Basis of Union (Presbyterian Church of Australia)

Last updated

The Basis of Union of the Presbyterian Church of Australia is the document under which the constituent state churches agreed to unite at its first General Assembly [1] on 24 July 1901, [2] and is still a foundational text for the Uniting Church. [3] The Basis of Union appears in Acts of Parliament concerning the Presbyterian Church of Australia. [4]

Contents

Background

At the turn of the twentieth century, every Australian state had its own Presbyterian church, formed from unions in the nineteenth century. According to Ian Breward, in 1879, "leading Presbyterians in the eastern colonies began exploring the possibilities of meeting in federal assemblies." [5] The Federal Assembly of the Presbyterian Churches of Australia and Tasmania was formed in 1886, as a means of drawing the constituent churches closer together. [6] The involvement of New Zealand, seemed a possibility for a time, but then fell through. [7]

The union of 1901 was nationwide and federal. The 19th century presbyterian unions in the Australian states had all constituted an organic union of denominations from separate traditions, even though they shared a common doctrinal standard. This union, however, involved churches of the same denomination in different locations. Alexander Yule could say on the eve of the Union that it was "not the healing of a schism, nor the removal of an inherited division, like the recent Presbyterian Union in Scotland." [8]

The individual state churches also kept their individual identities and retained many of their rights and privileges. F. Maxwell Bradshaw has argued that the loss of the continued identity of the state churches, "would lead to immense and far reaching legal difficulties." [9]

R. Gordon Balfour notes that the purpose of union was to give greater uniformity to ecclesiastical procedure and worship, a united effort in missionary work, and "common action on great public questions." [10]

The declaratory statement in the Basis of Union is modelled on the 1879 Declaratory Act of the United Presbyterian Church in Scotland, as well as the 1882 Declaratory Act of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. [11] [12] However, while the Declaratory Act of 1882 mentions examples of possible points of doctrine on which liberty of opinion is allowed - such as the interpretation of the "six days" in the Genesis creation narrative - the declaratory statement in the Basis of Union provides no such example. [13]

Contents

The first point of the Basis on Union affirmed that the "Supreme Standard" of the united church would be the "Word of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments," while the second point affirmed that its "Subordinate Standard" would be the Westminster Confession of Faith, read in the light of a declaratory statement. This in turn consisted of six points.

Declaratory statement

Point 1 of the declaratory statement presses the necessity of preaching the free offer of salvation, and the "cardinal facts" of Jesus Christ's incarnation, atoning life and death, resurrection and ascension, as well as the bestowment of his Holy Spirit.

The declaratory statement proceeds to qualify some statements in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Point 2 maintains the doctrine of predestination while affirming the free offer of the gospel. Point 3 states that "while none are saved except through the mediation of Christ and by the grace of the Holy Spirit," it is not required to believe that any who die in infancy are lost, or that God may not extend his grace to any beyond "the pale of ordinary means." Point 4 clarifies the Confession's teaching on good works, and notes that unregenerate people are "yet capable of affections and actions which of themselves are virtuous and praiseworthy." Point 6 discusses the doctrine of the civil magistrate and rejects "intolerant or persecuting principles."

Point 5 allows "liberty of opinion" on matters in the Westminster Confession which are "not essential to the doctrine therein taught."

Provision for changes

The remainder of the Basis of Union is taken with provisions for amendments or revisions to the Westminster Confession. It also includes a statement for ministers and elders to sign at their ordination.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterianism</span> Branch of Protestant Christianity in which the church is governed by presbyters (elders)

Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the presbyterian form of church government by representative assemblies of elders. Many Reformed churches are organised this way, but the word Presbyterian, when capitalized, is often applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that formed during the English Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Confession of Faith</span> Presbyterian creedal statement

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 became and remains the "subordinate standard" of doctrine in the Church of Scotland and has been influential within Presbyterian churches worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland</span> Christian denomination

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland was formed in 1893. The Church identifies itself as the spiritual descendant of the Scottish Reformation. The Church web-site states that it is 'the constitutional heir of the historic Church of Scotland'. Its adherents are occasionally referred to as Seceders or the Wee Wee Frees. Although small, the church has congregations on five continents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia</span>

The Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia (PCEA) is a small Presbyterian denomination which was formed in Sydney on 10 October 1846 by three ministers and a ruling elder. As of December 2012 it consists of 13 pastoral charges with a total of 17 regular preaching points, 12 serving ministers, 1 minister without charge, 6 retired ministers and a community of about 800.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Assembly</span> 1643–1653 English church reform council

The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopted by the Church of Scotland. As many as 121 ministers were called to the Assembly, with nineteen others added later to replace those who did not attend or could no longer attend. It produced a new Form of Church Government, a Confession of Faith or statement of belief, two catechisms or manuals for religious instruction, and a liturgical manual, the Directory for Public Worship, for the Churches of England and Scotland. The Confession and catechisms were adopted as doctrinal standards in the Church of Scotland and other Presbyterian churches, where they remain normative. Amended versions of the Confession were also adopted in Congregational and Baptist churches in England and New England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Confession became influential throughout the English-speaking world, but especially in American Protestant theology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Church in the United States of America</span> Historical Presbyterian organization

The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was a Presbyterian denomination existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The new church was named the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. It was a predecessor to the contemporary Presbyterian Church (USA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Church of Australia</span>

The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA), founded in 1901, is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about 70% of the PCA in 1977.

