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{{short description|Confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States}}
{{for|the denomination in New Zealand, which is not affiliated with the OPC in the U.S.A.|Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand}}
{{Redirect|Presbyterian Church of America|other entities with similar names|American Presbyterian Church (disambiguation){{!}}American Presbyterian Church}}
{{refimprove|date=May 2013}}
<!-- This disambiguation page covers all similarly named denominations -->
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination {{Infobox Christian denomination
| name = Orthodox Presbyterian Church | name = Orthodox Presbyterian Church
|image = OrthodoxPresbyterianChurchlogo.png | image = Orthodox Presbyterian Church.svg
|imagewidth = 210px | imagewidth = 105
| caption = | caption =
| abbreviation=OPC
| main_classification = ] | main_classification = ]
| orientation = ]
| theology = ] ]
| theology = ] ]
| governance = ]
| polity = ]
| founded_date = June 11, 1936 | founded_date = June 11, 1936
| founded_place = ], ] | founded_place = ], ]
| separated_from = ] | separated_from = ]
| separations = ] | separations = ] (1937)
| associations = ], ] | associations = ], ]
| congregations = 270 | congregations = 332 (2023)
| members = 30,555 | members = 33,520 (2023)<ref name=GA2024/>
| ministers= 599 (2023)<ref name=GA2024/>
| footnotes =
| area=]
| headquarters=]
| leader_name=J.V. Fesko<ref name=GA2024/>
| other_names = Presbyterian Church of America (1936–1939)
| footnotes =
|website={{URL|www.opc.org}}
}} }}
The '''Orthodox Presbyterian Church''' (OPC) is a ] ] denomination located primarily in the ]. It was founded by conservative members of the ] (PCUSA) who strongly objected to the pervasive Modernist theology during the 1930s (see ]). Led by ], who had helped found ], the church attempted to preserve historic ] within a Presbyterian structure. The '''Orthodox Presbyterian Church''' ('''OPC''') is a ] ] denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the ] (PCUSA), who objected to the rise of ] in the 1930s. The OPC is considered to have had an influence on ] far beyond its size.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Roger E. |author-link=Roger E. Olson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nVfdAzBOUSIC&pg=PA7 |title=Pocket History of Evangelical Theology |date=2007 |publisher=] |isbn=9780830827060 |page=70 |access-date=25 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327022516/https://books.google.com/books?id=nVfdAzBOUSIC&pg=PA7 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>


==History== ==History==
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church was founded in 1936, largely through the work of ]. Machen, who, prior to this time was a ] minister, had a longstanding distrust of ] in Christianity, as typified by the ]. He and others founded ] in 1929 in response to rising liberal sentiments at ], and in 1933, Machen formed the ], due to his concerns around tolerance of ] on the ] mission field.<ref name="fgf1">{{Cite web |title=Fighting the Good Fight |url=http://www.opc.org/books/fighting/pt1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219012508/http://www.opc.org/books/fighting/pt1.html |archive-date=19 February 2015 |access-date=20 February 2014 |website=OPC}}</ref>
] was instrumental in founding the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.]]


Machen's views were met with opposition. In 1935, the PCUSA General Assembly declared Machen's Independent Board unconstitutional, and gave the associated clergy an ultimatum to break their ties with it. When Machen and seven other clergy did not disavow the Independent Board, they were suspended from PCUSA ministry.<ref name=fgf1/>
===Background===
In the second half of the 19th century, the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America began to shift away from historic Presbyterian faith and practice. Earlier in the century (1838), there had been a split between "Old School" and "New School" lines, with the "Old School" Presbyterians, perhaps being best represented by ], standing for a stricter stance on confessional subscription and church polity,<ref>Hart, D.G. & Meuther, John ''Seeking a Better Country: 300 Years of American Presbyterianism'' (P&R Publishing) 2007, pg.138</ref> and the "New School" Presbyterians, including ] and ], believing that Presbyterians should take a more active role in social issues,<ref>Hart & Meuther, pg. 129</ref> often at the expense of maintaining strict Calvinist orthodoxy.<ref>Hart & Meuther, pg. 137</ref>


In light of these events, Machen and a group of likeminded ministers, elders, and laymen met in ] on June 11, 1936, to form what they then called the '''Presbyterian Church of America''' (not to be confused with the ], or PCA, which formed in 1973), with Machen as the first moderator.{{Sfn | Longfield | 1991 | pp = 160–163}} Other key figures at this time include ], ], and ].
In 1869, the "Old School" and "New School" Presbyterians reunited. What resulted was not only the PCUSA becoming more broadly ecumenical with other denominations in the name of social reform,<ref>Hart & Meuther, pg. 171-173</ref> but also a decline in doctrinal purity, which included a revision of the Westminster Confession in 1903 to soften strict Calvinism. Higher criticism of the Bible had also become influential in the late 19th century, resulting, in one case, the deposition of ], a professor at New York City's ], for heresy in 1893. In 1909, the Presbytery of New York attempted to ordain a group of Union graduates who could neither affirm nor deny the virgin birth. In response, the following year's General Assembly listed five essentials of the faith that ministers must affirm: the innerrancy of Scripture, the miracles of Christ, the Virgin Birth, substitutionary atonement and the resurrection, essentials which would later be expounded in a series of articles known collectively as '']'', and those who adhered to these five doctrines were known as fundamentalists. In 1922, ], a prominent modernist Baptist serving as a pastor at First Presbyterian Church in New York City, delivered a sermon entitled "Shall the Fundamentalists Win"?, igniting the ].


Machen died shortly thereafter in January 1937. Later that year, a faction led by ] broke away to form ], affirming ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hart |first=D. G. |author-link=D. G. Hart |title=Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1994 |location=Baltimore |pages=163–166}}</ref>
===Machen and the Departure from the PCUSA===
Standing in the tradition of men like ], ], and ], Machen was one of the chief conservative professors at ], which until the early twentieth century was a bastion of orthodox Presbyterian theology. In 1929, the seminary board reorganized along more theologically liberal lines, and appointed professors who were significantly more friendly to ] and some forms of ].


In 1939, after PCUSA filed a lawsuit against the fledgling denomination for its name choice, the denomination adopted its current name, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (or, OPC).<ref name="fgf1" />
]Machen and a group of other conservatives objected to these changes, forming ] in 1929. Then, objecting to theological positions that he believed compromised the distinctives of the Reformed tradition, if not the basic tenets of Christianity itself, Machen pled his case before the General Assembly of the PCUSA. The Assembly refused to take action, and so Machen and several other professors, along with a group of fellow conservatives, formed the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions.


In 1961, the OPC published the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trinity Hymnal |url=https://www.opc.org/hymnal.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628101107/https://www.opc.org/hymnal.html |archive-date=2022-06-28 |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=OPC |language=en-US}}</ref> It also publishes a journal called ''Ordained Servant''.
In 1934, the General Assembly condemned this action and Machen and his allies were deposed from the ministry of the old Church. On June 11, 1936, Machen and a group of conservative ministers, elders, and laymen met in ] to form the Presbyterian Church of America (not to be confused with the ], which came about decades later). Machen was elected as the first moderator. The PCUSA filed suit against the fledgling denomination for their choice of name, and in 1939, the denomination adopted its current name, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.


