presbytery

The Presbyterian Church is one of the Protestant denominations that was born in Scotland, northern England , and is a branch of the Reformed Church influenced by the reformer John Calvin . They make up a significant number of Protestant denominations in South Korea , but not globally. However, it is by no means a small denomination, and belongs to the six major Protestant denominations along with the Pentecostal Church , Anglican Church , Lutheran Church , Baptist Church, and Methodist Church . The Calvinist denomination is also strong in the Netherlands , some states in Germany , South Africa , Switzerland , the Czech Republic ( Hussites strongly influenced by Calvinism ), eastern Hungary , and Pacific island countries.

Jean Calvin is Swiss In Geneva , he continued the religious reform with Bullinger of Zurich , who succeeded Zwingli , and this became the beginning of the 'Reformed Church'. Afterwards, in the Netherlands , the Reformed Church became the focal point of the Dutch War of Independence , and in France , it was called the Huguenots and opposed Catholicism , and in Navarra , it was the religion of the royal family .[4] It was the state religion (Lippische Landeskirche) of the former German Empire of Lippe.[5] In Ottoman Hungary and the Principality of Erdei, Catholicism was established under the rule of the Ottoman Empire . It became a central point to fill the vacuum where the priests had fled, and came to have a unique episcopal system.

The 'Presbyterian Church' is a reformed church in Scotland , founded by John Knox , who was strongly influenced by Calvin . British religious reformers, including John Knox, translated the Geneva Bible and participated in the reform of the Church of England . Afterwards, their descendants became Puritans and formed part of the Congregational Church, Independent Church, and Baptist Church. In general, among churches that follow Calvinist theology, the churches in continental Europe are called the Reformed Church, and the churches in Scotland (by John Knox) ​​are called the Presbyterian Church.

It is also the largest denomination in Korea, accounting for 70% of Protestant believers. Although the Presbyterian Church in Korea is not the largest denomination in the world, it is the only country with such a ratio. If you look at the world, it is not a sovereign country, but even in Scotland , about 40% belong to the Scottish Presbyterian Church , which is the largest denomination, and in Taiwan , the proportion of Presbyterian Church members exceeds 50% of Protestant believers.

If we consider the realistic use of the word 'Presbyterian Church' in the current Korean church, in a broad sense it refers to all sects that follow Calvin's theological line, and in a narrow sense it refers only to denominations influenced by the Church of Scotland, which has a Presbyterian political system. However, in this document, descriptions of the Continental Reformed Church are also mixed.

Because of its theological nature, there is no officially unified symbol .[6] For Korean Presbyterian denomination marks, see denomination lists below. In the case of the United States, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian church in the United States , uses a cross with a burning torch in the background, or the Scottish Presbyterian Church often uses a burning bush pattern . Tulips are often used because of the doctrine of Dort's Creed TULIP, which will be described later .

Presbyterian crosses derived from the Celtic cross and burning trembling trembling in Exodus are symbols used as a symbol of elders' assembly in foreign countries.

The Kingdom of England has historically adopted a strong centralized system led by the king, and Anglo-Saxon culture also places a strong emphasis on vertical human relationships. Thus, naturally, the Christian denominations created in England, such as the Anglican Church , the Methodist Church , and the Salvation Army , established a vertical system with episcopal politics at its core.[9]

On the other hand, the Kingdom of Scotland had a decentralized system mainly in mountainous or highland areas, and because of its tendency to value horizontal human relationships and freedom, the Presbyterian Council, in which church leaders were elected by the congregation, came into the spotlight. In the case of Scotland, each clan tends to live dispersedly in specific areas in the sparsely populated highlands and mountainous regions. Because of this political background, the Presbyterian Church in Scotland can be said to have adopted presbyterian politics rather than episcopal politics. Of course, Presbyterianism itself began in a relatively lowland region, not a highland region. However, Lowland also has urban self-government, urbanized nobility who do not live in fiefdoms, wealthy merchants and the educated bourgeoisie replacing the traditional nobility, so the social atmosphere is horizontal, so although the clans are more formal than the Highlands, they retain royal authority and authority. The power was significantly weaker, and the power of laymen and lay theologians was stronger than that of high-ranking clergy. In modern times, Presbyterian churches that are closer to the original form can be seen in rural churches in highlands .

In short, the Reformed/Presbyterian Churches are predominantly found in Scotland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, where historical/cultural resistance to external interference, relatively loose central authority, and strong regional characteristics within the region have no clear superiority to each other. It can be said that it was an adopted Protestant church.

 related document:Puritan

In the middle of the 16th century, Jean Calvin established the presbytery system mentioned in the Bible in earnest, and based on this, Calvinist churches called Reformed churches were established in France , the Netherlands , and Scotland , exerting influence throughout Europe.

In particular, Scotland designated Scottish Presbyterianism as the state religion in 1560, laying the foundation for its later spread to England and the United States . From this time until the Puritan Revolution , the Westminster Larger/Shorer Catechism was based on Calvin's theology.[10] (Westminster Catechism) , The Westminster Confession of Faith, church constitution, and worship guidelines were prepared, which later became the foundation of the current Presbyterian Church centered in Philadelphia , USA . To put it simply, a church that follows the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger/Shorer Catechism can be said to be a Presbyterian Church.

In Korea, the Congregational Church, which originally belonged to the Puritans, is very weak, so Puritans are often absorbed into the Presbyterian Church in Korean Protestantism. There are quite a few cases where Presbyterian pastors bring up the name of Puritanism. In the Korean Presbyterian Church, puritanism is often promoted as a hard-line conservative. However, since the original Presbyterian Church is a direct descendant of the Presbyterian faction of the British Parliament, the Scottish Royalists, and the Calvinists of the Church of England, it is not completely without conflict with the Puritan faction, which is opposed to the Anglican Church of England.

Reformed churches are usually broader than Presbyterians. However, in recent years, the Presbyterian Church and the Reformed Church are classified as the same denomination in a broad sense , and even in international Christian statistics, there is a tendency to include the Presbyterian Church in the category of the Reformed Church and classify them as the same denomination .[11]

Even if Calvinism is followed theologically, decision-making within the church may be made by congregation rather than presbyterian system, and in some cases, it may be episcopal system as in the case of Hungary, but each Presbyterian and Reformed church denomination has already joined the same international organization. Considering that it is a friendly exchange situation, it is difficult to classify them as other denominations. In the case of Hungary, it developed quite uniquely because the Hussites accepted Calvinism and became a Reformed church.

Calvin's entire doctrinal claims cannot be considered an indicator of the Reformed Church. Neither the Heidelberg Documents nor the Westminster Documents are copies of the Geneva documents. Even in Switzerland, which is considered the origin of the Reformed Church, Zwingli of Zurich and Oecolampadius of Basel were of the first generation, and Calvin was of the later generation. Martin Bucer, the first generation reformer of Strasbourg, can also be mentioned, and the Moderate Lutherans (or Melanchthonists) also participated in the Heidelberg Document. The reason why Calvinism is considered a symbol of the Reformed Church is because it is closer to the ideas of Augustine and is therefore thought to be able to play a central role well.

When referring to only Presbyterian churches, if they follow Scottish or English (British) traditions, they are called 'Presbyterian Churches', and conversely, if they follow continental traditions (Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, France, Hungary, etc.), they are called 'Reformed Churches'. However, as already mentioned above, in recent years they have been classified as the same denomination.[12]

Protestant denominations formed on the European continent, usually following Calvinism and taking the presbytery, are 'Dutch Reformed Churches'.[13] and the 'Swiss Reformed Church' (Evangelisch-Reformierte)[14] etc., but they are different from Scottish and Korean styles in terms of church interiors and worship methods. This difference is also reflected in the United States, and there are Calvinist Protestant denominations named 'Reformed Church' and Calvinist Protestant denominations named 'Presbyterian Church'. Of course, unlike the situation in the United States, most of them are affiliated with the same international Christian organization whether they use the name of the Reformed Church or the Presbyterian Church.

Traditionally, the Calvinist churches in the Netherlands and Germany use the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession.[15] , Dordtse Leerregels[16] The Calvinist denominations that regard these three documents as their norms of faith are more important than the above-mentioned Westminster-affiliated documents (which established the Westminster Confession of Faith ) . It is not wrong to say that they are continental reformed churches . In Switzerland, the Helvetian Confession of Faith is used.

In general, except for Korea, it is recommended that Reformed churches sing psalters, and in reality, conservative churches often do not sing general hymns or sing one or two psalters as a side bridge. .

If the Anglican Church or Methodist Church has a centralized system with bishops / bishops following the precedent of the episcopal church to some extent,[17] , the Presbyterian Church follows a political system governed by a higher-level governing body in accordance with a thorough elder political system. The church council, comprised of pastors and elders, is governed by the presbytery, and each presbytery is governed by the general assembly.

In Korea, individual churchism and the Presbyterian Church constitutional system are mixed, but in principle, individual churchism is not recognized in the Presbyterian Church system, and individual churchism is a characteristic of the Congregational Church or Baptist Church . According to the political system of the Presbyterian Church, the Presbytery, which is a union of individual churches, has more authority than the individual churches, and the General Assembly, which is the upper body of the Presbytery, has the highest authority. The individual churches under the presbytery are governed by the presbytery, and the presbytery and individual churches are governed by the General Assembly. In other words, the Presbyterian Church has a structure in which individual churchism is absolutely impossible if only a single denomination exists. In theory, the political system of the Presbyterian Church, unified by the constitution of the denomination, cannot have individual churchism.

However, this characteristic created a case of separation and independence by establishing a new denomination that fits one's own theology if the unified constitution and theology do not match. So the elders' councils in foreign countries are also divided into several, if not as many as in Korea. The best-known example is the difference between the Presbyterian Church of the North and the Presbyterian Church of the South in the United States.

In addition, as will be explained later, in the process of introducing the Presbyterian Church into Korea, missionaries with various theological inclinations were introduced to Korea, and other denominations such as the Presbyterian Church of Korea as well as the Presbyterian Church of Korea were established. The Presbyterian Church of Korea, which had the largest influence, was divided into the Gosin , Gijang , Tonghong , Hapdong , and Daesin- Baekseok groups due to differences in theological inclinations . Since it is very easy to establish a denomination in Korea, a certain degree of individualism is allowed to prevent division. I had no choice but to do so. The Presbyterian Church in the United States appears to be continuing to be divided due to differences in theological lines for similar reasons.

In terms of secular politics, it is a form close to indirect/representative democracy, and in fact, there is a church constitution for each denomination. In the Presbyterian Church, the church law of the denomination is referred to as this. Theoretically, in church politics, the elder can be seen as a member of the National Assembly in terms of secular politics.

Currently, each Presbyterian denomination participates individually as a member denomination of the World Council of Churches (WCC), a big tent of conservative, moderate, and progressive theology, and the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) , which is close to moderate conservative . Several Presbyterian denominations also participate in the International Christian Council (ICCC), a very conservative organization.

 more detailsReformed theology documentcastPlease note.

 more detailsDouble predestination documentcastPlease note.

In Western Protestant circles, Calvinism[18] , Presbyterianism[19] , Puritanism[20] There is a certain degree of division, so the characteristics of Calvinist-affiliated denominations are somewhat distinct. However, in Korean Protestant circles, they are all lumped together as Reformed (Calvinism), and the Presbyterian Church tends to embrace the diverse spectrum of Calvinist theology. This is the same for the Special Baptists and Anglican Calvinists in Korea.[21] So, what will be described later describes the general characteristics of Calvinist theology.

Influenced by John Calvin, it follows reformism theologically, and views the Old and New Testaments as the only infallible law of faith and conduct. Confessions of faith and catechisms are viewed only as auxiliary documents that prove the inerrancy of the Bible. Therefore, among Protestants, the authority of the Bible is second only to the Anabaptists . Putting aside theological tendencies and considering the interpretation of the Bible, Gijang, a progressive Presbyterian Church, is more conservative than the Pentecostal Church or the Holiness Church. This has a great influence on theology, which emphasizes God's absolute sovereignty more than human free will.[22] However, since Calvinist theology is the standard, we should not blindly assume that it will be conservative. For example, the Presbyterian Church tends to care about common grace when interpreting the Bible, so its relationship with general Baptist churches is not bad, but its relationship with independent Baptist churches, which have a strong tendency to extremely ignore common grace, is often very bad.

The Presbyterian Church believes that the Bible teaches the following about leadership in the church.

In particular, as explained earlier, the theology of the Presbyterian Church can be found in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism. see original text .

