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Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestantism tradition named after its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word Presbyterian is applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that were formed during the English Civil War, 1642 to 1651.
Presbyterian theology typically emphasises the sovereignty of God, the Sola scriptura, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Scotland ensured Presbyterian church government in the 1707 Acts of Union, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. In fact, most Presbyterians in England have a Scottish connection. The Presbyterian denomination was also taken to North America, Australia, and New Zealand, mostly by Scots and Scots-Irish immigrants. Scotland's Presbyterian denominations hold to the Reformed theology of John Calvin and his immediate successors, although there is a range of theological views within contemporary Presbyterianism. Local congregations of churches that use Presbyterian polity are governed by sessions made up of representatives of the congregation (elders), a Conciliarity approach as with other levels of decision-making (presbytery, synod, and general assembly). There are roughly 75 million Presbyterians in the world.
Presbyterianism's roots lie in the Magisterial Reformation of the 16th century. John Calvin's Republic of Geneva was particularly influential, along with Calvin's student, Scottish Reformer John Knox who worked with civil magistrates to establish the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, writing the book of common order and eventually Scots Confession. Most Reformed churches that trace their history to Scotland are either presbyterian or congregationalist in government. In the 20th century, some Presbyterians played an important role in the Ecumenism, including the World Council of Churches. Many Presbyterian denominations have found ways of working together with other Reformed denominations and Christians of other traditions, especially in the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Some Presbyterian churches have entered into unions with other churches, such as Congregationalists, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and Methodists. Presbyterians in the United States came largely from Scottish, Scots-Irish immigrants, and also from New England communities that were originally Congregational but changed because of an agreed-upon Plan of Union of 1801 for frontier areas.
Presbyterianism was especially influenced by the French theologian John Calvin, who is credited with the development of Reformed theology, and the work of John Knox, a Scottish Catholic Priest who studied with Calvin in Geneva and brought back Reformed teachings to Scotland. An important influence on the formation of Presbyterianism in Britain also came from John a Lasco, a Polish reformer, the founder of a Stranger's Church in London, based on the Geneva models.
The Presbyterian church traces its ancestry primarily to Scotland. In August 1560, the Parliament of Scotland adopted the Scots Confession as the creed of the Scottish Kingdom. In December 1560, the First Book of Discipline was published, outlining important doctrinal issues but also establishing regulations for church government, including the creation of ten ecclesiastical districts with appointed superintendents which later became known as presbyteries.
In time, the Scots Confession would be supplanted by the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the larger and shorter catechisms, which were formulated by the Westminster Assembly between 1643 and 1649.
Presbyterians place importance on education and lifelong learning, tempered with the belief that no human action can affect salvation.
Continuous study of the scriptures, theological writings, and understanding and interpretation of church doctrine are embodied in several statements of faith and formally adopted by various branches of the church, often referred to as "subordinate standards".
Ruling elders are elected by the congregation and ordained to serve with the teaching elders, assuming responsibility for the nurture and leadership of the congregation. Often, especially in larger congregations, the elders delegate the practicalities of buildings, finance, and temporal ministry to the needy in the congregation to a distinct group of officers (sometimes called deacons, which are ordained in some denominations). This group may variously be known as a "Deacon Board", "Board of Deacons" "Diaconate", or "Deacons' Court". These are sometimes known as "presbyters" to the full congregation. Since the 20th century, most denominations allow women to be teaching or ruling elders.
Above the sessions exist presbyteries, which have area responsibilities. These are composed of teaching elders and ruling elders from each of the constituent congregations. The presbytery sends representatives to a broader regional or national assembly, generally known as the General Assembly, although an intermediate level of a synod sometimes exists. This congregation / presbytery / synod / general assembly schema is based on the historical structure of the larger Presbyterian churches, such as the Church of Scotland or the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); some bodies, such as the Presbyterian Church in America and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, skip one of the steps between congregation and General Assembly, and usually the step skipped is the Synod. The Church of Scotland abolished the Synod in 1993.
Presbyterian governance is practiced by Presbyterian denominations and also by many other Reformed churches.Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA): Part I: The Book of Confessions, p. 267.
There is a spectrum of approaches to confessionalism. The manner of subscription, or the degree to which the official standards establish the actual doctrine of the church, is a practical matter leading to the decisions rendered in ordination and in the courts of the church to largely determine what the church means, representing the whole, by its adherence to the doctrinal standard.
Some Presbyterian traditions adopt only the Westminster Confession of Faith as the doctrinal standard to which teaching elders are required to subscribe, in contrast to the Larger and Shorter catechisms, which are approved for use in instruction. Many Presbyterian denominations, especially in North America, have adopted all of the Westminster Standards as their standard of doctrine which is subordinate to the Bible. These documents are Calvinist in their doctrinal orientation. The Presbyterian Church in Canada retains the Westminster Confession of Faith in its original form, while admitting the historical period in which it was written should be understood when it is read.