Since its founding, the OPC has produced numerous influential figures, including Scottish theologian ],<ref name="John Murray Biography">{{Cite web |title=John Murray Biography |url=https://banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/john-murray/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630160503/https://banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/john-murray/ |archive-date=2022-06-30 |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=Banner of Truth}}</ref> Dutch theologian ], American theologians ], ], ], and ], historian ], and ] theologians ] and ].
=== Schism & Continuity ===
At the time leading up to the founding of the OPC, Machen and his allies in the PCUSA were considered to be prominent leaders of ], in that they held to the Five Fundamentals of the Christian faith. Machen and the majority of the OPC, however, were committed to the historic ] tradition with plenary statements of faith, rather than to the fundamentalist movement. Although the OPC agreed with the fundamentalists on many issues—including the inerrancy of the Bible—Machen, who died unexpectedly from pneumonia in January 1937, and most OPC pastors felt that fundamentalism was inadequate in its doctrinal formulations.


==Doctrine==
However, a significant faction of the OPC, led by ], and including other men such as ] and ], were strongly Reformed, but held to such things as total abstinence from alcohol and Premillennialist eschatology (positions held by a number of respected leaders throughout the history of American Presbyterianism). In 1937, this faction broke away to form the ], feeling that the acceptance of their viewpoints within the new denomination were in jeopardy. The Bible Presbyterians have often been labeled as mere "Fundamentalists" and "Dispensationalists," and that they were somehow less than "truly Reformed." However, the historical record would refute these descriptions. From its inception, the Bible Presbyterian Church has formally held the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms as its Standards.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church traces its doctrinal beliefs to the ], and particularly the theology of the French Reformer ]. After his death, Calvin's doctrines were developed and set forth by a 17th-century assembly of British theologians in the ] (which include the ], and the ] and ]). The OPC thus holds to the Westminster Standards (with the American revisions of 1788) for doctrine and practice.


The OPC provides the following summary of its doctrine:<ref name="What is OPC">{{Cite web |title=What is the OPC?: Part II.1. Our Constitution; II.2. Our System of Doctrine |url=http://www.opc.org/whatis.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429163119/http://www.opc.org/whatis.html |archive-date=29 April 2015 |access-date=8 January 2013 |website=OPC}}</ref><!--- What_Is_OPC.pdf 15 August 2013 version verified 2 February 2014-->
Pivotal, early leaders of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church included men from American Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, and Scottish Presbyterian backgrounds, such as Cornelius Van Til and John Murray. Controversies (in the OPC and in American evangelicalism) and failed attempts at church union with other Reformed churches (the CRC and PCA) ultimately promoted a firmly Reformed commitment. Yet, a tension between a more American evangelical and a more rigorously Reformed emphasis remains in the OPC.


] is one of the key figures of the ].]]
==Doctrine==
* The ], having been inspired by God, is entirely trustworthy and without error. Therefore, we are to believe and obey its teachings. The Bible is the only source of special revelation for the church today.
] the founder of the ] family of Protestantism]]
* ] is personal, yet beyond our comprehension. He is an invisible spirit, completely self-sufficient and unbounded by space or time, perfectly holy and just, and loving and merciful. In the unity of the Godhead there are three "persons": ], ], and ].
The OPC system of doctrine is the ], also called ] (because Calvin was the most important exponent of it during the Reformation). Calvin's doctrines continued to evolve after his death, and were set forth in the Westminster Standards (which include the ] and the ] and ]<nowiki/>s), with accompanying biblical references). The OPC holds to the Westminster standards.
* God ] the heavens and the earth, and all they contain. He upholds and governs them in accordance with his eternal will. God is sovereign—in complete control—yet this does not diminish human responsibility.
* Because of ], ], all mankind is corrupt by nature, dead in sin, and subject to the wrath of God. But God determined, by a ], that sinners may receive forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ has always been the only way of salvation, in both Old Testament and New Testament times.
* ] took upon himself a human nature in the womb of ], so that in her son ] the divine and human natures were united in one person. Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and died on a cross, bearing the sins of, and receiving God's wrath for, all those who trust in him for salvation (his ]). He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where he sits as Lord and rules over his kingdom (the church). He will return to judge the living and the dead, bringing his people (with glorious, resurrected bodies) into eternal life, and consigning the wicked to eternal punishment.
* Those whom God has ] unto life are effectually drawn to Christ by the inner working of ] as they hear the gospel. When they believe in Christ, God declares them righteous (justifies them), pardoning their sins and accepting them as righteous, not because of any righteousness of their own, but by imputing Christ's merits to them. They are adopted as the children of God and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies them, enabling them increasingly to stop sinning and act righteously. They repent of their sins (both at their conversion and thereafter), produce good works as the fruit of their faith, and persevere to the end in communion with Christ, with assurance of their salvation.
* Those whom God has ] unto death are ignored by God. God does nothing to prevent them from sinning nor does he help them obtain salvation. The fate of the ] are to lead sinful wicked lives and suffer eternal damnation upon death.
* Believers strive to keep God's moral law, which is summarized in the Ten Commandments, not to earn salvation, but because they love their Savior and want to obey him. Good works are a gift prepared by God for his people. God is the Lord of the conscience, so that men are not required to believe or do anything contrary to, or in addition to, the Word of God in matters of faith or worship.
* Christ has established his church, and particular churches, to gather and perfect his people, by means of the ministry of the Word, the sacraments of ] (which is to be administered to the children of believers, as well as believers) and ] (in which the body and blood of Christ are spiritually present to the faith of believers), and the disciplining of members found delinquent in doctrine or life. Christians assemble on the Lord's Day to worship God by praying, hearing the Word of God read and preached, singing psalms and hymns, and receiving the sacraments.


Despite affirming the Westminster standards, OPC pastors and presbyteries teach a range of doctrines on the biblical creation accounts, from non-evolutionary ] and analogical interpretations to ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 71st General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church received a Report of the Committee to Study the Views of Creation |url=http://opc.org/GA/CreationReport.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415051704/http://www.opc.org/GA/CreationReport.pdf |archive-date=April 15, 2015 |access-date=May 7, 2019 |website=OPC}}</ref> There is similar variability in terms of ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eschatology |url=https://www.opc.org/qa.html?question_id=661 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527121655/https://www.opc.org/qa.html?question_id=661 |archive-date=May 27, 2022 |access-date=July 26, 2022 |website=OPC}}</ref>
The OPC provides the following summary of its doctrine:<ref name="What is OPC">{{cite web|title=What is the OPC?: 2. Our System of Doctrine|url=http://www.opc.org/whatis.html|publisher=The Orthodox Presbyterian Church|accessdate=8 January 2013}}</ref>

