Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)

Last updated
Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)
EvangelicalPresbyterianChurchLogo.png
Classification Protestant
Orientation Reformed Evangelical
Polity Presbyterian
Associations World Communion of Reformed Churches, World Reformed Fellowship, National Association of Evangelicals
Headquarters Orlando, Florida
Origin1981;43 years ago (1981)
Separated from United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) later the PC(USA)
Congregations627 (2022) [1]
Members125,870 (2022) [1]
Official website www.epc.org

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology. It is a conservative Calvinist denomination. It is most distinctive for its approach to the way it balances certain liberties across congregations on "non-essential" doctrines, such as egalitarianism in marriage or the ordination of women, alongside an affirmation of core "essential" doctrinal standards.

Contents

The motto of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is "In Essentials, Unity. In Non-Essentials, Liberty. In All Things, Charity; Truth In Love." The Office of the General Assembly is in Orlando, Florida. [2]

History

Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee 2ndPresbyterianMemphisTN.jpg
Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee

The EPC began as a result of prayer meetings in 1980 and 1981 by pastors and elders increasingly alienated by liberalism in the "northern" branch of Presbyterianism (the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., a predecessor of the Presbyterian Church (USA)). Two cases served as important catalysts in their separation: the Kenyon Case of 1975 and the Kaseman Case of 1981.

Wynn Kenyon was a seminary graduate who in good conscience declared that he would refuse to participate in the ordination of a woman, although he affirmed that he would willingly serve in a pastorate with ordained women on the staff. Though he had been ordained by the Pittsburgh Presbytery, in 1975 the Permanent Judicial Commission of the UPCUSA General Assembly overturned Kenyon's ordination because accepting women's ordination was "an explicit constitutional provision." Mansfield Kaseman, meanwhile was ordained as a minister by National Capital Union Presbytery in 1979 and accused of denying four traditional attributes of Christ: his deity, sinlessness, vicarious atonement, and bodily resurrection. By 1981, his case had worked its way to the Permanent Judicial Commission of the UPCUSA, which affirmed his ordination. In contrast with the UPCUSA, the EPC permitted differing views on women's ordination and emphasized traditional teachings on the nature of Jesus Christ. [3]

The first general assembly of the church met at Ward Presbyterian Church in Livonia, Michigan in late 1981, drafting a list of essential beliefs. This list was intentionally short in order to help preserve the unity of the church around the essentials of the faith in theology, church government, and evangelism. [4]

At its foundation, the EPC adopted a list of essential beliefs, "The Essentials of Our Faith," to state what the EPC views as the sine qua non of Evangelical Christianity (see below), in part to seek to guarantee that it would not succumb to the theological problems that had plagued its parent denominations during the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy. "The Essentials" is a fuller version of the "Five Fundamentals" that many PCUSA ministers had rejected in the Auburn Affirmation of 1923: [5]

  1. the inerrancy of the original manuscripts of the Bible
  2. Christ’s virgin birth
  3. Christ’s vicarious atonement
  4. Christ’s bodily resurrection
  5. the reality of miracles as recorded in the Bible.

Originally titled "The Fundamentals of Our Faith," the name was changed to avoid the negative connotations that the term "fundamentalism" had gained. This document has served to assure that the EPC has always kept what is of primary importance for all evangelical Christians (namely the Gospel, or Good News about Jesus), as well as to maintain the irenic orthodoxy that has always been the hallmark of the denomination. (See "Ethos," below.)

Central Presbyterian Church in New York City Central Presbyterian NYC 2020.jpg
Central Presbyterian Church in New York City

In the more than forty years of its existence, the EPC has become active as a missional church, [6] [7] through church planting in the United States as well as in a variety of foreign fields, particularly in the 10/40 Window. One significant step was the incorporation of the St. Andrews Presbytery (Argentina) as one of its presbyteries. This presbytery was released to independence as the national St. Andrews Presbyterian Church of Argentina after many years of mutual cooperation and benefit.

At 2007 General Assembly, the EPC created [8] a temporary, non-geographic "New Wineskins Presbytery" (NWEPC) to provide a home for churches associated with the New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC) that are seeking to find a new denominational home after finding that their home in the PC(USA) is no longer suitable to them theologically, organizationally, or missionally. The New Wineskins Presbytery was dissolved in 2011, as its mission was completed.

