PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS - HISTORY - 2025

The Presbyterian Church or Presbyterianism is one of the branches that emerged from the Protestant Reformation initiated by Luther in the 16th century. Specifically, Presbyterianism was the current that settled in Great Britain after a disciple of John Calvin, John Knox, returned to Scotland after a time in Geneva.

The concept of Presbyterianism comes from this Church's way of organizing its government: instead of hierarchically, this Church is ruled by assemblies of elders. In the doctrinal and theological aspect, Presbyterians believe that human beings will be saved by their faith and not by their works.

John Knox - Source: William Holl

Other doctrinal aspects are the belief that all the teachings are collected in the Bible, the refusal to worship images and the need to maintain two sacraments: Baptism and the Eucharist.

Presbyterianism spread from Great Britain to the United States, where it achieved an important establishment. From there, different missionaries traveled to Latin America.

Along with the arrival of European immigrants, the proselytizing work of these missionaries allowed the Presbyterian Church to have a great presence in countries such as Mexico, Guatemala or Brazil.

Origin and history

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed a document in which he exposed 95 theses on the laying of the Wittenberg Cathedral, in Germany. With this gesture of protest against what he considered inappropriate attitudes of the Catholic Church, Luther began the Protestant Reformation.

Luther's reformist ideas quickly spread throughout Europe. One of the places where he found the greatest popularity was in Switzerland. There, Juan Calvin became one of the most important figures of Protestantism, to the point of naming one of its currents: Calvinism.

Calvin

The center of the development of Calvinism was Geneva. From that city, Calvin's proposed reform spread to the rest of Switzerland. Later, it continued to expand into southern Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Scotland. Calvin's followers were called Reformed.

John knox

The political situation in Scotland during the first half of the 16th century was closely tied to religion. Faced with much of the country, the regent who ruled in the name of María Estuardo, still a child, had maintained her Catholic beliefs. Furthermore, she had issued an order to arrest all Lutherans.

This order caused that the sector of the nobility that had been converted to Protestantism revolted. Some ended up taking refuge in the castle of San Andrés. Among these was John Knox, a notary who began to preach against the Papacy and the sacrament of the Mass.

The troops sent by the regent managed to take the castle and Knox was captured. After a time as a prisoner in France, he was released and was able to return to Great Britain, where he worked as chaplain to the new king.

Disciple of Calvin

However, the throne changed hands again. Maria Tudor, the new monarch, was a Catholic and Knox had to go into exile. During his stay on the continent he spent time in Geneva, the city where he became a disciple of Calvin. It was during this stage that he became acquainted with Reformed theology.

Upon returning to Scotland, Knox became the instigator of the Reformation in Scotland. Many nobles joined his movement, which ended up leading to a true revolution.

In addition to the political consequences, Knox's work meant that, in Scotland, obedience to the Pope will cease. Along with this, he drew up a liturgy similar to the one he had learned in Geneva, eliminated feasts (except those on Sunday), and abolished the cross. Thus was born the Presbyterian Church.

Schisms

The Presbyterian Church suffered several schisms during the 19th century. As a result, new organizations such as the Free Church of Scotland, the United Free Church of Scotland or the Presbyterian of Scotland appeared.

On the other hand, Presbyterianism spread to Ireland, from where the emigrants took it to the American colonies.

Extension

As noted, the Irish and Scots brought Presbyterianism to the United States, where it found wide acceptance. From all over Great Britain, moreover, missionaries were charged with spreading his doctrine throughout the world.

As a result, today Churches of this type can be found in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Characteristics and doctrine

The concept of Presbyterianism comes from the way some churches are organized. Those that adopt this term are governed by representative assemblies made up of elders.

Although there are several Reformed institutions that have adopted this system of government, the Presbyterians (capitalized) are only those that emerged from the Church of Scotland. Likewise, it is used with some of the groups that appeared in the schisms of the 19th century.

Seniors

The Presbyterian Church is governed by two groups of elders. The first of them is made up of ministers who have been ordained and are dedicated to teaching. The second body is occupied by the ruling elders, elected by the various local congregations.

The elders, with one of them playing the role of moderator, are the ones who form the session. This body is the highest authority in all matters concerning spiritual matters in the congregations.

Deacons

Aside from the two groups of elders, there are also two different boards. One is made up of deacons, who are in charge of organizing and carrying out charitable works. The other Board is made up of the trustees, with jurisdiction over the finances of the congregation.

Westminster Confession of Faith

Most of the creed of the Presbyterian Church is based on a document called the Westminster Confession of Faith. This work was produced in 1643 and its authors were chosen by the English Parliament.

In addition to this creed, the Presbyterians also use others such as the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed, both from Catholicism.

Governing bodies

Unlike the fully hierarchical system established in the Catholic Church, the Presbyterians opted for an almost representative organizational model.

In Presbyterian institutions there are four governing bodies, each with specific functions. They are the Presbytery, the Synod, the General Assembly, and the Session.