* The Bible, having been inspired by God, is entirely trustworthy and without error. Therefore, we are to believe and obey its teachings. The Bible is the only source of special revelation for the church today.
* The one true God is personal, yet beyond our comprehension. He is an invisible spirit, completely self-sufficient and unbounded by space or time, perfectly holy and just, and loving and merciful. In the unity of the Godhead there are three "persons": the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
* God created the heavens and the earth, and all they contain. He upholds and governs them in accordance with his eternal will. God is sovereign—in complete control—yet this does not diminish human responsibility.
* Because of the sin of the first man, Adam, all mankind is corrupt by nature, dead in sin, and subject to the wrath of God. But God determined, by a covenant of grace, that sinners may receive forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ has always been the only way of salvation, in both Old Testament and New Testament times.
* The Son of God took upon himself a human nature in the womb of the virgin Mary, so that in her son Jesus the divine and human natures were united in one person. Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and died on a cross, bearing the sins of, and receiving God's wrath for, all those who trust in him for salvation (his chosen ones). He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where he sits as Lord and rules over his kingdom (the church). He will return to judge the living and the dead, bringing his people (with glorious, resurrected bodies) into eternal life, and consigning the wicked to eternal punishment.
* Those whom God has predestined unto life are effectually drawn to Christ by the inner working of the Spirit as they hear the gospel. When they believe in Christ, God declares them righteous (justifies them), pardoning their sins and accepting them as righteous, not because of any righteousness of their own, but by imputing Christ's merits to them. They are adopted as the children of God and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies them, enabling them increasingly to stop sinning and act righteously. They repent of their sins (both at their conversion and thereafter), produce good works as the fruit of their faith, and persevere to the end in communion with Christ, with assurance of their salvation.
* Believers strive to keep God's moral law, which is summarized in the Ten Commandments, not to earn salvation, but because they love their Savior and want to obey him. God is the Lord of the conscience, so that men are not required to believe or do anything contrary to, or in addition to, the Word of God in matters of faith or worship.
* Christ has established his church, and particular churches, to gather and perfect his people, by means of the ministry of the Word, the sacraments of baptism (which is to be administered to the children of believers, as well as believers) and the Lord's Supper (in which the body and blood of Christ are spiritually present to the faith of believers), and the disciplining of members found delinquent in doctrine or life. Christians assemble on the Lord's Day to worship God by praying, hearing the Word of God read and preached, singing psalms and hymns, and receiving the sacraments.


== Demographics== == Demographics==
At the 2024 General Assembly, the OPC reported 599 ministers and 33,520 members. <ref name="GA2024">{{Cite web |title=Report of the General Assembly of Orthodox Presbyterian Church 2024 |url=https://www.opc.org/GA/90th_GA_rpt.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240621170801/https://www.opc.org/GA/90th_GA_rpt.html |archive-date=June 21, 2024 |access-date=June 21, 2024 |website=OPC}}</ref>
The OPC churches are located predominantly in the United States with congregations in 47 states. There are 5 churches are in Canada, 4 in the Province of Ontario and 1 in Alberta. There are 2 congregations in Puerto Rico. Pennsylvania and California are the states where the OPC churches are numerically the strongest. Many congregations are located throughout the Midwest. At the 2013 General Assembly, the OPC reported 270 churches, 49 mission works, and 30,555 members.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fox|first=Arthur|title=2013 General Assembly Report|url=http://opc.org/GA/80th_GA_rpt.htmlr=The Orthodox Presbyterian Church|accessdate=5 November 2013}}</ref>


The OPC has 17 Presbyteries, the Central Pennsylvania, Central US, Connecticut and Southern New York, the Dakotas, Michigan and Ontario, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New Jersey, New York and New England, Northern California and Nevada, South, Southeast, Southern California, Southwest.<ref>http://www.opc.org/presbyteries.html</ref><ref>http://www.pnjopc.org/opcpresbyteries.html</ref> The OPC has 17 Presbyteries across Canada and the United States: Central Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Southern New York, the Dakotas, Michigan and Ontario, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New Jersey, New York and New England, Northern California and Nevada, Northwest, Ohio, Philadelphia, South, Southeast, Southern California, Southwest, and Wisconsin and Minnesota.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Presbyteries |url=http://www.opc.org/presbyteries.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124195300/http://www.opc.org/presbyteries.html |archive-date=2014-01-24 |access-date=2014-02-12 |website=OPC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-01-01 |title=Presbytery of New Jersey, Orthodox Presbyterian Church |url=http://www.pnjopc.org/opcpresbyteries.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131120054024/http://pnjopc.org/opcpresbyteries.html |archive-date=2013-11-20 |access-date=2014-02-12}}</ref>


===Racial=== ===Race===
In the early 1970s, the General Assembly commissioned a 'Report of the Committee on Problems of Race', which stated that the OPC was a "largely white" denomination, due to losing "the allegiance of blacks during the ecclesiastical discrimination against blacks in the ]" and ecclesiastical "neglect" of minority groups. The report recommended more outreach to minority and urban areas.<ref name="OPC Race">{{Cite web |title=Report of the Committee on Problems of Race |url=http://www.opc.org/GA/race.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202095554/http://opc.org/GA/race.html |archive-date=2014-02-02 |access-date=2014-02-12 |website=OPC}}</ref>


As of 2019, there is one black minister in the OPC.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weil |first=Julie Zauzmer |title=The alleged synagogue shooter was a churchgoer who talked Christian theology, raising tough questions for evangelical pastors |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/05/01/alleged-synagogue-shooter-was-churchgoer-who-articulated-christian-theology-prompting-tough-questions-evangelical-pastors/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505105948/https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/05/01/alleged-synagogue-shooter-was-churchgoer-who-articulated-christian-theology-prompting-tough-questions-evangelical-pastors/ |archive-date=May 5, 2019 |access-date=May 5, 2019 |newspaper=]}}</ref> The OPC also has at least 6 Asian ministers, 3 Middle Eastern ministers, and 8 South American ministers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Find a Local Congregation |url=https://www.opc.org/locator.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303023206/https://opc.org/locator.html |archive-date=2021-03-03 |access-date=2021-02-28 |website=OPC}}</ref>
The OPC does not juridically discriminate against any racial or ethnic groups, but in the early 1970s the General Assembly commissioned (and officially received) a that acknowledged that the OPC was a "largely white" denomination and that this was the result of ecclesiastical "neglect."<ref name="OPC Race">http://www.opc.org/GA/race.html</ref> The Committee which authored the report identified several reasons why this is so. First, the report identifies the fact that the OPC emerged from the Presbyterian Church USA, which "lost the allegiance of blacks during the ecclesiastical discrimination against blacks in the post-civil war period."<ref name="OPC Race" /> Second, it acknowledged that the OPC's "ministry to minority groups has been almost non-existent."<ref name="OPC Race" /> The report recommended more outreach to minority and urban areas.


==American politics==
===Political===
OPC ministers have a variety of political views. ], an ordained minister in the OPC, has authored ''Republocrat: Confessions of a Liberal Conservative'' (pub. 2010).<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 26, 2021 |title=Republocrat: Confessions of Liberal Conservative |url=https://www.wtsbooks.com/products/republocrat-carl-trueman-9781596381834?variant=9996905283631 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626185651/https://www.wtsbooks.com/products/republocrat-carl-trueman-9781596381834?variant=9996905283631 |archive-date=June 26, 2021 |access-date=June 26, 2021 |website=Westminster Bookstore}}</ref> ] was also a key figure in the ] movement, with an emphasis of applying God's law to contemporary civil and legal matters.