Basically, the Reformed Church, including the Presbyterian Church, pursues a very intellectual and apologetic faith because it considers learning and culture to be a common grace given by God, and because it believes that God's sovereignty extends to all areas of the world, it pursues calmer and more stable worship and faith than the worship and faith that humans express with enthusiasm. Therefore, the Presbyterian Church has a strong image of being very calm and pursuing intelligence. You can think of it as an image similar to Princeton University . As a result, if scholars or personnel working in the natural sciences and engineering fields believe in Christianity, they often believe in the Presbyterian Church. There is a stronger attachment to nature and natural science than other Protestant denominations.[26] Because it recommends faith that pursues understanding . The Dutch Reformed Church has an image of being even stronger in this regard. As a result, it is also the Protestant denomination that is most concerned about religiousism .[27] Of course, the extent to which science is accepted varies from person to person, so even among Presbyterian believers, there are many cases where people believe in creation science but dislike natural science. Due to the nature of emphasizing God's absolute sovereignty, it is highly likely that culture and art will also have characteristics that emphasize God's authority and power.

Thanks to Calvin's theory of vocational calling , it is also a Protestant denomination that most emphasizes work ethics ( work ethic ). They go so far as to view the performance of their job as praise to God . As a result, they are very interested in human life and economic development, and many Presbyterian pastors often have their own political philosophy that connects their ideology with Calvinist theology. Because of the above- mentioned characteristics of emphasizing the absolute sovereignty of God and the theory of common grace, it is a Protestant denomination with the strongest attachment to the real world. Thanks to this, it is the denomination that is most popular with the bourgeois class, and even today, many people with business or business-related occupations, including businessmen and financiers, believe in the Presbyterian Church. (ex) Donald Trump[28] ) However, thanks to the theory of double predestination , there are many cases where even people who are suffering in reality or suffering from poverty can find comfort through the Presbyterian Church. It is often thought that the Methodist Council is very interested in improving workers' rights and interests, and the Presbyterian Church is not that interested, but the Presbyterian Church also puts a lot of emphasis on professional ethics (work ethics, management ethics).

In addition, it is the Protestant denomination that is most favorable toward maternal faith and the faith of infant believers, and is the denomination that most emphasizes education in the Protestant faith through the family . Because it places more emphasis on passing on faith and family evangelism than other Protestant denominations, there are quite a few family-based believers. Those who view Reformed theology critically criticize this characteristic of the Presbyterian Church, saying that it only emphasizes family religious education and passing down the faith. However, looking at it another way, because it is less influenced by free will than other Protestant denominations, it is relatively less affected by Protestant-related issues, making it relatively easy to maintain a stable faith at the family level. In addition, because they value a stable and pious atmosphere and do not want to show enthusiasm for religious life, they are considered to be the next Christian sect that is reluctant to propagate after the Catholic Church, which rarely pays donations to heretics and pseudo-sects. This is because they put a lot of importance on the Bible and systematic theology, so the difficulty of proselytizing is relatively high, and even if you force them to convert, they have a strong tendency not to show any enthusiasm for religious life.

It is thought that the reason why the Presbyterian Church's influence grew the most in Korean Protestantism is because the intellectual pursuit of Reformedism (Calvinism, New Calvinism) is very similar to the intellectual pursuit of Neo-Confucianism, and the belief that emphasizes the Bible is similar to Confucianism's emphasis on Confucian scriptures, making it relatively easy to gradually replace Confucianism. Other reasons cited include the emphasis on making the home a place for Bible study and the great importance placed on training pastors by contributing most to the establishment of seminaries and universities. Another reason is that the characteristics of the Presbyterian Church, which show attachment to human life and the world, mesh well with the characteristics of Koreans who are sincere about work and leisure. The extremely simple interior of the Presbyterian Church’s chapel also fits well with the trend of minimalism . In particular, Protestant churches in Korea face a lot of noise problems due to their early morning prayer tradition. Calvinists' worship liturgy is quieter than that of non-Calvinist denominations, so they are relatively free from noise problems and are more easily tolerated by the local community.

However, the theology of the Presbyterian-Reformed Church is relatively weak in evangelism and missions to others outside the family. This is due to the structural problem of double predestination itself, because it places too much emphasis on God's absolute sovereignty and underestimates the influence of human free will and human actions. So, people who do not have the need for missions and good influence inevitably appear, saying, “God will do everything, so what do we, humans, need to do missions?” This is called hyper-calvinism. This is a general phenomenon among Presbyterian-Reformed churches worldwide, and is a problem that has already occurred within American Protestantism. In particular, the Great Awakening, which emphasized "the believer's experience according to the work of the Holy Spirit" that developed rapidly in the United States in the 1800s, led to a revival of Baptists and Methodists, while also reducing the membership of the Presbyterian Church and Congregational Church, which viewed it negatively.

