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]
Presbyterianism is a Reformed (Calvinist) Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders. Though there are other Reformed churches that are structurally similar, the word Presbyterian is applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that formed during the English Civil War.
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.
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.
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 Church of Korea (PCK), also abbreviated as Yejang (Korean: 예장), is a Protestant denomination based in South Korea that follows Calvinist theology and the Westminster Confession of Faith. Since the 1950s, the denomination has separated into various branches of the same name. As of 2019, 286 branches in South Korea, many of which have separated from the PCK, use the title 'Presbyterian Church of Korea'.
Covenant Theological Seminary, informally called Covenant Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, it trains people to work as leaders in church positions and elsewhere, especially as pastors, missionaries, and counselors. It does not require all students to be members of the PCA, but it is bound to promote the teachings of its denomination. Faculty must subscribe to the system of biblical doctrine outlined in the Westminster Standards.
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.
Rev. Henry Gerhard Appenzeller was a Methodist missionary. He and four other missionaries, including Horace N. Allen, Horace G. Underwood, William B. Scranton, and Mary F. Scranton introduced Protestant Christianity to Korea from 1885 to 1902. He was known for his three major contributions to Korea: the Paichai College Hall, the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Seoul, and the translated New Testament.
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 Brazil is an Evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in Brazil. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, having an estimate 702,949 members, 4,915 ordained ministers and 5,420 churches and parishes. It is also the only Presbyterian denomination in Brazil present in all 26 States and the Federal District.
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 by in 1986 and the General Assembly was organized in September 1996.
The General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in Korea, also known as Yejang Hapdong (Korean: 예장합동) or just 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.
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.
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.