===Abortion===
Although the OPC does not officially endorse any political party or philosophy, broader political tendencies and trends are quite evident. While there have been no official surveys to determine the political demographics of the denomination, there have been several indications that the membership of the OPC is hardly reflective of the broader American populace. The membership and leadership of the OPC tend, by in large, to eschew the political left.
The 39th General Assembly, meeting in 1972, adopted a statement on abortion that included the affirmation that "voluntary abortion, except possibly to save the physical life of the mother, is in violation of the Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statement on Abortion |url=http://opc.org/GA/Abortion_GA39.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204040452/http://opc.org/GA/Abortion_GA39.html |archive-date=2014-02-04 |access-date=2014-02-18 |website=OPC}}</ref>


===Military===
For instance, the denominational magazine has taken up the question of whether the Christian right is good for American conservativism (a topic that has nothing to do with Reformed Christianity).<ref>http://www.opc.org/nh.html?article_id=735</ref> In the early 2000s, the General Assembly commissioned and officially received a report that concluded that undocumented workers could not claim to be true Christians if they were not willing to "repent" and return to their countries of origin.<ref>http://www.opc.org/qa.html?question_id=356</ref> The denomination has published the ideas of a minister who has asserted, against all historical and scientific evidence, that dinosaurs existed in England just five hundred years ago.<ref>http://opc.org/qa.html?question_id=532</ref> Likewise, it has published statements by a minister who describes ] as "primarily one aspect of the general revolt against God's rule in this world."<ref>http://opc.org/qa.html?question_id=499</ref> After considerable debate, the 68th General Assembly declared that women serving in combat positions in the military is contrary to the Word of God. <ref>http://banneroftruth.org/uk/resources/articles/2001/should-women-fight/</ref> A prominent minister has bluffly asserted that the American political system originally "assumed the internal constraints of true Christianity," which, he laments, "are now rapidly disappearing in the Western world."<ref>http://opc.org/os.html?article_id=398&cur_iss=F#return1</ref> Such notions are quite at home in the Christian right, American fundamentalist circles, and in quarters of the Republican party.
In 1993, the denomination petitioned then President ] to continue to disallow homosexuals to serve in the military. The petition states that: "The practice of homosexuality is a reproach to any nation. It undermines the family, and poses a substantial threat to the general health, safety and welfare of our citizens. Your own Christian background ought to demonstrate to you the practical benefits of upholding the biblical stand against homosexuality, especially in light of the current epidemic of AIDS and other diseases spread through homosexual conduct."<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Humble Petition to President Clinton |url=http://www.opc.org/GA/homosexuality.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124204255/http://www.opc.org/GA/homosexuality.html |archive-date=2014-01-24 |access-date=2014-02-12 |website=OPC}}</ref>


The 68th General Assembly in 2001 declared “that the use of women in military combat is both contrary to nature and inconsistent with the Word of God,” <ref>{{Cite web |last=Barnes |first=Doug |date=2001-08-07 |title=Should Women Fight? |url=http://banneroftruth.org/uk/resources/articles/2001/should-women-fight/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114617/http://banneroftruth.org/uk/resources/articles/2001/should-women-fight/ |archive-date=2013-12-24 |access-date=2014-02-12 |website=Banner of Truth}}</ref>
The OPC has never petitioned the federal government to change its policies when a Republican has held the office of President of the United States. But in 1993, the denomination petitioned then President ] to disallow homosexuals from serving in the military. According to the petition, "homosexuality is a reproach to any nation. It undermines the family, and poses a substantial threat to the general health, safety and welfare of our citizens."<ref>http://www.opc.org/GA/homosexuality.html</ref> The OPC did not offer any scientific or biblical support whatsoever for its claim that homosexuality (in and of itself) represents an objective threat to the "safety" and "health" of the American citizenry.


===Immigration===
In 2002, a prominent OPC minister was indefinitely suspended from gospel ministry after linking to an article (written by his wife) which argued that Reformed Christians should reconsider their intense opposition to homosexual civil-unions. Neither the minister nor his wife's article approved of homosexuality as such. Instead, the article argued that it was politically pragmatic for a small minority group like Orthodox Presbyterians to support the political rights of other small minority groups. The minister was found guilty of error by the Presbytery of Southern California, and the verdict was upheld after much debate by the general assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.<ref>http://www.upper-register.com/about.html</ref>
In 2006-2007, a study committee formed by the General Assembly created a report that concluded that "the church should never turn its back on fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, whether they are legally or illegally in the country. We should be willing to see to the spiritual and physical needs of anyone who comes to the church." The report nonetheless recommended that illegal immigrants repent of their illegal activity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Q and A |url=http://www.opc.org/qa.html?question_id=356 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213185011/http://opc.org/qa.html?question_id=356 |archive-date=2014-02-13 |access-date=2014-02-12 |website=OPC}}</ref>


== Governance ==
There is no evidence that any Orthodox Presbyterian minister or elder played any role whatsoever in advancing any liberal or progressive cause, such as the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s or equal pay legislation. Historically, the OPC has only made political statements that have coincided with right wing policies, such as opposition to homosexuals serving their country, women serving in combat roles, the status of undocumented workers, opposition to the Department of Education, and the anti-abortion movement
{{See also|Category:Orthodox Presbyterian Church ministers}}The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has a ] polity. The offices of the church and corresponding duties can be found in the OPC Book of Church Order.{{sfn|BCO|2011}}{{page needed|date=September 2024}}


=== Session ===
So despite the fact that the OPC has never surveyed its members to determine political demographics, the vast majority of OPC members can be described as either conservative, Republican, libertarian, or even ]. Several of the most important founders of American ] (such as ] and ]) were Orthodox Presbyterian ministers. Some important Orthodox Presbyterians, including Machen,<ref>http://www.acton.org/pub/religion-liberty/volume-4-number-4/j-gresham-machen</ref> were and are libertarians (but not left-libertarians). Many ministers and elders are members of the Republican party. There have been no noteworthy instances of OPC ministers who have supported the causes of the political left, though at least one minister has pushed back against a few of the economic and religious assumptions of the political right.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU-aOyHFlQI</ref><ref>http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2010/10/19/republocrat-a-review/</ref>
A Session consists of the ministers and ruling elders of an individual congregation. The duties of the Session include overseeing public worship, the administration of ] and ], the addition, removal, and discipline of members, and keeping records of membership.{{sfn|BCO|2011|p=17}}


== Governance == === Presbytery ===
All of the members of local congregations and its ministers are organized by geography into a regional church, and the ] serves as its governing body.{{sfn|BCO|2011|p=20}} The presbytery is composed of all of the ministers and ruling elders of the various congregations in the regional church, and presbytery meetings are to consist of all ministers and one ruling elder from each respective session.{{sfn|BCO|2011|p=20}}
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has a Presbyterian polity and has several components, with specific duties.


