Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea | |
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Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Calvinist |
Theology | Reformed Evangelical |
Polity | Presbyterian |
Associations | International Conference of Reformed Churches |
Region | South Korea, United States, worldwide |
Origin | 1952 South Korea |
Branched from | Presbyterian Church of Korea |
Separations | Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) |
Congregations | 2,056 (2017) [1] |
Members | 473.497 (2017) [1] |
Ministers | 3,753 (2017) [1] |
Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea | |
Hangul | 대한예수교장로회(고신) |
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Hanja | 大韓예수敎長老會(高神) |
Revised Romanization | Daehan yesugyo jangnohoe Gosin |
McCune–Reischauer | Taehan yesugyo changnohoe Kosin |
The Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea, [2] also called Korea-pa,is an Evangelical Reformed and Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of South Korea. Although,congregations have spread all over North America and in many other countries.
The key phrase used to identify the belief of Kosin is "Life before God (Coram Deo)",or "Life within the authentic (Apostle's) faith". The denomination was built upon the faith of martyrs who rejected shrine worship during the Japanese oppression. The ministers who established the synod of Kosin believed that the purpose of the establishment is not in martyrdom,but it is in the continuing existence of the Apostle's faith and teaching,purity of life,as well as foundation of churches in Korea and the world under the reformed faith. In order to preserve the catholic Christian faith,The Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea embraces the Bible as the principle scripture,but also employs Westminster Standards as the primary documents.
The church proclaims the following phrases as the principles for life:
The Presbyterian mission began in Korea by a medical missionary,Dr. H. N. Allen of Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. On April 5,1885,Presbyterian missionary named H.G. Underwood arrived in Korea and the Presbyterian mission in Korea began to bloom. In January 1893,Congregation of Presbyterian Missionaries was established and on May 15,1901,Pyongyang Presbyterian Theological Seminary was established. After few years,on September 17,1907,the synod of Joseon Presbyterian Church was organized.
In 1910,Japan enforced annexation of Joseon and proclaimed the slogan "Japan and Korea are One" as an effort to colonize Korea and other Asian countries using the idea of militaristic imperialism. The slogan was used to force people to become "japanized",by enforcing Japanese language,shrine worship and deification of the Japanese emperor,as well as enforcing Japanese culture. Christian schools were the first victim of Japanese colonization. While Japan exclaimed that,"shrine worship is not a religious ceremony but a nationalistic ceremony",many Christian schools resisted shrine worship and voluntarily closed. The churches in Korea was the next target and starting in 1935,many Christian denominations including Seventh-Day Adventist,Methodists,Salvationists,the Holiness Church,the Anglican church and Roman Catholic Church accepted the shrine worship.
As for the Presbyterian Church in Korea,the regional synod of Northern Pyongan was the first branch to accept the shrine worship and many other synods began to follow.
In efforts to preserve the Christian faith,movement of resistance to shrine worship was formed by the group of ministers who wanted to protect the Gospel. Many ministers at Pyongyang Presbyterian Theological Seminary was displaced and the seminary eventually closed. Reverends Joo Ki-Chul,Han Sang-Dong,Joo Nam-Sun and other ministers were arrested at Pyongyang imprisonment camp and tortured. Churches in Korea lost its functionality under Japanese oppression and on August 1,1945,all churches were combined under Japan-Joseon Christian churches. During the oppression,Joo died while resisting the Japanese enforcement and the shrine worship.
When Korea was liberated on August 15,1945,the remaining ministers who suffered from Japanese imprisonment were released. Recognizing the state of Christianity in Korea,they decided to establish pure and conservative theological seminary built upon the foundation of reformed faith. In 1946,Han and Joo took the lead in establishing the seminary and as a result,Koryeo Theological Seminary opened.
Three pastors founded the Ko-Ryeo Seminary but the Presbyterian Church refused to recognize this seminary. Founders of KoRyu Seminary and BupDong presbytery established later,on September 11,1952,the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin). [3]
In December 1960 it was united with the mainline Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong),but it lasted until 1963 when the church withdrew from the union and returned to its original form and continues to this day. Only 150 churches remained with the Presbyterian Church (Hapdong). In 1976 a split occurred in the church,the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Ko-Ryeo Pa) was founded,but one part of this reunited with the Kosin church. The Kosin group developed steadily. The denominational headquarters is located in Seoul,South Korea. This consist a variety of offices,like General Secretary,publishing house,Department of Church Education,the Mission Training Institute. [4]
In 2002 it celebrated its 50th anniversary. [5]
The Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin) is a Reformed church,and affirms the historic Presbyterian Confessions:
The Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin) group has 34 Presbyteries that form the General Assembly,1577 churches,230,000 baptized,350,000 communicant and non-communicant members,and 2,300 ordained pastors. There is no women's ordination. [7]
The Kosin group is a member of the International Conference of Reformed Churches. In mission field they work closely with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in the USA. The Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin) has sister church relations with the following churches:
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The Presbyterian Church in Korea (KoRyuPa) is an orthodox Calvinist denomination in South Korea. The church is also known as the Korean Reformed Presbyterian Church. The denomination was a result of the split of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin) due tensions in the KoRyu Seminary. Pastor Park Yun-Sun moved to Seoul and founded the Reformed Theological Seminary. To avoid division Park returned to Koshin but Chung Hun-Teuk took over as the director in the Seminary. In 1965 about 50 pastors was associated with the Seminary. The denomination has close contact with conservative Reformed churches in Japan,Netherlands and the United States. The church has approximately 80,000 members in 500 congregations and 16 presbyteries. No women ordination. It had 501 ordained ministers. The church subscribes the Westminster Confession of Faith,and the Apostles Creed. Since 1977 the leading figure of the church has been Yoo Don-Sik,who also directs the Reformed Theological Seminary too.
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Chu Ki-chol was a Korean Presbyterian minister and martyr. After having dropped out of Yonhi College due to poor health and being briefly associated with the March 1st Movement for the independence of Korea,Chu attended a faith meeting of Kim Ik-du. Thereafter,he sought a career in ministry,enrolling first at the Pyongyang Theological Seminary becoming a deacon. Chu was ordained a minister in 1926 and served as one in Pusan,Masan,and Pyongyang.
Sang-Gyoo Lee is a South Korean theologian and an honorary professor of the department of church history at Kosin University. He contributed to the discovery of historical documents of Korean church and is highly regarded as a Korean church historian. In 2012,he was selected as the theologian of the year at the 500th Anniversary of John Calvin's birth and received an academic award from the Korean Evangelical Theological Society on October 27,2018. He served as president of the Korea Presbyterian Theological Society and president of the Reformed Theological Society. He is one of the editors of the International Theological Journal,Unio cum Christo. Since March 2019,he has been a chair professor at Baekseok University.