The Westminster Confession is "The principal subordinate standard of the Church of Scotland" but "with due regard to liberty of opinion in points which do not enter into the substance of the Faith" (V). This formulation represents many years of struggle over the extent to which the confession reflects the Word of God and the struggle of conscience of those who came to believe it did not fully do so (e.g. William Robertson Smith). Some Presbyterian churches, such as the Free Church of Scotland, have no such "conscience clause".
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has adopted the Book of Confessions, which reflects the inclusion of other Reformed confessions in addition to the Westminster Standards. These other documents include ancient creedal statements (the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed), 16th-century Reformed confessions (the Scots Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Second Helvetic Confession), and 20th century documents (The Theological Declaration of Barmen, Confession of 1967 and A Brief Statement of Faith).
The Presbyterian Church in Canada developed the confessional document Living Faith (1984) and retains it as a subordinate standard of the denomination. It is confessional in format, yet like the Westminster Confession, draws attention to original Bible text.
Presbyterians in Ireland who rejected Calvinism and the Westminster Confessions formed the Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland.
John Gresham Machen, the prominent Presbyterian theologian and Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1906 and 1929, led a revolt against modernist doctrine in his Christianity and Liberalism (1923) that critiqued theological modernism. He argued that modernism and liberal theology was a false religion, a pretender that cloaks itself in Christian language – "Liberalism". This religion, he claimed, is a marriage of naturalism, humanism, secularism, and sentimentalism all rolled into one.
Historically, the driving principle in the development of the standards of Presbyterian worship is the Regulative principle of worship, which specifies that (in worship), what is not commanded is forbidden.Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter XXI, paragraph I.
Over subsequent centuries, many Presbyterian churches modified these prescriptions by introducing hymnody, instrumental accompaniment, and ceremonial into worship. However, there is not one fixed "Presbyterian" worship style. Although there are set services for the Lord's Day in keeping with first-day Sabbatarianism, one can find a service to be evangelical and even revivalist in tone (especially in some conservative denominations), or strongly liturgical, approximating the practices of Lutheranism or more of Anglicanism, or semi-formal, allowing for a balance of hymns, preaching, and congregational participation (favored by many American Presbyterians). Most Presbyterian churches follow the traditional liturgical year and observe the traditional holidays, holy seasons, such as Advent, Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, etc. They also make use of the appropriate seasonal liturgical colors, etc. Many incorporate ancient liturgical prayers and responses into the communion services and follow a daily, seasonal, and festival lectionary. Other Presbyterians, however, such as the Reformed Presbyterians, would practice a cappella exclusive psalmody, as well as eschew the celebration of holy days. Among the Paleo-orthodoxy and emerging church movements in Protestant and evangelical churches, in which some Presbyterians are involved, clergy are moving away from the traditional black Geneva gown to such vestments as the alb and chasuble, but also cassock and surplice (typically a full-length Old English style surplice which resembles the Celts alb, an ungirdled liturgical tunic of the old Gallican Rite), which some, particularly those identifying with the Liturgical Renewal Movement, hold to be more ancient and representative of a more ecumenical past.
In the late 19th century a gradual shift began to occur. Prosperous congregations built imposing churches, such as Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City, Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania, St Stephen Presbyterian in Fort Worth, Texas, and many others.
While Presbyterian churches historically reflected prevailing architectural trends, the 20th century saw a greater embrace of modern architectural styles, particularly the modernist movement characterized by clean lines, geometric shapes, and open floor plans. Prominent examples include Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with expansive, light-filled sanctuary and angular design elements. Similarly, the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., features a striking facade clad in limestone and punctuated by large windows, alongside abstract stained-glass windows. Both of these were designed by famed architect Harold E. Wagoner.
Usually a Presbyterian church will not have statues of saints, nor the ornate altar more typical of a Catholic Church church. Instead, there is a "communion table", usually on the same level as the congregation, and sometimes elevated similar to an altar, however surrounded by the chancel. There may be a rail between the communion table and the chancel behind it, which may contain a more decorative altar-type table, choir loft, or choir stalls, lectern and clergy area. The altar is called the communion table, and the altar area is called the chancel by Presbyterians. In Presbyterian, and in Reformed churches, there may be an altar cross, either on the communion table or on a table in the chancel. By using the "empty" cross, or cross of the Westminster/Celtic cross, Presbyterians emphasize the resurrection and that Christ is not continually dying, but died once and is alive for all eternity. Quite a few Presbyterian church buildings are decorated with a cross, that has a circle around the center, or Celtic cross. This not only emphasizes the resurrection, but also acknowledges historical aspects of Presbyterianism. A baptismal font will be located either at the entrance or near the chancel area. Presbyterian architecture generally makes significant use of symbolism. One may also find decorative and ornate stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible. Some Presbyterian churches will also have ornate statues of Christ or graven scenes from the Last Supper located behind the chancel. St. Giles' Cathedral in Scotland has a crucifix next to an ornate elevated communion table that hangs alongside. The image of Christ is more of a faint image, with a more modern design.