The duties of the presbytery include overseeing evangelism and resolving questions regarding church discipline. The presbytery also takes candidates for ministry under its care, and examines, licenses and ordains them. It also, if necessary, can remove a minister.{{sfn|BCO|2011|p=21}}
'''The Session'''
The Session consists of its ministers and ruling elders of an individual congregation.<ref>"The Book of Church Order of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church", pg. 17accessed July 4, 2013 http://opc.org/BCO/BCO_2011.pdf</ref> It's duties include overseeing public worship, the addition and removal of members, discipline of members and keeping records of membership and the administration of the sacraments.<ref name="BCO pg. 17">BCO pg. 17</ref> The session is also to oversee worship.<ref name="BCO pg. 17"/>


=== General Assembly ===
'''The Presbytery'''
{{See also|List of moderators of the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church}}The OPC's General Assembly is the supreme judicatory,{{sfn|BCO|2011|p=25}} and as such, it is to resolve all doctrinal and disciplinary issues that have not been resolved by the sessions and presbyteries.{{sfn|BCO|2011|p=23}} The other duties of the General Assembly include organizing regional churches, calling ministers and licentiates to missionary or other ministries, and reviewing the records from the presbyteries.{{sfn|BCO|2011|p=24}} It also arranges internship training for prospective ministers, and oversees diaconal needs.<ref name="What is OPC" />
All of the members of local congregations and its ministers are organized into a regional church, and the ] serves as the governing body of the regional church.<ref name="BCO 20">BCO, pg. 20</ref> The presbytery is composed of all of the ministers and ruling elders of the congregations in the regional church, and presbytery meetings are to, if possible, all of the ministers on the roll and one ruling elder from each respective session.<ref name="BCO 20" />


The General Assembly meets at least once a year, and is to have, at maximum, 155 voting commissioners, including the moderator and stated clerk of the previous General Assembly, and ministers and ruling elders representing their respective presbyteries.{{sfn|BCO|2011|p=23}}
The duties of the presbytery include overseeing evangelism and resolving questions regarding discipline. The presbytery also takes candidates for ministry under its care, as well as examines, licenses and ordains them. It also, if necessary, can remove a minister <ref>BCO pg. 21</ref>


=== Women in ministry ===
'''General Assembly'''
The OPC does not ordain women as pastors, elders, or deacons.<ref>{{Cite web |year=1988 |title=Report of the Committee on Women in Church Office |url=https://opc.org/GA/women_in_office.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507081504/https://opc.org/GA/women_in_office.html |archive-date=May 7, 2019 |access-date=May 7, 2019 |website=OPC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 7, 2005 |title=OPC Position on Deaconesses |url=https://opc.org/qa.html?question_id=8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121022540/http://www.opc.org/qa.html?question_id=8 |archive-date=January 21, 2019 |access-date=May 7, 2019 |website=OPC}}</ref> At least one congregation allowed women to serve as unordained deaconesses, but that congregation has since closed.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=420001713488003074 |user=NCPCboston |title=Today, the Elders of New Covenant Presbyterian Church proposed and the congregation passed a motion to dissolve... http://fb.me/2eutNUdtK |access-date=May 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119040047/https://twitter.com/NCPCboston |archive-date=2014-01-19}}</ref>
The General Assembly, for the OPC is the supreme judicatory (BCO, pg. 25), and as such, it is to resolve all doctrinal and disciplinary issues that have not been resolved by the sessions and presbyteries.<ref name="BCO pg. 23">BCO pg. 23</ref> The other duties of the General Assembly include organizing regional churches, calling ministers and licentiates to missionary or other ministries, and reviewing the records from the presbyteries.<ref>BCO, pg. 24</ref> It also arranges internship training for prospective ministers, oversees diaconal needs.<ref name="What is OPC" />

The General Assembly is to meet at least once a year, and is to have, at maximum, 155 voting commissioners, including the moderator and stated clerk of the previous General Assembly, and ministers and ruling elders representing their respective presbyteries.<ref name="BCO pg. 23"/>


===Missions=== ===Missions===
There are 38 mission works and eight active foreign mission fields in the OPC today: in China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Quebec, Uganda, Ukraine, and Uruguay. The OPC also has two missionaries currently serving in Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=OPC Japan |url=https://opcjapan.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128045149/http://opcjapan.com/ |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |access-date=August 26, 2024}}</ref> Japan was, historically, one of the oldest OPC mission works, but has since closed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Minutes of the 83rd GA of the OPC |url=https://opcgaminutes.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2016-83rd-GA-Minutes-redacted.pdf |access-date=August 26, 2024}}</ref> One of the OPC's goals is that "indigenous Reformed churches be established which will provide fellowship and instruction, and make the gospel known in its own culture and in others".<ref>{{Cite web |title=OPC Foreign Missions |url=https://www.opc.org/committee_fm.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807214523/https://www.opc.org/committee_fm.html |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |access-date=July 26, 2022 |website=OPC}}</ref>


The OPC's Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension also serves to help sustain and plant congregations in the United States and Canada. Their duty is to aid presbyteries in planting congregations, finding pastors, purchasing property and church buildings, and assisting home missionaries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Home Missions |url=https://chmce.org/about-home-missions/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507082118/https://chmce.org/about-home-missions/ |archive-date=May 7, 2019 |access-date=May 7, 2019 |website=chmce.org}}</ref>
====Foreign====
The OPC works (alongside other ] churches) to establish "indigenous national churches that are firmly and fully committed to the Reformed standards, that are self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating, and with whom the OPC may have fraternal relations."<ref name="What is OPC" />

The Committee on Foreign Missions currently sends missionaries to: ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="What is OPC" />

====Domestic====
The OPC's Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension serves to help sustain and plant congregations in the United States and Canada. Amongst their duties is to aid presbyteries in planting congregations, assist presbyteries in the support of home missionaries, help new congregations find organizing pastors, help established congregations to find pastors and to manage a loan fund that helps congregations in need of property and buildings.<ref>"About Home Missions," retrieved Oct. 1st, 2013 http://chmce.org/about-home-missions/</ref>

== Notable members ==
Early leaders in the denomination include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. Other notable ministers include ], ], Charles G. Dennison, ], ], ], ], K. Scott Oliphint, ], ] and Paul Norman Browne.


==Ecumenical relations== ==Ecumenical relations==
In 1975, the OPC became a founding member of the ] (NAPARC).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Constituting Meeting of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) |url=http://www.naparc.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Minutes-of-the-1st-1975-Meeting-of-NAPARC.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221083052/http://www.naparc.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Minutes-of-the-1st-1975-Meeting-of-NAPARC.pdf |archive-date=February 21, 2016 |access-date=May 7, 2019 |website=North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council}}</ref> Through NAPARC, the OPC enjoys fraternal relations with the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ] and several other confessional Continental Reformed and Presbyterian Churches in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Member Churches - NAPARC |url=http://www.naparc.org/member-churches/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528120846/http://www.naparc.org/member-churches/ |archive-date=May 28, 2018 |access-date=May 7, 2019 |website=North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council}}</ref>
The OPC and the ], the largest conservative Reformed denomination in the United States, remain on very cordial terms despite two failed merger attempts in the 1980s. The two differ from each other more in origin and history (with the PCA coming about when conservatives left the ], aka, the "Southern Presbyterians" in 1973) than doctrine. Historically, however, the OPC has been more conservative than the PCA in its approach to worship, church government and discipline. Like the PCA, the OPC does not ordain women as pastors or elders. While the vast majority of OPCs do not recognize the continued legitimacy of the biblical office of deaconess, at least one congregation does allow for the office of deaconess.<ref>http://www.ncpcboston.org/about/leaders/</ref> While most OPC congregations only allow women to teach ] classes for children and other women, some of the more moderate PCA congregations allow a woman to do the same things as a non-ordained man. The OPC also requires elders and deacons to accept the ] without exception as an accurate expression of the Bible's teachings, while the PCA allows elders and deacons to accept them with minor exceptions.


The OPC is also a member of the ] (ICRC), which includes Reformed & Presbyterian denominations from across the globe.
In 1975, the OPC became a founding member of the ] (NAPARC).<ref>"The Constituting Meeting of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council(NAPARC)" accessed July 4th, 2013, http://www.naparc.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Minutes-of-the-1st-1975-Meeting-of-NAPARC.pdf</ref> Through NAPARC, the OPC currently enjoys fraternal relations with the PCA, the ], the ], the ], the ], the ] and several other confessional Continental Reformed and Presbyterian Churches in the United States and Canada.<ref>"Member Churches" accessed July 4th, 2013 http://www.naparc.org/member-churches</ref>

The OPC is also a member of the ], which includes Reformed & Presbyterian denominations from across the globe. Outside the ICRC and NAPARC, the OPC has relations with the ], the ], the ] and the ].<ref>"The OPC's Ecclesiastical Relations" retrieved September 14th, 2013, http://www.opc.org/relations/links.html</ref>


Outside NAPARC and ICRC, the OPC has relations with the ], the ], the ] and the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The OPC's Ecclesiastical Relationships |url=https://opc.org/relations/links.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507082120/https://opc.org/relations/links.html |archive-date=May 7, 2019 |access-date=May 7, 2019 |website=OPC}}</ref>


==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}


==References== ==References==
* {{Cite book |url=http://opc.org/BCO/BCO_2011.pdf |title=The Book of Church Order of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church |year=2011 |ref={{harvid|BCO|2011}} |access-date=July 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828230411/http://opc.org/BCO/BCO_2011.pdf |archive-date=2013-08-28}}

{{Reflist|3}}


==Further reading== ==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Calhoun |first=David B. |title=Princeton Seminary: The Majestic Testimony, 1869-1929 |location=Carlisle, PA |publisher=Banner of Truth |year=1996}}
* Gatiss, Lee. ''Christianity and the Tolerance of Liberalism: J.Gresham Machen and the Presbyterian Controversy of 1922-1937''. London: Latimer Trust, 2008 ISBN 978-0-946307-63-0
* Churchill, Robert King. ''Lest We Forget : a Personal Reflection on the Formation of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church.'' Philadelphia : The Committee for the Historian of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 1987. ISBN 0-934688-34-6 * {{cite book |last=Churchill |first=Robert King |title=Lest We Forget : a Personal Reflection on the Formation of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church |location=Philadelphia |publisher=The Committee for the Historian of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church |year=1987 |isbn=0-934688-34-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Elliot |first=Paul M. |title=Christianity and Neo-Liberalism: The Spiritual Crisis in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Beyond |year=2005 |publisher=Trinity Foundation |isbn=978-0-940931-68-8}}
* Longfield, Bradley J. ''The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists, and Moderates.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-19-508674-0
* {{cite book |last=Gatiss |first=Lee |title=Christianity and the Tolerance of Liberalism: J.Gresham Machen and the Presbyterian Controversy of 1922-1937 |location=London |publisher=Latimer Trust |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-946307-63-0}}
* Hart, D.G. ''Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America''. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8010-2023-9
* {{cite book |last=Hart |first=D. G. |title=Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1994 |isbn=0-8010-2023-9}}
* Hart, D.G., and John Muether. ''Fighting the Good Fight of Faith: A Brief History of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.'' Philadelphia: The Committee on Christian Education and the Committee for the Historian of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 1995. ISBN 0-934688-81-8
* {{cite book |last1=Hart |first1=D. G. |first2=John |last2=Muether |title=Fighting the Good Fight of Faith: A Brief History of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church |location=Philadelphia |publisher=The Committee on Christian Education and the Committee for the Historian of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church |year=1995 |isbn=0-934688-81-8}}
* North, Gary. ''Crossed Fingers: How the Liberals Captured the Presbyterian Church.'' Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics. 1996. ISBN 0-930464-74-5
* {{cite book |last=Loetscher |first=Lefferts A. |title=The Broadening Church: A Study of Theological Issues in the Presbyterian Church Since 1869 |location=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press}}
* Calhoun, David B., ''Princeton Seminary: The Majestic Testimony, 1869-1929.'' Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1996.
* {{cite book |last=Longfield |first=Bradley J. |title=The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists, and Moderates |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1991 |isbn=0-19-508674-0}}
* Rian, Edwin H. ''The Presbyterian Conflict.'' Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 1940. ISBN 0-934688-67-2
* {{cite book |last=North |first=Gary |title=Crossed Fingers: How the Liberals Captured the Presbyterian Church |location=Tyler, TX |publisher=Institute for Christian Economics |year=1996 |isbn=0-930464-74-5}}
* Loetscher, Lefferts A., ''The Broadening Church: A Study of Theological Issues in the Presbyterian Church Since 1869.'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
* {{cite book |last=Rian |first=Edwin H. |title=The Presbyterian Conflict |location=Grand Rapids |publisher=Eerdmans |year=1940 |isbn=0-934688-67-2}}
* Elliot, Paul M., ''Christianity and Neo-Liberalism: The Spiritual Crisis in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Beyond'', 2005, Trinity Foundation, ISBN 978-0-940931-68-8


==External links== ==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* *
* *

{{NAPARC}} {{NAPARC}}
{{US Presbyterian-Reformed denominations}} {{Presbyterian and Reformed denominations in the United States}}
{{Canadian Presbyterian-Reformed denominations}} {{Canadian Presbyterian-Reformed denominations}}
{{Westminster Theological Seminary}}
{{Presbyterian Church in the United States of America}}
{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 00:13, 9 October 2024

Confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States "Presbyterian Church of America" redirects here. For other entities with similar names, see American Presbyterian Church.

Orthodox Presbyterian Church
AbbreviationOPC
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationPresbyterianism
TheologyConfessional Reformed
PolityPresbyterian
ModeratorJ.V. Fesko
AssociationsNorth American Presbyterian and Reformed Council, International Conference of Reformed Churches
RegionNorth America
HeadquartersWillow Grove, Pennsylvania
OriginJune 11, 1936
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Separated fromPresbyterian Church in the United States of America
SeparationsBible Presbyterian Church (1937)
Congregations332 (2023)
Members33,520 (2023)
Ministers599 (2023)
Other name(s)Presbyterian Church of America (1936–1939)
Official websitewww.opc.org

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.