Jeff Jeremiah, the stated clerk (2006 - 2021), announced at the 2012 General Assembly, held at the First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that the number of EPC congregations had increased from 182 in 2007 to 364 in 2012, exactly doubling in number. The number of congregations had further increased to more than 600 by August 2017. [9]

Statistics

YearChurchesMembership
19823519,000 [10]
199217455,008 [10]
200219069,351 [10]
2016602150,042 [11]
2017-145,503 [12]
2018620142,185 [12]
2019629136,336 [13]
2020637122,216 [14]
2021630125,418 [15]
2022627125,870 [1]

Between 1982 and 2016, EPC grew steadily. [10] In 2016, the denomination reached 150,042 members. [11] However, since then, it has reported a decline in subsequent years. [12] [13]

In 2022, it had 125,870 members and 627 churches. [1]

Essentials

The church has an official seven point statement of the "Essentials Of Our Faith". [16]

These Essentials are set forth in greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

The EPC has also adopted an explanation of the relationship between the "Essentials of Our Faith" and the Westminster Standards. [17]

Place in American Presbyterianism

The family tree of Presbyterian denominations in the United States, courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society Presbyterian Family Connections.jpg
The family tree of Presbyterian denominations in the United States, courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society

As its name suggests, the EPC is an evangelical denomination. It associates mainly with Reformed bodies holding similar or identical beliefs regarding Christology, ecclesiology, and ethical/moral stances. As with practically all orthodox Presbyterian bodies, the EPC is committed to Biblical interpretation governed by the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms. The EPC is member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches [18]

Being within the Reformed tradition, the EPC is more conservative than the PC(USA) on matters of theology and ethics, yet is more moderate than the other major conservative Presbyterian denominations in the United States—the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC) and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). The EPC's middling stance is similar to ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, which was formed in 2012 from churches leaving the PC(USA). The EPC's ethos (summarized in its motto) allows a greater degree of freedom in areas deemed to be non-essential to Reformed theology than the PCA, ARP and OPC. The EPC, like ECO and PCUSA, but unlike PCA or OPC, belongs to the World Communion of Reformed Churches. [19]

Women's ordination and charismatic movement

Two examples of the EPC's centrist position within American Presbyterianism are women's ordination and the charismatic movement.

The EPC considers the ordination of women to be a non-essential matter that is left to the ordaining body. That is, EPC presbyteries decide whether to ordain female ministers, while individual churches decide whether to ordain female elders and deacons. In contrast, the ARP does not ordain female ministers or elders but allows individual churches to ordain female deacons, and the PCA and OPC do not ordain women.

The EPC is far more tolerant of the charismatic movement than other conservative Presbyterian bodies; [20] some of the more prominent charismatic Presbyterian churches in America are members of the EPC.

Ethos

The EPC has been described as the modern-day version of New School Presbyterianism, [21] while the PCA, ARP and OPC are essentially the modern-day equivalent of Old School Presbyterianism. The way that this is expressed is in the motto of the denomination: "In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty; In All Things, Charity. Truth in Love." Functionally, this works out with a three-tiered approach to theological issues. These may be thought of as "A," "B," and "C" issues.

"A" issues are those which have to do with the "Essentials of Our Faith." This is a summary of those issues which are foundational to Christian faith. In the EPC, there is no allowance for disagreement among church officers (ministers, elders, and deacons) on these issues. Indeed, it is expected that all communicant members will affirm these tenets of the faith.

"B" issues are those which are essential to the Reformed understanding of the faith, such as the so-called "Five Points of Calvinism," Covenant Theology, Presbyterian government, etc. The definition of "B" issues for the EPC is found in the Westminster Confession of Faith [22] and in the Westminster Larger Catechism [23] and Westminster Shorter Catechism. [24] As these issues aren't as foundational as the Essentials of Our Faith, the EPC allows ministers, elders, and deacons to state exceptions to the Westminster Standards, so long as these exceptions do not violate the system of doctrine contained therein. While non-ordained members aren't expected to adhere to the Westminster Standards, it is understood that the teaching position of the EPC is found in the Westminster Standards.

Finally, "C" issues are those on which Reformed, orthodox Christians can disagree, and which do not violate the system of doctrine of the EPC. As stated above, this would include the issues of women's ordination and the charismatic movement, as well as issues such as eschatology (views on the End times), worship preferences, or liturgy.

Notable members

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Church (USA)</span> Mainline Protestant denomination in the United States

The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC (USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country. The Presbyterian Church (USA) was established with the 1983 merger of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, whose congregations could be found in every state.

Presbyterianpolity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery or classis; presbyteries can be grouped into a synod, and presbyteries and synods nationwide often join together in a general assembly. Responsibility for conduct of church services is reserved to an ordained minister or pastor known as a teaching elder, or a minister of the word and sacrament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Church in America</span> Conservative Reformed Christian denomination in the United States and Canada

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 Reformed in theology and presbyterian in government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland Presbyterian Church</span> Presbyterian denomination

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. In 2019, it had 65,087 members and 673 congregations, of which 51 were located outside of the United States. The word Cumberland comes from the Cumberland River valley where the church was founded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Church in the United States</span> 1861–1983 Christian denomination

The Presbyterian Church in the United States was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That year, it merged with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) to form the Presbyterian Church (USA).