However, the spread of the Korean Presbyterian Church showed a completely different pattern, and rather, the Presbyterian Church was influenced by the Great Awakening and premillennialism (the idea that Jesus Christ will return before the millennium, an idea that emphasizes the urgency of spreading the gospel according to the urgency of the end times).[29] In Joseon, missionaries such as Gale prioritized spreading the gospel itself rather than educating and disseminating their main theological ideas. Through this, missionary work took place preferentially among the underprivileged classes such as the northwestern region such as Pyongyang (Northern Presbyterian Church), Honam region (Southern Presbyterian Church), and Baekjeong, who were treated differently, and the gospel was spread through the Presbyterian Church from the beginning. However, due to this, the aristocrats in the Protestant church had animosity towards the relatively lowlife-friendly Presbyterian Church, and when access to the gospel was limited, Underwood, who was struggling, invited non-denominational organizations in the U.S. to conduct missionary activities, which led to the Korean YMCA . Ironically, unlike American Protestantism, Korean Methodism focused more on social salvation in Joseon despite coming into existence at a similar time as Presbyterianism, which limited its spread.

The influence of premillennialism served as an opportunity to offer hope to the 'suffering people of Joseon' in spreading the gospel, but on the other hand, it also brought about the spread of heresy. To be exact, it is the influence of ‘dispensational premillennialism’, which is an argument that divides history into ‘specific generations’ and assumes that the present is a time when the end is imminent. Naturally, this type of theology has a strong tendency to replace 'the end' with 'present', and in this process, extreme eschatology is emphasized, there is no salvation outside of specific churches and denominations, and there are cases where control is imposed to the extent of seriously interfering with daily life.[30]

Additionally, with the emergence of the Salvation Sect in the 1980s, it was known that Korean Protestants claimed that the theology of the Salvation Sect did not require repentance at all, which had the effect of largely rejecting Hyper Calvinism within the Korean Presbyterian Church as a theology of the Salvation Sect.

The characteristics of nature and natural science existed in Celtic Christianity, which had survived for the 4th and 6th centuries on Britain Island, and is considered to be a unique characteristic of Celtic culture along with the Celtic cross. However, the presbytery's friendly reason for nature is the direct cause of the theology of Jean -Calvin and Calvin, who were friendly to nature. The Success Association also produced many scientists, including Isaac Newton , under the influence of Calvin theology . Therefore, it is often misunderstood in the cognitive world of Celtic mythology and Celtic Christianity as the tradition of Presbyterians, and there are jokes that call the Presbyterian pastor and the Anglican clergy.

Since there are many denominations that basically adopt the Westminster Confession of Faith, the concept of paradise , where dead saints temporarily pass before the end, is often rare or very unfamiliar. In other words, the basic eschatology of the Presbyterian Church is that when a Christian dies, he or she goes straight to God's embrace (heaven). Surprisingly, these aspects are similar to the Catholic Church, so the Catholic Church does not treat the Presbyterian Church as more hostile than other Protestant denominations just because it is a conservative Protestant. Of course, if you are a Catholic who is more sensitive to theism and biblical theory, there is a possibility that you will dislike the Calvinists (Presbyterian Church) more than the Wesleyans.

Since other Protestant denominations emphasize the hoo of God's human beings, the feelings of God in Christian arts are more abundant than other denominations. In general, Weslian emphasizes that God does not give up the favor and man of God, but Calvinism often expresses various feelings of God's human beings.

In addition, in the Korean atheist camp, the cultural legacy and influence of Christianity are often viewed very negatively, and they are often unconditionally hostile to Protestantism. As a result, there is an opinion that this influence has created a consensus among Korean Protestants that there are unbelievers who cannot be evangelized no matter how much they preach, resulting in giving more weight to the Calvinist theory of limited atonement than the Wesleyan theory of universal atonement. In contrast, in American Protestantism, the atheist camp pioneered the Church of Satan, which brought at least Protestant liturgical methods and occupied the position of cultural Christianity and theological theology, so the depth of the progressive Christian camp is much greater than that of Korean Protestantism.