History

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church was founded in 1936, largely through the work of John Gresham Machen. Machen, who, prior to this time was a PCUSA minister, had a longstanding distrust of liberalism in Christianity, as typified by the Auburn Affirmation. He and others founded Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929 in response to rising liberal sentiments at Princeton Theological Seminary, and in 1933, Machen formed the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, due to his concerns around tolerance of liberal theology on the PCUSA mission field.

J. Gresham Machen was instrumental in founding the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

Machen's views were met with opposition. In 1935, the PCUSA General Assembly declared Machen's Independent Board unconstitutional, and gave the associated clergy an ultimatum to break their ties with it. When Machen and seven other clergy did not disavow the Independent Board, they were suspended from PCUSA ministry.

In light of these events, Machen and a group of likeminded ministers, elders, and laymen met in Philadelphia on June 11, 1936, to form what they then called the Presbyterian Church of America (not to be confused with the Presbyterian Church in America, or PCA, which formed in 1973), with Machen as the first moderator. Other key figures at this time include Ned B. Stonehouse, J. Oliver Buswell, and Edward Joseph Young.

Machen died shortly thereafter in January 1937. Later that year, a faction led by Carl McIntire broke away to form Bible Presbyterian Church, affirming total abstinence from alcohol and premillennialism.

In 1939, after PCUSA filed a lawsuit against the fledgling denomination for its name choice, the denomination adopted its current name, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (or, OPC).

In 1961, the OPC published the Trinity Hymnal. It also publishes a journal called Ordained Servant.

Since its founding, the OPC has produced numerous influential figures, including Scottish theologian John Murray, Dutch theologian Geerhardus Vos, American theologians Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., Edmund P. Clowney, Loraine Boettner, and Meredith Kline, historian D.G. Hart, and presuppositional theologians Cornelius Van Til and Greg Bahnsen.

Doctrine

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church traces its doctrinal beliefs to the Reformation, and particularly the theology of the French Reformer John Calvin. After his death, Calvin's doctrines were developed and set forth by a 17th-century assembly of British theologians in the Westminster Standards (which include the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms). The OPC thus holds to the Westminster Standards (with the American revisions of 1788) for doctrine and practice.

The OPC provides the following summary of its doctrine:

John Calvin is one of the key figures of the Protestant Reformation.
  • The Bible, having been inspired by God, is entirely trustworthy and without error. Therefore, we are to believe and obey its teachings. The Bible is the only source of special revelation for the church today.
  • The one true God is personal, yet beyond our comprehension. He is an invisible spirit, completely self-sufficient and unbounded by space or time, perfectly holy and just, and loving and merciful. In the unity of the Godhead there are three "persons": the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
  • God created the heavens and the earth, and all they contain. He upholds and governs them in accordance with his eternal will. God is sovereign—in complete control—yet this does not diminish human responsibility.
  • Because of the sin of the first man, Adam, all mankind is corrupt by nature, dead in sin, and subject to the wrath of God. But God determined, by a covenant of grace, that sinners may receive forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ has always been the only way of salvation, in both Old Testament and New Testament times.
  • The Son of God took upon himself a human nature in the womb of the virgin Mary, so that in her son Jesus the divine and human natures were united in one person. Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and died on a cross, bearing the sins of, and receiving God's wrath for, all those who trust in him for salvation (his chosen ones). He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where he sits as Lord and rules over his kingdom (the church). He will return to judge the living and the dead, bringing his people (with glorious, resurrected bodies) into eternal life, and consigning the wicked to eternal punishment.
  • Those whom God has predestined unto life are effectually drawn to Christ by the inner working of the Spirit as they hear the gospel. When they believe in Christ, God declares them righteous (justifies them), pardoning their sins and accepting them as righteous, not because of any righteousness of their own, but by imputing Christ's merits to them. They are adopted as the children of God and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies them, enabling them increasingly to stop sinning and act righteously. They repent of their sins (both at their conversion and thereafter), produce good works as the fruit of their faith, and persevere to the end in communion with Christ, with assurance of their salvation.
  • Those whom God has predestined unto death are ignored by God. God does nothing to prevent them from sinning nor does he help them obtain salvation. The fate of the reprobate are to lead sinful wicked lives and suffer eternal damnation upon death.
  • Believers strive to keep God's moral law, which is summarized in the Ten Commandments, not to earn salvation, but because they love their Savior and want to obey him. Good works are a gift prepared by God for his people. God is the Lord of the conscience, so that men are not required to believe or do anything contrary to, or in addition to, the Word of God in matters of faith or worship.
  • Christ has established his church, and particular churches, to gather and perfect his people, by means of the ministry of the Word, the sacraments of baptism (which is to be administered to the children of believers, as well as believers) and the Lord's Supper (in which the body and blood of Christ are spiritually present to the faith of believers), and the disciplining of members found delinquent in doctrine or life. Christians assemble on the Lord's Day to worship God by praying, hearing the Word of God read and preached, singing psalms and hymns, and receiving the sacraments.

Despite affirming the Westminster standards, OPC pastors and presbyteries teach a range of doctrines on the biblical creation accounts, from non-evolutionary framework and analogical interpretations to young earth. There is similar variability in terms of eschatology.

Demographics

At the 2024 General Assembly, the OPC reported 599 ministers and 33,520 members.

The OPC has 17 Presbyteries across Canada and the United States: Central Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Southern New York, the Dakotas, Michigan and Ontario, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New Jersey, New York and New England, Northern California and Nevada, Northwest, Ohio, Philadelphia, South, Southeast, Southern California, Southwest, and Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Race

In the early 1970s, the General Assembly commissioned a 'Report of the Committee on Problems of Race', which stated that the OPC was a "largely white" denomination, due to losing "the allegiance of blacks during the ecclesiastical discrimination against blacks in the post-civil war period" and ecclesiastical "neglect" of minority groups. The report recommended more outreach to minority and urban areas.

As of 2019, there is one black minister in the OPC. The OPC also has at least 6 Asian ministers, 3 Middle Eastern ministers, and 8 South American ministers.

American politics

OPC ministers have a variety of political views. Carl Trueman, an ordained minister in the OPC, has authored Republocrat: Confessions of a Liberal Conservative (pub. 2010). Greg Bahnsen was also a key figure in the Christian Reconstructionism movement, with an emphasis of applying God's law to contemporary civil and legal matters.

Abortion

The 39th General Assembly, meeting in 1972, adopted a statement on abortion that included the affirmation that "voluntary abortion, except possibly to save the physical life of the mother, is in violation of the Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)."

Military

In 1993, the denomination petitioned then President Bill Clinton to continue to disallow homosexuals to serve in the military. The petition states that: "The practice of homosexuality is a reproach to any nation. It undermines the family, and poses a substantial threat to the general health, safety and welfare of our citizens. Your own Christian background ought to demonstrate to you the practical benefits of upholding the biblical stand against homosexuality, especially in light of the current epidemic of AIDS and other diseases spread through homosexual conduct."