However, with the Glorious Revolution of 1688 the Church of Scotland was unequivocally recognised as a Presbyterian institution by the monarch due to Scottish Presbyterian support for the aforementioned revolution and the Acts of Union 1707 between Scotland and England guaranteed the Church of Scotland's form of government. However, legislation by the United Kingdom parliament allowing patronage led to splits in the Church. In 1733, a group of ministers First Secession to form the Associate Presbytery, another group seceded in 1761 to form the Relief Church and the Disruption of 1843 led to the formation of the Free Church of Scotland. Further splits took place, especially over theological issues, but most Presbyterians in Scotland were reunited by the 1929 union of the established Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland.
There are today ten Presbyterian denominations in Scotland. These are, listed by number of congregations within Scotland: the Church of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland, the United Free Church of Scotland, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), the Didasko, the Associated Presbyterian Church, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the International Presbyterian Church and two congregations of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. Combined, they have over 1500 congregations in Scotland.
Within Scotland the term "kirk" is usually used to refer to a local Presbyterian church. Informally, the term "The Kirk" refers to the Church of Scotland. Some of the values and ideals espoused in Scottish Presbyterian denominations can be reflected in this reference in a book from Norman Drummond, chaplain to the Queen in Scotland. (2025). 9780340979914, Hachette (Hodder & Stoughton). ISBN 9780340979914
Chart of splits and mergers of the Scottish Presbyterian churches
A number of new Presbyterian Churches were founded by Scottish people immigrants to England in the 19th century and later. Following the 'Disruption' in 1843 many of those linked to the Church of Scotland eventually joined what became the Presbyterian Church of England in 1876. Some, such as Crown Court (Covent Garden, London), St Andrew's (Stepney, London) and Swallow Street (London), did not join the English denomination, which is why there are Church of Scotland congregations in England such as those at Crown Court, and St Columba's, Pont Street (Knightsbridge) in London. There is also a congregation in the heart of London's financial district called London City Presbyterian Church that is affiliated with the Free Church of Scotland. The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland also have a congregation in London, as do the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster – along with five others in England.
In 1972, the Presbyterian Church of England (PCofE) united with the Congregational Church in England and Wales to form the United Reformed Church (URC). Among the congregations the PCofE brought to the URC were Tunley (Lancashire), Aston Tirrold (Oxfordshire) and John Knox Presbyterian Church, Stepney, London (now part of Stepney Meeting House URC) – these are among the sole survivors today of the English Presbyterian churches of the 17th century. The URC also has a presence in Scotland, mostly of former Congregationalist Churches. Two former Presbyterian congregations, St Columba's, Cambridge (founded in 1879), and St Columba's, Oxford (founded as a chaplaincy by the PCofE and the Church of Scotland in 1908 and as a congregation of the PCofE in 1929), continue as congregations of the URC and university chaplaincies of the Church of Scotland.
In recent years a number of smaller denominations adopting Presbyterian forms of church government have organised in England, including the International Presbyterian Church planted by evangelical theologian Francis Schaeffer of the L'Abri Fellowship in the 1970s – now with fifteen English-speaking congregations in England, and 6 Korean-speaking congregations. There is also the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales founded in the North of England in the late 1980s.
In 1703 the first Presbytery in Philadelphia was established. In time, the presbytery would be joined by two more to form a synod (1717) and would evolve into the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1789. The nation's largest Presbyterian denomination, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – PC (USA) – can trace its heritage to the original PCUSA, as can the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), the Bible Presbyterian Church (BPC), the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (CPC), the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), and the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO).
Other Presbyterian bodies in the United States include the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP), the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States (RPCUS), the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly, the Reformed Presbyterian Church – Hanover Presbytery, the Covenant Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Reformed Church, the Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States, the Korean American Presbyterian Church, and the Free Presbyterian Church of North America.
The territory within about a radius of Charlotte, North Carolina, is historically the greatest concentration of Presbyterianism in the Southern United States, while an almost identical geographic area around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, contains probably the largest number of Presbyterians in the nation.
The PC (USA), beginning with its predecessor bodies, has, in common with other so-called "mainline" Protestant denominations, experienced a significant decline in members in recent years. Some estimates have placed that loss at nearly half in the last forty years..