Refers to the five major doctrines of Calvinism. These five major doctrines are collectively called TULIP, and their importance is equivalent to the four-fold gospel of the Holiness Church and the divine cooperation theory of the Methodist Church .

In 1619, Calvinists in the Netherlands announced the Doctrine of Dort in opposition to the five doctrines of Arminianism , which advocated works soteriology. It clearly demonstrated Calvinism 's position on soteriology and organized it into five points. Although it was not a doctrine announced directly by Jean Calvin, it received great response from Calvinists and became a core doctrine of the Presbyterian Church and the Reformed Church.

For criticism of this, see the Reformed Theology/Criticism article.

 more detailsPresbyterian Association/Korea documentcastPlease note.

National Church of Scotland logo

Scotland, the origin of the Presbyterian Association's name, Church of Scotland, the National Church , and the completely independent denominations of the Scotch of Scotland , and the United Free Church of Scotland There are ' Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland ', and local scotes are called 'The Kirk'.

In the case of 'Church of Scotland', it is a naming method that is likely to be given to the Anglican Church, and although it is actually called the 'National Church', this is closer to an honorary title in consideration of protocol and traditional status. The Church of England also likes to say that it is a ceremonial role for the royal family to do anything in conjunction with the government, but since it is a Presbyterian Church with an official theological church structure intact, its ceremonial position is also significantly lower. Of course, it cannot be said to be completely unrelated to Scottish politics and national identity, as the current General Assembly Hall of the Presbyterian Church, located within the University of Edinburgh, served as an unofficial capitol for lawmakers who advocated for the establishment of a self-governing government until the establishment of the Scottish self-government, but in any case, its official position is simply that of the 'national church', an honorary position as a historic majority denomination. For example, in England, most royal families are Anglicans who were baptized as Anglicans , and very few are members of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.[31] However, since the time of Queen Victoria , the British king and royal family have worshiped at Crady Kirk belonging to the National Church when they reside at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Additionally, the King of England has an identity as the supreme ruler of the Anglican Church in England and as a member of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.

Even the position of the national church, which has only the honor of being the historical majority denomination, is becoming more and more dangerous. Statistically, the majority of believers are still maintained, including those born in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was common to be baptized once born, but registered as believers in name only. However, in terms of more practical indicators such as regular attendance at religious events, in modern Scotland, they are far behind Catholics, whose religious affiliations are maintained mainly by Irish immigrants, and their presence is weak even compared to local Muslims, mainly immigrants, who are not very numerous outside the two major cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. In a narrow sense, despite being the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church, the modern National Church of Scotland is closing down due to a decrease in believers every day. As local churches warmly welcome Koreans, Africans, and recent students from Central and South America studying abroad in theological schools and pastoral training courses, we can see in real time how the proportion of foreigners in the church member community is increasing.

The largest mainstream Presbyterian Church in the United States is the Presbyterian Church of America (PCUSA).[43] am. As of the end of 2018, approximately 1.2 million formal church members were registered. If you estimate all the believers, it seems to be around 3 million. It takes a relatively progressive stance, allowing people with homosexual tendencies to hold church positions in 2010, and in 2014, it also allows officiating same-sex marriages through a vote of the General Assembly and each presbytery. From 3 million believers in 1983, the number of believers decreased by 60% in 35 years, to 1.3 million in 2018, and as of 2021, there are 1.19 million believers.

In fact, from the 19th century to the 1920s, the PCUSA itself was a fairly conservative denomination. Princeton Theological Seminary, an affiliated seminary, was also famous for its Bible-centered theological view called ‘Old Princeton Theology’ until the 1910s, and Princeton at the time was also evaluated as one of the seminaries that systematized biblical inerrancy . Theologians such as John Machen, B. Warfield, and Charles Hodge, who are widely talked about in Korean Protestant circles, were originally affiliated with Princeton.

However, there were also 'modernist' theologians who supported biblical criticism . At first, orthodoxists dominated the denominational atmosphere, but as time went by, new seminarians began to side with biblical criticism and modernism, and clashes with existing orthodox theologians often occurred. The conflict between the two powers became most intense from the 1920s to the 1930s.

Eventually, orthodox forces withdrew from Princeton and founded Westminster Theological Seminary, and the denomination was separated under the name of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). The congregation has about 40,000 members.