The 68th General Assembly in 2001 declared “that the use of women in military combat is both contrary to nature and inconsistent with the Word of God,”

Immigration

In 2006-2007, a study committee formed by the General Assembly created a report that concluded that "the church should never turn its back on fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, whether they are legally or illegally in the country. We should be willing to see to the spiritual and physical needs of anyone who comes to the church." The report nonetheless recommended that illegal immigrants repent of their illegal activity.

Governance

See also: Category:Orthodox Presbyterian Church ministers

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has a Presbyterian polity. The offices of the church and corresponding duties can be found in the OPC Book of Church Order.

Session

A Session consists of the ministers and ruling elders of an individual congregation. The duties of the Session include overseeing public worship, the administration of Baptism and The Lord's Supper, the addition, removal, and discipline of members, and keeping records of membership.

Presbytery

All of the members of local congregations and its ministers are organized by geography into a regional church, and the presbytery serves as its governing body. The presbytery is composed of all of the ministers and ruling elders of the various congregations in the regional church, and presbytery meetings are to consist of all ministers and one ruling elder from each respective session.

The duties of the presbytery include overseeing evangelism and resolving questions regarding church discipline. The presbytery also takes candidates for ministry under its care, and examines, licenses and ordains them. It also, if necessary, can remove a minister.

General Assembly

See also: List of moderators of the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church

The OPC's General Assembly is the supreme judicatory, and as such, it is to resolve all doctrinal and disciplinary issues that have not been resolved by the sessions and presbyteries. The other duties of the General Assembly include organizing regional churches, calling ministers and licentiates to missionary or other ministries, and reviewing the records from the presbyteries. It also arranges internship training for prospective ministers, and oversees diaconal needs.

The General Assembly meets at least once a year, and is to have, at maximum, 155 voting commissioners, including the moderator and stated clerk of the previous General Assembly, and ministers and ruling elders representing their respective presbyteries.

Women in ministry

The OPC does not ordain women as pastors, elders, or deacons. At least one congregation allowed women to serve as unordained deaconesses, but that congregation has since closed.

Missions

There are 38 mission works and eight active foreign mission fields in the OPC today: in China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Quebec, Uganda, Ukraine, and Uruguay. The OPC also has two missionaries currently serving in Japan. Japan was, historically, one of the oldest OPC mission works, but has since closed. One of the OPC's goals is that "indigenous Reformed churches be established which will provide fellowship and instruction, and make the gospel known in its own culture and in others".

The OPC's Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension also serves to help sustain and plant congregations in the United States and Canada. Their duty is to aid presbyteries in planting congregations, finding pastors, purchasing property and church buildings, and assisting home missionaries.

Ecumenical relations

In 1975, the OPC became a founding member of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC). Through NAPARC, the OPC enjoys fraternal relations with the PCA, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, the Reformed Church in the United States, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, the United Reformed Churches in North America, the Canadian and American Reformed Churches and several other confessional Continental Reformed and Presbyterian Churches in the United States and Canada.

The OPC is also a member of the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC), which includes Reformed & Presbyterian denominations from across the globe.

Outside NAPARC and ICRC, the OPC has relations with the Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Reformed Church in Japan, the Presbyterian Church in Japan and the Presbyterian Church of Brazil.

Notes

  1. ^ "Report of the General Assembly of Orthodox Presbyterian Church 2024". OPC. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  2. Olson, Roger E. (2007). Pocket History of Evangelical Theology. InterVarsity Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780830827060. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  3. ^ "Fighting the Good Fight". OPC. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  4. Longfield 1991, pp. 160–163.
  5. Hart, D. G. (1994). Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 163–166.
  6. "Trinity Hymnal". OPC. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  7. "John Murray Biography". Banner of Truth. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  8. ^ "What is the OPC?: Part II.1. Our Constitution; II.2. Our System of Doctrine". OPC. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  9. "The 71st General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church received a Report of the Committee to Study the Views of Creation" (PDF). OPC. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 15, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  10. "Eschatology". OPC. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  11. "Presbyteries". OPC. Archived from the original on January 24, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  12. "Presbytery of New Jersey, Orthodox Presbyterian Church". January 1, 2011. Archived from the original on November 20, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  13. "Report of the Committee on Problems of Race". OPC. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  14. Weil, Julie Zauzmer. "The alleged synagogue shooter was a churchgoer who talked Christian theology, raising tough questions for evangelical pastors". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  15. "Find a Local Congregation". OPC. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  16. "Republocrat: Confessions of Liberal Conservative". Westminster Bookstore. June 26, 2021. Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  17. "Statement on Abortion". OPC. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  18. "Humble Petition to President Clinton". OPC. Archived from the original on January 24, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  19. Barnes, Doug (August 7, 2001). "Should Women Fight?". Banner of Truth. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  20. "Q and A". OPC. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  21. BCO 2011.
  22. BCO 2011, p. 17.
  23. ^ BCO 2011, p. 20.
  24. BCO 2011, p. 21.
  25. BCO 2011, p. 25.
  26. ^ BCO 2011, p. 23.
  27. BCO 2011, p. 24.
  28. "Report of the Committee on Women in Church Office". OPC. 1988. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  29. "OPC Position on Deaconesses". OPC. August 7, 2005. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  30. @NCPCboston (January 6, 2014). "Today, the Elders of New Covenant Presbyterian Church proposed and the congregation passed a motion to dissolve... http://fb.me/2eutNUdtK" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 19, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Twitter.
  31. "OPC Japan". Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  32. "Minutes of the 83rd GA of the OPC" (PDF). Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  33. "OPC Foreign Missions". OPC. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  34. "About Home Missions". chmce.org. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  35. "The Constituting Meeting of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC)" (PDF). North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  36. "Member Churches - NAPARC". North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  37. "The OPC's Ecclesiastical Relationships". OPC. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

References

Further reading

  • Calhoun, David B. (1996). Princeton Seminary: The Majestic Testimony, 1869-1929. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth.
  • Churchill, Robert King (1987). Lest We Forget : a Personal Reflection on the Formation of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Philadelphia: The Committee for the Historian of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church. ISBN 0-934688-34-6.
  • Elliot, Paul M. (2005). Christianity and Neo-Liberalism: The Spiritual Crisis in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Beyond. Trinity Foundation. ISBN 978-0-940931-68-8.
  • Gatiss, Lee (2008). Christianity and the Tolerance of Liberalism: J.Gresham Machen and the Presbyterian Controversy of 1922-1937. London: Latimer Trust. ISBN 978-0-946307-63-0.
  • Hart, D. G. (1994). Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8010-2023-9.
  • Hart, D. G.; Muether, John (1995). Fighting the Good Fight of Faith: A Brief History of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Philadelphia: The Committee on Christian Education and the Committee for the Historian of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. ISBN 0-934688-81-8.
  • Loetscher, Lefferts A. The Broadening Church: A Study of Theological Issues in the Presbyterian Church Since 1869. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • Longfield, Bradley J. (1991). The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists, and Moderates. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508674-0.
  • North, Gary (1996). Crossed Fingers: How the Liberals Captured the Presbyterian Church. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics. ISBN 0-930464-74-5.
  • Rian, Edwin H. (1940). The Presbyterian Conflict. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-934688-67-2.

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