The Presbytery, made up of elders and ministers, is in charge of controlling the congregations established within a geographic area. For its part, the Synod is made up of ministers and representatives of the elders of various presbyteries.

Finally, the General Assembly has functions similar to that of a court of appeals and represents the whole Church.

Beliefs

The Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is the foundation of Presbyterian beliefs. For them, tradition hardly matters.

Over the last centuries they have also drawn up a series of creeds that serve as a guide for religious practices, the most relevant works of this type include the Westminster Creed, the Scottish Creed, the Belgian Creed and the Heidelberg Catechism.

Old and New Testament

Presbyterians regard the Bible as "the only infallible rule of faith and practice." From his point of view, it is the Word of God and is considered the only source of truth.

According to the Presbyterians, the authors of the Bible were only mediators that God used to spread his word. Tradition is far behind in importance.

Grace of God and predestination

One of the doctrinal elements that most separates the Presbyterian Church from the Catholic one is the concept of predestination. This is based on the Grace of God, a doctrine that affirms that human beings are not judged and saved by their works, but by their faith.

In this way, anyone can be chosen to be saved, even if they are undeserved for their works. Added to this is the belief that God has selected in advance those he is going to save.

Heaven and hell

Heaven and hell, for the Presbyterians, would be spiritual concepts that are revealed in the material. In this way, they are both places and states of the human mind. Those who do not have faith have hell within them.

Sacraments

Unlike Catholics, Presbyterian Churches only admit two sacraments. These, communion and baptism, would have been created by Jesus Christ.

Despite that, Presbyterians do not think that Christ is physically in the sacrament of communion, but only in spirit.

On the other hand, believers in this religious trend do not consider baptism to be mandatory to obtain salvation. It is a symbolic element that represents internal change.

The custom is that baptisms are carried out by sprinkling water on children or young people. However, Presbyterians do not believe that the unbaptized who die are automatically doomed.

Presbyterian Church in Latin America

The history of Latin America did not make it easy for Presbyterianism to appear in the region. The Spanish Crown that had dominated the colonies was deeply Catholic and this had left an important mark on the region.

Furthermore, the Catholic Church itself enjoyed wide privileges, even after the various independencies.

The first Protestants in Latin America date back to the 16th and 18th centuries. They were, above all, Calvinists and had to face the rejection that they could practice their worship.

It was during the second half of the 19th century that the situation began to change slightly. On the one hand, some of the liberal sectors of society began to admit or even profess Protestantism. His arrival in government also brought with him a certain freedom of worship.

Similarly, in many Latin American countries missions were established that sought to propagate Presbyterianism.

Currently, the countries with the highest number of Presbyterians are Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and especially Guatemala.

Missions

The missions that were established in Latin America came from Scotland, England and the United States.

At first, they only found support among the liberals, since they used some of the elements of the Reformation to oppose the Catholic Church, linked to both the colonial era and the conservative sectors.

In Guatemala

Guatemala presents a peculiar case in the implantation of the Presbyterian Church in Latin America. In the Central American country, it was the President of the Republic himself, Justo Rufino Barrios, who requested that the missionaries attend.

The first missionary to accept the offer was John Clark Hill, in November 1882. With government support, he built a church in the most central part of the capital. According to experts, this process was due to the relationship between the liberal bourgeoisie of the time and the Presbyterian Church.

In Mexico

The history of Presbyterianism in Mexico is over 130 years old. Its presence is uneven in the national territory, highlighting its implantation in the southern States.

Over the years, the Presbyterian Church has divided into two organizations: the National of Mexico AR and the Reformed of Mexico. Both present organizational and ideological differences, since the second presents more conservative features.

Faced with the arrival of other Protestant confessions, Presbyterianism has maintained a greater strength. According to the data collected by the Ministry of the Interior, in 2009 there were up to 83 organizations that joined this religious trend.

In colombia

Missionaries from the United States were the ones who founded the first Presbyterian Church in Colombia.

The date on which they began their activities was the first Sunday of August 1856. On that day, Henry Barrington offered the first Presbyterian service in Colombia.

In just 80 years, the Presbyterian Church of Colombia had spread throughout the country, which is why it organized its first Synod based in Medellín.

In Brazil

Presbyterianism has been present in Brazil since 1862, when Ashbel Green Simonton, a missionary from the United States, founded the first Church of this cult.

Today, the Presbyterian Church in Brazil has almost 800,000 members and has more than 6,000 centers of worship distributed throughout the country.

References

1. Meta-Religion. Presbyterians. Retrieved from meta-religion.com
2. Cervantes-Ortiz, Leopoldo. Presbyterianism and the Reformation in Latin America. Retrieved from protestantedigital.com
3. Escuelapedia. Doctrine of Presbyterianism. Obtained from schoolpedia.com
4. Casanova, Amanda. Presbyterian: 10 things to know about their history & beliefs. Retrieved from christianity.com
5. Fairchild, Mary. Presbyterian Church History. Retrieved from learnreligions.com
6. Religion Facts. History of Presbyterianism. Retrieved from religionfacts.com
7. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Presbyterian. Retrieved from britannica.com