PCUSA left by Orthodox[44] has been influenced by neo-orthodoxy since the 1930s, and like other mainstream American denominations, has become active and progressive in social issues. In 1958, it merged with the 'United Presbyterian Church of America' (UPCUSA), which had similar tendencies, and changed the name to 'United Presbyterian Church of America (UPCUSA)'. In 1981 , the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (USA) (EPC) separated, and merged with the Southern Presbyterian Church of the United States, returning to its original name of PCUSA after 25 years. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) has approximately 180,000 members.

Besides the PCUSA, there is the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), which seceded from the Presbyterian Church in the South in 1973 and is one of the fastest growing denominations in the United States. Currently, there are about 400,000 members, and there are about 250 Korean churches and 9 Korean presbyteries under its umbrella. Prominent pastor Tim Keller, James Kennedy of Evangelism Explosion, and Francis Schafer are members of this denomination. Attempts were made to integrate with the OPC, which share the same faith line, but were unsuccessful.

In 2012, conservative pastors and theologians who felt the PCUSA had gone too far in discussions of same-sex marriage and ordination of gays left the group and formed a moderate conservative denomination called ECO (Evangelical Covenant Presbyterian Church).[45] The creation of a denomination has even occurred. The ECO denomination is growing, as conservative churches that reject both fundamentalist and postmodern theology are moving from the PCUSA. It has about 120,000 members.

As detailed in the paragraph ‘Differences between Presbyterianism and Reformed Churches’, churches that follow Calvinism (of course, this is an early story, and currently have various views on soteriology), give general baptism rather than baptism, and follow a congregational political system are just that. It is called a ' Congregational Church ', but surprisingly, many of the early churches in the eastern United States were Congregational churches rather than Presbyterian churches.

In fact, the majority of Puritans in the United States were separatists who valued direct congregational autonomy rather than presbyterianism.[46] Naturally, most of the churches they founded are congregational churches, and the universities associated with them are Harvard University and Yale University .

Since the 19th century, it has become a representative liberal denomination and has been at odds with the Presbyterian Church, which was in a conservative position .[47]

There is an interesting fact about this denomination's evangelism and missionary work; it was a main force in the founding of the United States and made several agreements with the Presbyterian Church, which was introduced relatively late.

Due to the above, Presbyterian missionaries entered Korea and Taiwan, and Congregational Church missionaries entered Japan and China. In Japan, it led to the Congregational Church.[48] It is said that the above agreement was not absolutely complied with. A Japanese Congregational Church entered Korea as well. Contrary to the Holiness Church , it became a pawn of the Japanese government and took the lead in Japan-Korea unity, and of course was forcibly disbanded after liberation.

It is closely related to the Presbyterian Church of Korea. Tokyo Theological Seminary, where Pastor Moon Ik-hwan studied, developed based on the seminary established by SR Brown, a Japanese missionary for the Congregational Church, and became the seminary of the Japanese Christian Church , where the Congregational Church was the mainstream .[49] Yokohama Theological Seminary, which his wife attended, became the background for the establishment of Doshisha University , the parent body of the Japanese Congregational Church.

In the U.S., there was the Asian Missionary Division, which was the last collaboration between the Presbyterian Church, which was conservative, and the Congregational Church, which showed signs of liberalization . And unlike other theologians in Korea, they took the national Shinto too lightly, so it can be seen that it provided the cause of the taboo of biblical criticism in Korean Protestantism.

The recent trend of UCC is the center of liberalism among mainline Protestant churches in the United States. They tend to speak out more boldly on the left than any other mainline denomination on issues of feminism , homosexuality , racism , and abortion .

On the other hand, a very small number of congregational churches that resisted liberalization established a congregational denomination called CCCC or 4C denomination . However, since Peter Wagner, the founder of the New Apostolic Movement, was the first denomination to be ordained as a pastor, Koreans may like or dislike this denomination.

In the United States, denominations using the name 'Reformed' are usually associated with Dutch immigrants.

Traditional old ' mainstream religious order '[50] RCA ( Reformed Church in America ) is considered[51] , the moderately orthodox CRCA (Christian Reformed Church in America), the conservatively orthodox PRCA (Protestant Reformed Church in America), the FRCNA (Free Reformed Church in North America), the NRCA (Netherlands Reformed Church in America) and the HNRC (Heritage Dutch Reformed Church).[52] There is.

