Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church (denomination)

Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Reformed
Theology	Calvinist Evangelical
Polity	Presbyterian
Region	United States and Suriname
Origin	1997
Separated from	Presbyterian Church in America
Separations	2006: Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States
Congregations	3 (2024) [1]
Official website	covref.org

The Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church (CRPC) is a Presbyterian denomination, formed in 1997, by churches from various other denominations. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

History

The Presbyterian churches originate from the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. It is the Christian churches Protestant that adhere to Reformed theology and whose ecclesiastical government is characterized by the government of an assembly of elders. Government Presbyterian is common in Protestant churches that were modeled after the Reformation Protestant Switzerland, notably in Switzerland, Scotland, Netherlands,  France and portions of Prussia, of Ireland and, later, of United States. ^[6]

In 1997, a group of churches formed the Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church. The main cause of their separation was the defense of biblical truth and Church government.

A church in Suriname, originally Baptist and later linked to Orthodox Presbyterian Church, joined the denomination after its organization. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Attempt to merge

In 2004 the CRPC held a joint meeting with the Reformed Presbyterian Church - Hanover Presbytery, another conservative denomination in United States, aiming at a union. ^{[2] [10]} However, conflicts over the government of the denomination by a higher court and the Hanover Presbytery's tolerance for members to participate in Freemasonry prevented the union. ^[11]

In 2004, the Covenanting Association of Reformed and Presbyterian Churches and American Reformation Presbyterian Church sent delegates to meetings of the Presbytery of the CRPC. However, the union was also not accepted between the denominations. ^{[2] [12]}

Separation

In 2006, one of its churches split from the denomination and formed the Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States. ^{[13] [14] [15]}

Doctrine

The denomination subscribes to Westminster Confession of Faith, Westminster Larger Catechism and Westminster Shorter Catechism. It differs from other Presbyterians in holding to biblical truth and forming a union of the best parts of classic Presbyterian Church government and that of classic Continental Reformed Church government.

References

1. "Churches Federated to the Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church" . Retrieved April 2, 2024.
2. "Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church" (PDF). Presbyterian News. p. 15. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
3. "Report on Presbyterian Denominations in the United States". February 15, 2014. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
4. "History of the Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church" . Retrieved January 21, 2022.
5. Hübner, Jamin A. (January 2019). "Doctrines of the Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church". Canadian American Theological Review: 54. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
6. "Reformed and Presbyterian Churches". Britannica. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
7. Gary Scott Smith; P. C. Kemeny (2019). The Oxford Handbook of Presbyterianism. Oxford University Press. p. 192. ISBN   9780190608392 . Retrieved January 17, 2022.
8. "Calvinismo in South America:Suriname". August 7, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
9. Clifton L. Holland (April 12, 2017). "Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church in Suriname" (PDF). p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 4, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
10. "Joint meeting of the Alliance Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Presbytery of Hanover" . Retrieved November 17, 2016.
11. "Impediments to the union of the Alliance Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Hanover Presbytery" . Retrieved November 17, 2016.
12. "Report of the Presbytery Meeting of the Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church". June 29, 2004. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
13. "History of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States". Monergism. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
14. "History of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States". Churches in the USA. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
15. "History of the Westminster Evangelical Presbyterian Church" . Retrieved January 17, 2022.