The Presbyterian Reformed Church (PRC) is a Presbyterian denomination in Australia. The denomination was formed in 1967, as a result of growing theological liberalism within the Presbyterian Church of Australia, prior to the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Standards</span> Christian Reformed confessions of faith

The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–1649). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Directory of Public Worship, and the Form of Church Government, and represent the doctrine and church polity of 17th century English and Scottish Presbyterianism. The Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechism have been adopted as doctrinal standards by a number of Reformed and Presbyterian Christian denominations, but not the Church of Scotland nor those derived directly from it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scots' Church, Melbourne</span> Church in Victoria, Australia

The Scots' Church is a Presbyterian church in Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the first Presbyterian church to be built in the Port Phillip District. The church serves a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the building was described as "an icon for well over a hundred years".

Continuing churches are Christian denominations that form when a church union between different denominations occurs, and members or congregations do not wish to join the new denomination, but instead choose to continue the heritage and identity of their old denomination. The phrase is sometimes used by denominations that separate from a parent body and wish to express their faithfulness to the denomination's heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Church of Victoria</span>

The Presbyterian Church of Victoria is one of the constituent churches of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. It was established in 1859 as a union of Church of Scotland, Free Presbyterian and United Presbyterian congregations.

The Auburn Affirmation is a document dated May 1924, with the title "AN AFFIRMATION designed to safeguard the unity and liberty of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America", authored by an eleven-member Conference Committee and signed by 1274 ministers of the PCUSA. The Affirmation challenged the right of the highest body of the church, the General Assembly, to impose the Five fundamentals as a test of orthodoxy without the concurrence of a vote from the regional bodies, the presbyteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fundamentalist–modernist controversy</span> Christian religious issue

The fundamentalist–modernist controversy is a major schism that originated in the 1920s and 1930s within the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. At issue were foundational disputes about the role of Christianity; the authority of the Bible; and the death, resurrection, and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Two broad factions within Protestantism emerged: fundamentalists, who insisted upon the timeless validity of each doctrine of Christian orthodoxy; and modernists, who advocated a conscious adaptation of the Christian faith in response to the new scientific discoveries and moral pressures of the age. At first, the schism was limited to Reformed churches and centered around the Princeton Theological Seminary, whose fundamentalist faculty members founded Westminster Theological Seminary when Princeton went in a liberal direction. However, it soon spread, affecting nearly every Protestant denomination in the United States. Denominations that were not initially affected, such as the Lutheran churches, eventually were embroiled in the controversy, leading to a schism in the United States.

In Presbyterianism, a declaratory statement is a statement attached to the Westminster Confession of Faith in order to modify or clarify the confessional standard of the church. A number of denominations adopted them around the turn of the 20th century, and some are still in use today.

Australian Free Church is a Presbyterian denomination in Australia.

A subordinate standard is a Reformed confession of faith, catechism or other doctrinal or regulatory statement subscribed to by a Protestant church, setting out key elements of religious belief and church governance. It is subordinate to the Bible as the supreme standard, which is held as divinely inspired and without error.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterianism in the United States</span> History of the Protestant denomination in the U.S.

Presbyterianism has had a presence in the United States since colonial times and has exerted an important influence over broader American religion and culture.

The Adopting Act of 1729 is an act of the Synod of Philadelphia that made the Westminster Standards, particularly the Westminster Confession of Faith, the official confessional statements for Presbyterian churches in colonial America. Presbyterian ministers were required to believe or "subscribe" to the "essential and necessary" parts of the standards, but defining what was essential and necessary was left to individual presbyteries to determine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward William Cornelius Humphrey</span> American lawyer

Edward William Cornelius Humphrey, also known as "Alphabet Humphrey" and "Judge Humphrey", was a theological and legal scholar and influential member of the National Presbyterian General Assembly. A Harvard graduate with an honorary degree from Amherst, he was also an 1864 graduate of Centre College, of which he became a trustee in 1885. He was a trustee of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and for forty-four successive terms was elected Director of the Louisville Law Library Company. He was a key figure in a long discussion and eventual acceptance of a Presbyterian creed revision held in May 1902 in New York City by the national Presbyterian General Assembly.

References

  1. ↑ Appletons' annual cyclopaedia and register of important events. Appleton & Co. 1902. pp.  559.
  2. ↑ Mostert, Christiaan (2004). Hope: challenging the culture of despair. ATF. pp. 152–53. ISBN   978-1-920691-20-2.
  3. ↑ "Perplexed about the Preamble?". Insight. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  4. ↑ For example, the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1900 in Victoria (and similarly other states), and the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 in Queensland (and similarly other states).
  5. ↑ Ian Breward, "The Presbyterian Churches and Federation", Proceedings of the Uniting Church Historical Society 8 (2001), 63.
  6. ↑ Rowland S. Ward, The Bush Still Burns (Wantirna: R. S. Ward, 1989), 270.
  7. ↑ Allan and Mairi Harman, Australian Presbyterian History with its Scottish and Irish Background (Melbourne: PTC, 2003), 126.
  8. ↑ Rev. Alexander Yule, Discourse to the Final Session of the Federal Assembly, 1901.
  9. ↑ F. Maxwell Bradshaw, Basic Documents on Presbyterian Polity (Location unknown: Christian Education Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, 1984), 101.
  10. ↑ R. Gordon Balfour, Presbyterianism in the Colonies (Edinburgh: MacNiven and Wallace, 1900), 106.
  11. ↑ F. Maxwell Bradshaw, Basic Documents on Presbyterian Polity (Location unknown: Christian Education Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, 1984), 93.
  12. ↑ David Burke and Philip J. Hughes, The Presbyterians in Australia, Australian Government Publishing Service, 1996, ISBN   0-644-35805-X, p. 10.
  13. ↑ Rowland S. Ward, The Bush Still Burns (Wantirna: R. S. Ward, 1989), 281.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.