The American Reformed Church was similar in doctrine to the Presbyterian Church, but when the mission area was determined in the 19th century, it agreed to send to Southeast Asia and Japan like the Congregational Church.

As I wrote at the top, the Netherlands was one of the few countries in continental Europe where Calvinism flourished, and unlike Switzerland, some conservative churches still remain in the 2010s.

Until the early 20th century, it was the largest religion, accounting for 60% of the total population in the Netherlands, but after World War II, it rapidly lost its power and became liberalized according to the current trend. Today, those who believe in the Reformed Church account for only about 10% of the total population, and conservative denominations are less than half, or less than 5%. In addition, the entire Protestant church in the Netherlands was already reversed by Catholicism in the 20th century.[53] In other words, the situation in Korea is opposite.

Unlike Korea, it is common for elders to be appointed for term.[54] Even pastors do not stay in one church for a long time, and they are invited here and there and often move personnel.

The characteristic feature is that the word 'Reformed Church' in the original language can refer to completely different denominations depending on how it is used or whether the spacing is used. For example, Hervormde and Gereformeerde are completely different in nuance in Dutch, but in English, they are both written as Reformed, so it is quite confusing.[55]

As with other Reformed denominations, there have been repeated divisions and integrations over doctrinal or theological inclinations, as shown below.

 more detailsHungarian Reformed Church documentcastPlease note.

 more detailsTaiwan Christian Presbyterian Church documentcastPlease note.

台灣基督長老教會 / The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

As in Korea, the Presbyterian Church is the largest denomination of Protestantism in Taiwan and boasts the longest history. In 1865, British missionary Maxwell first landed and established a church. Unlike the Korean Presbyterian Church, which was dominated by American missionaries, the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church was mainly led by British and Canadian missionaries. Of course, there are other denominations in Taiwan, but Taiwan's Protestantism itself is very weak, and most other denominations came in after the 1950s, much later than the Presbyterian Church. Because of this, most of the Protestants in Taiwan recognize the Presbyterian Church, and nearly half of all Protestant believers are said to be Presbyterian believers.

Unlike the Korean Presbyterian Church, which is largely divided into five branches: the Tonghong branch, the Hapdong branch, the Daesin-Baekseok branch, the Koshin branch, and the Gijang branch, the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church is a single denomination and has a relatively progressive tendency compared to the Korean Presbyterian Church. Not being very progressive, I am strongly opposed to the legalization of same-sex marriage. It has a sister relationship with the Presbyterian Church of Korea (unified) and the Presbyterian Church of Korea in Korea , and although not much, exchanges have been taking place steadily since the 1960s.

Taiwanese people, the distant relatives of the polynesians to be described later, also believe in the Presbyterian Association. The Presbyterian Church of Taiwanese people and Calvinpa in the Pacific Books are sometimes friendly.

This paragraph describes Calvin in Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesian countries, except for Australia and New Zealand.

The situation here is completely opposite to that of the Scottish Presbyterian Church. Calvinists often make up more than 80% of the population, and their numbers continue to increase. This is because throughout the 19th and 21st centuries, the Calvinists in the Anglo-American world continued to send missionaries, and local people also actively accepted Protestantism. In addition, many say that the number of believers has increased because the maritime culture of Pacific island countries and Calvinist theology mesh well together.

In many cases, independent presbyterian denominations such as Tongga and Vanuatu have been formed, but the Pacific Islands are often united by various Calvin missionaries such as Presbyterians, Baptist Churches, College Churches, and Anglican Churches, so they are often unclear or independent church Calvin. In addition, the propensity of pastors is also difficult to say that conservativeism, neo -stateism, and neoliberal tendency are mixed theologically.

As a result, Polynesian mythology and mythology are being steadily pushed out. However, there were also cases where believers personally believed in a mixture of Polynesian mythology or Cargo faith and Calvinism. However, as generations pass, that trend is almost disappearing.

1. If you were expelled or expelled from the Presbyterian Church (Reformed Church) and have not rejoined or founded another Presbyterian Church (Reformed Church), mark through.

2. In the name of the denomination, the name of the Presbyterian Association is also named, but the person's move is also hard to see as a Presbyterian Association, such as strongly attacking Reformed theology (Calvinism, Shinkalvinism).