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

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 America (PCUSA), often referred to as the "Northern" Presbyterian Church, with the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA), a smaller church of Covenanter-Seceder tradition at a conference in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in May 1958. Vigorous ecumenical activity on the part of PCUSA leaders led to this merger, something of a reunion of two long-separated branches of the larger Presbyterian family deriving from the British Isles.

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 Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), who objected to the rise of Liberal and Modernist theology in the 1930s. The OPC is considered to have had an influence on evangelicalism far beyond its size.

<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">Bible Presbyterian Church</span> American Protestant denomination

The Bible Presbyterian Church is an American Protestant denomination in the Calvinist tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ligon Duncan</span> American pastor and scholar

Jennings Ligon Duncan III is an American Presbyterian scholar and pastor.

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.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod was a Reformed and Presbyterian denomination in the United States and Canada between 1965 and 1982.

The New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC) was a group of nearly 200 theologically conservative Presbyterian churches, each of which is in varying stages of departing from the mainline Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), also known as PC(USA). The New Wineskins network of churches was formed as a result of growing discontent among theologically conservative pastors, elders, and members regarding the general direction of the PC(USA). The NWAC was scheduled to come to a conclusion in June 2012. The New Wineskins Presbytery was dissolved in 2011, as its mission was completed.

Attitudes in Presbyterianism toward homosexuality vary, ranging from outright condemnation to complete acceptance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians</span> Protestant denomination

ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians is an evangelical Presbyterian denomination in the United States. As a Presbyterian church, ECO adheres to Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity. It was established in 2012 by former congregations and members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA). Denominational disputes over theology—particularly ordination of practicing homosexuals as pastors and gay marriage—and bureaucracy led to the founding of ECO. In 2018, ECO has over 383 congregations, 103,425 covenant partners and over 500 pastors. ECO churches are egalitarian in beliefs and ordain women as pastors and elders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Presbyterian Church in Mexico</span> Protestant denomination in Mexico

The National Presbyterian Church in Mexico is the second-largest Protestant church, and the largest Reformed denomination in Mexico. It is present throughout the country, and is particularly strong in the states of Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan, Nuevo León, Aguascalientes and Mexico City.

The Presbyterian Church of the Philippines (PCP), officially The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines, is a growing evangelical, Bible-based Reformed church in the Philippines. It was officially founded in 1987 and the General Assembly was organized in September 1996.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Myanmar is a conservative Reformed denomination in Myanmar.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was officially established in 1971 when the First Presbytery was formed as a result of the union of various conservative Presbyterian and Continental Reformed congregations planted by various missionary groups. Its origin could be traced back to the 1950s when the very first missionaries of those Presbyterian and Continental Reformed missionaries arrived in Taiwan.

<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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Statistical Report of the 43rd General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church" (PDF). June 20, 2023. p. 1. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Contact Us". epc.org. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  3. ↑ "Two cases established precedents for today's battles in PCUSA - The Presbyterian Lay Committee".
  4. ↑ Evangelical Presbyterian Church > History
  5. ↑ David K. ""The Presbyterian Beginnings of Fundamentalism"". Presbyterian Historical Society.
  6. ↑ "Missional Church and Denomination | EPC". epc.org. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  7. ↑ Billings, J. Todd (March 5, 2008). "What Makes a Church Missional?". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  8. ↑ "EPNews_6.28.07". Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  9. ↑ "Locate a Church" . Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Statistics of Evangelical Presbyterian Church: 1982-2007" . Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  11. 1 2 "Growth of Evangelical Presbyterian Church" . Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  12. 1 2 3 "Statistics of Evangelical Presbyterian Church (2018)" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  13. 1 2 "Minute of 40ª General Assembly of Evangelical Presbyterian Church" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  14. ↑ "Minute of 41ª General Assembly of Evangelical Presbyterian Church" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  15. ↑ "Statistical Report of the 42nd General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church" (PDF). June 20, 2022. p. 1. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  16. ↑ Essentials Of Our Faith
  17. ↑ www.epc.org Archived 2015-03-11 at the Wayback Machine Essentials of Our Faith
  18. ↑ "Members". World Communion of Reformed Churches. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  19. ↑ https://World Archived 2022-11-28 at the Wayback Machine Council of Reformed Churches, "Members" //wcrc.ch/members#north_america
  20. ↑ "Pastoral Letter: The Holy Spirit (1975)". www.pcahistory.org. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  21. ↑ Fortson, S. Donald, The Presbyterian Creed: A Confessional Tradition in America, 17291870, Paternoster Press, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2009-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2009-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. ↑ "Free at Last: Andrew Brunson Released by Turkey After Two Years" . Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  26. ↑ "Missouri AG contender has deep religious liberty legal roots". WORLD. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
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.