Presbyterian influence, especially through Princeton theology, can be traced in modern Evangelicalism. Randall Balmer says that:
In the late 1800s, Presbyterian missionaries established a presence in what is now northern New Mexico. This provided an alternative to the Catholicism, which was brought to the area by the Spanish Conquistador and had remained unchanged. The area experienced a "mini" reformation, in that many converts were made to Presbyterianism, prompting persecution. In some cases, the converts left towns and villages to establish their own neighboring villages. The arrival of the United States to the area prompted the Catholic church to modernize and make efforts at winning the converts back, many of which did return. However, there are still stalwart Presbyterians and Presbyterian churches in the area.
Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians historically tend to be considerably wealthier and are better educated (having more Academic degree and post-graduate degrees per capita) than most other religious groups in United States;Irving Lewis Allen, "WASP—From Sociological Concept to Epithet", Ethnicity, 1975 154+ a group known as White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs), they are disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of American business, law, and politics.
Congregational churches present in the country are also part of the Calvinistic tradition in Latin America.
African Presbyterian churches often incorporate diaconal ministries, including social services, emergency relief, and the operation of mission hospitals. A number of partnerships exist between presbyteries in Africa and the PC(USA), including specific connections with Lesotho, Cameroon, Malawi, South Africa, Ghana and Zambia. For example, the Lackawanna Presbytery, located in Northeastern Pennsylvania, has a partnership with a presbytery in Ghana. Also the Southminster Presbyterian Church, located near Pittsburgh, has partnerships with churches in Malawi and Kenya. The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, western Africa is also active in mostly the southern states of this nation with strong density in the south-eastern states. Hope Waddel's missionary expedition in the mid 19th century, and later Mary Slessor's work in coastal regions of the then British colony has brought about the church in these areas.
Cameroon
The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon is a member of reformed churches in Cameroon.
Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Secondary School is a Presbyterian school in Yuen Long, New Territories. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church also have a church on the island of Cheung Chau. There are also Korean Christians resident in Hong Kong who are Presbyterians.
Most of the Korean Presbyterian denominations share the same name in Korean, 대한예수교장로회 (literally means the Presbyterian Church of Korea or PCK), tracing its roots to the United Presbyterian Assembly. A Presbyterian schism began with a Japanese shrine worship enforced during the Japanese colonial period and the establishment of a minor division (Koryu-pa, 고려파, later The Koshin Presbyterian Church in Korea, Koshin 고신) in 1952. In 1953 a second schism happened when the theological orientation of the Chosun Seminary (later Hanshin University) founded in 1947 could not be tolerated in the PCK and another minor group (The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, Kijang, 기장) was separated. The last major schism had to do with the issue of whether the PCK should join the WCC. The controversy divided the PCK into two denominations, The Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap, 통합) and The General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong, 합동) in 1959. All major seminaries associated with each denomination claim heritage from the Pyung Yang Theological Seminary.
Korean Presbyterian denominations are active in evangelism and many of its missionaries are being sent overseas, being the second biggest missionary sender in the world after the United States. GMS, the missionary body of the "Hapdong" General Assembly of Presbyterian Churches of Korea, is the single largest Presbyterian missionary organization in Korea.. In addition there are many Korean-American Presbyterians in the United States, either with their own church sites or sharing space in pre-existing churches as is the case in Australia, New Zealand and even Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia with Korean immigration.
The Korean Presbyterian Church started through the mission of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Australian Presbyterian theological tradition is central to the United States. But after independence, the 'Presbyterian Church in Korea (KoRyuPa)' advocated a Dutch Reformed position. In the 21st century, a new General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Korea (Founder. Ha Seung-moo) in 2012 declared itself an authentic historical succession of Scottish Presbyterian John Knox.
In 1977, about 70% of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, along with most of the Congregational Union of Australia and all the Methodist Church of Australasia, combined to form the Uniting Church in Australia.Rowland Ward and Robert Humphreys, Religious Bodies in Australia, 3rd edition (Wantirna, Victoria: New Melbourne Press, 1995), p. 77. The 30% that did not unite had various reasons for so acting, often cultural attachment but often conservative theological or social views. The permission for the ordination of women given in 1974 was rescinded in 1991 without affecting the two or three existing woman ministers. The approval of women elders given in the 1960s has been rescinded in all states except New South Wales, which has the largest membership. The theology of the church is now generally conservative and Reformed. A number of small Presbyterian denominations have arisen since the 1950s through migration or schism.
Originally there were two branches of Presbyterianism in New Zealand, the northern Presbyterian church which existed in the North Island and the parts of the South Island north of the Waitaki River, and the Synod of Otago and Southland, founded by Free Church settlers in southern South Island. The two churches merged in 1901, forming what is now the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.
In addition to the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, there is also a more conservative Presbyterian church called Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Many of its members left the largely liberal PCANZ because they were seeking a more conservative church. It has 17 churches throughout New Zealand.
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