Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDongJeongShin)

Last updated

The Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDongJeongShin) is a Reformed denomination in South Korea. It subscribes to the Apostles Creed and Westminster Confession. In 2004 the church had 112,275 members and 186 congregations. [1]

In 1884, a Korean Christian, Seo Sang-ryun (who had been baptised in Manchuria, China by Scottish missionary John Ross) and his brother Seo Sang-u opened the first Korean Protestant church in Sorai, Hwanghae Province. [2]

When the first Presbyterian missionaries from the US arrived in 1884, they found that the Seo and Ross had already translated the Bible in the Hangul language. Christian missionaries continued to arrive and founded many schools, hospitals and orphanages. The Presbyterian Pyongyang Theological Seminary was founded in 1901 and in 2023 is operating as the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary (PUTS). The churches in Korea grew rapidly in the first half of the 20th century.

In 1953, in the aftermath of the Korean War, the church was officially divided into the Presbyterian Church in Korea and the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea.

In 2023, the PCK is a member of the World Council of Churches, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Christian Conference of Asia. It also has working relationships with the Council of World Mission and the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity. [3] In 2023, there are over 100 Presbyterian denominations across Korea [4] and there are 799 missionaries of the Presbyterian Church of Korea are working in 77 countries. [5]

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">Christianity in Korea</span>

The practice of Christianity in Korea is marginal in North Korea, but significant in South Korea, where it revolves around two of its largest branches, Protestantism and Catholicism, accounting for 8.6 million and 5.8 million members, respectively. The initial variety of Christianity in the peninsula, Nestorianism, spread to Korea in the Middle Ages by way of China via Middle Eastern adherents to the Church of the East. Catholicism was first introduced during the late Joseon Dynasty period by Confucian scholars who encountered it in China. In 1603, Yi Gwang-jeong, a Korean diplomat, returned from Beijing carrying several theological books written by Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit missionary to China. He began disseminating the information in the books, introducing Christianity to Korea. In 1758, King Yeongjo of Joseon officially outlawed Catholicism as an "evil practice." Catholicism was reintroduced in 1785 by Yi Seung-hun and French and Chinese Catholic priests were soon invited by the Korean Christians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches</span>

The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches (CPBC) is a Baptist Christian denomination in the Philippines. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and is headquartered in Jaro, Iloilo City. CPBC was founded in 1900 as the oldest and first organized union of Baptist churches in the Philippines. This occurred after the country opened to Protestant American missions in 1898, following Spain's transfer of the Philippine islands to the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Presbyterian Seminary</span> Seminary in Virginia, US

Union Presbyterian Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, offering graduate theological education in multiple modalities: in-person, hybrid, and online.

Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) was a Protestant denomination based in South Korea; it is currently separated into many branches.

Protestants in Myanmar make up 5% of that nation's population in 2023. Most Christians are from the minority ethnic groups such as Karen, Lisu, Kachin, Chin, and Lahu. An estimated 0.1% of the Bamar population is Christian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Reformed Churches</span>

The Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands is a Protestant church in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus</span> Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus is a Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia. It is the largest member church of the Lutheran World Federation. It is a Lutheran denomination with some Pentecostal influence and one Presbyterian-leaning synod, with a large Pietistic following.

The Presbyterian Church of India (PCI) is a mainline Protestant church based in India, with over one and a half million adherents, mostly in Northeast India. It is one of the largest Christian denominations in that region.

The Presbyterian Church of Pakistan Operation Office 6 Empress road, Lahore is the largest Presbyterian, Reformed denominations is the second largest Protestants in Pakistan. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (1855-1993) and Council of Churches of Lahore.

The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea or the KiJang Presbyterian Church is an ecumenically-minded Presbyterian denomination in South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Taiwan</span>

Christianity in Taiwan constituted 3.9% of the population, according to the census of 2005; Christians on the island included approximately 600,000 Protestants, 300,000 Catholics and a small number of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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 Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) is an Evangelical Presbyterian denomination, which is the biggest Christian church in South Korea. The headquarters of the church is in Seoul, South Korea.

The Reformed Church in Japan is a confessional Calvinist denomination in Japan. It was formerly a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, but it chose to suspend its membership.

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

The Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu, or the Presbitirin Jyos Blong Vanuatu in Bislama, is the largest Christian denomination in Vanuatu.

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.

The Presbyterian Church in Japan is a conservative Reformed denomination in Japan, founded by American missionaries in the mid-1900s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterianism in South Korea</span>

According to a 2021 Gallup Korea poll, 17% of South Koreans identify as Protestant; this is about 8.5 million people. About two-thirds of these are Presbyterians. Presbyterians in South Korea worship in over 100 different Presbyterian denominational churches who trace their history back to the United Presbyterian Assembly.

The Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea, 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.

References

  1. "Address data base of Reformed churches and institutions". Reformiert-online.net. 2004-02-27. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  2. Global Ministries website
  3. Council Of World Mission website
  4. Chris Meehan (2010-10-04). "Touched by Devotion in South Korea | Article | Christian Reformed Church". Crcna.org. Archived from the original on 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  5. Oikoumene website