Orthodox Presbyterian Church
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church ( OPC) is a conservative Presbyterian church, which is represented primarily in the United States. It was founded by theologically conservative members of the Calvinistic Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ( PCUSA ). In 1930 they set themselves against the pervasive Modernist theology to defend. Movement was led by John Gresham Machen, who had also co-founded the Westminster Theological Seminary. The OPC is trying to preserve the original Calvinism in a Presbyterian church structure.
History
In the tradition of men such as Charles Hodge, BB Warfield and Vos Geerhardus making was one of the leading conservatives in the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary, which was a bastion of traditional Presbyterian theology until the early twenties. However, 1929 was formed the line of the seminar new in the sense theologically liberal views and occupied chairs with professors, the more open-minded and certain forms of theological liberalism against were set more friendly towards modernism.
Make and a group of other conservatives to these changes in the way presented by the Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929 called into life. Then brought Make this case to the General Assembly of the PCUSA. He turned it against theological positions that he held for the recognizability of the Reformed tradition is dangerous, even for a threat to the foundations of Christianity. The General Assembly refused to take action. Therefore making and several other professors founded together with a group of conservative ally of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions ( " Independent Committee for Presbyterian Foreign Missions "). The General Assembly of 1934 condemned this step. Make and his people were dismissed from the service of their church.
On June 11, 1936, gathered a group of clergy and Make, elders and laymen in Philadelphia to the Presbyterian Church of America to form (not to be confused with the Presbyterian Church in America, which was formed some 40 years later ). The PCUSA filed against the newly crowned Denomination law suit for the selected name. In 1939, she took the name Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
At the time that preceded the founding of the OPC, making and its allies in the PCUSA were regarded as well-known leader of Christian fundamentalism. Make and although the majority of the OPC looked rather the traditional Reformed heritage obliged with his unqualified belief bases as the fundamentalist movement that many in the Reformed tradition was inadequate in their doctrinal statements opinion. However, a faction of the OPC undertook no later than 1937 a pure fundamentalism, which. From the rest of OPC by things like complete abstinence from alcohol, a prämillenaristische eschatology, opposition to ecumenism and political activities against the Communist Party This grouping is separated from the OPC under the leadership of Carl McIntire and founded the Bible Presbyterian Church.
One of the first leaders of the OPC included Cornelius Van Til, Gordon Clark, Robert Dick Wilson, RB Kuiper and later John Murray.
Relationships and memberships
The OPC maintains a cordial relationship with the Presbyterian Church in America ( PCA ), the largest conservative Reformed denomination in the United States. The two differ from each other more ( genesis ) history as in matters of doctrine, although the OPC traditionally more conservative than the PCA in matters of worship, leadership and church order. In addition, the OPC has been historically established as the northern United States Community culturally not by the movement of the Lost Cause to the reconciliation of the South to the North (see Civil War ) shaped like the churches that make up the core of the PCA was formed. The OPC required of elders and deacons comprehensive commitment to the Westminster standards as a reasonable expression of biblical teachings, while the PCA allows minor deviations.
The OPC is a member of the " Council of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed " North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council ( NAPARC ) and in the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC ).