal
National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is a left-wing progressive activist group and the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partners ...
and the
National Association of Evangelicals The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an American association of Evangelical Christian denominations, organizations, schools, churches, and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than ...
, a more broadly based conservative group encompassing theologies considered objectionable by Reformed devotees, namely
Arminianism Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was origina ...
. Almost all
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 ...
-heritage congregations - which was more conservative than the PC-USA - 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 Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod later the Presbyterian Church in America and the EPC. In 1979, the General Assembly of 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 ...
ruled that all congregations must elect both men and women to the office of ruling elder. The ruling resulted in an exodus of approximately forty congregations, including Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Tenth and with many others affiliated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod. At the time of the merger the RPCES had 25,718 communicant members in 187 congregations served by 400 teaching elders. The PCA had 519 churches, 91,060 communicant members, and 480 teaching elders. After the merger the PCA membership was 706 churches, 116,788 communicant members, and 1,276 teaching elders.


Merger

After three years of talks, in 1982, the RPCES was received into 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 Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...
in a process known as "joining and receiving." At that time the church had 189 congregations (perhaps the most notable being Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia) with 25,000 communicant members and 482 ministers. From its founding date, the RPCES experienced a rapid membership growth, more than 400 percent. The Evangelical Synod had 17 presbyteries; 13 of those voted for, and 4 voted against, the PCA union. Notable members were
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 auth ...
, Gordon H. Clark, and Robert G. Rayburn.


Seminary

The RPCES had its own seminary, the
Covenant Theological Seminary Covenant Theological Seminary, informally called Covenant Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, it trains people to work as leaders in church positions and elsewh ...
in
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, along with
Covenant College Covenant College is a private, liberal arts, Christian college in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, United States, located near Chattanooga, Tennessee. As the college of the Presbyterian Church in America, Covenant teaches subjects from a Reformed ...
in
Lookout Mountain, Georgia Lookout Mountain is a city entirely within Walker County, Georgia, United States. Bordering its sister town of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Lookout Mountain is part of the Chattanooga metropolitan statistical area. The population was 1,641 a ...
, which had been under EPC auspices prior to the merger.


See also

*
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 Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...
* Evangelical Presbyterian Church (1961) *
Bible Presbyterian Church The Bible Presbyterian Church is an Protestantism in the United States, American Protestant denomination in the Reformed tradition. It was founded by members of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church over differences on Christian eschatology, eschatolo ...
*
Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyte ...
*
North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council The North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) is an association of several Presbyterianism, Presbyterian and Reformed church, Reformed churches in the United States and Canada. The Council meets annually. It lists biblical inerranc ...


References

{{Authority control Christian organizations established in 1965 Religious organizations disestablished in 1982 Presbyterian denominations established in the 20th century Presbyterian denominations in the United States Former Presbyterian denominations Presbyterian Church in America Christian denominations founded in the United States