Presbyterian Church of the Philippines
Presbyterian Church of the Philippines | |
---|---|
Type | Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin) |
Separations | Reformed Presbyterian Church of the Philippines |
Congregations | 300 |
Members | unknown |
Seminaries | Presbyterian Theological Seminary |
Official website | www |
The Presbyterian Church of the Philippines (PCP), officially The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines, is a growing
Origin
United Church of Christ in the Philippines
A previous Presbyterian church denomination was founded in 1899 by American missionaries led by Rev. James Burton Rodgers.
In 1901, the earlier American missionary-founded Presbyterian group entered into a
However, the comity agreement would eventually collapse. There were subsequent attempts to replace it, but none was created and prospered out of it. In 1932, some Presbyterian congregations even broke away to form the United Evangelical Church of Christ (Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo), which is still in existence.
Finally in 1948, the Presbyterian denomination merged with other Protestant denominations to form the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.
New Presbyterian denomination
The Presbyterian Church of the Philippines was founded by missionaries sent by the
More
The Reverend Theodore and Grace Hard, longtime missionaries of the
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church is the highest governing body and judicatory of this denomination. The General assembly meets annually during the third full week of October since 1996. In 2002, the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines participated in a series of dialogues with other Presbyterian denominations and groups in the Philippines that included Reformed Presbyterian Church of the Philippines,
In the early 2000s the denomination had about 150 congregations and more than 5,000 members. The worship is in English, Filipino and local dialects.
PCP RINGS 2020
On June 11, 2013, a special General Assembly was held to approve and launch the new 7-year vision of the denomination "PCP RINGS 2020". It is an acronym for "Relational, Indigenous, Numerical, Global and Social growth",[5] a thrust of PCP for the next seven years. It also recommended the establishment of a mission program called "Diaspora ministry" which aims to rally the support and cooperation of many PCP members in other countries and establish PCP congregations in those countries.
Doctrine
Confessions
The denomination adopts the following as its official doctrinal standard :
Solas of the Reformation
The Presbyterian Church in the Philippines teaches the Solas of the Reformation.[8] [9]
- Sola Scriptura- Scripture Alone
- Sola Gratia- Grace Alone
- Sola Fide- Faith Alone
- Solus Christus - Christ Alone
- Soli Deo Gloria - Glory to God Alone[10]
Office bearers
The Presbyterian Church of the Philippines adheres to the principle of plurality of leadership/ There are two classes of officers in the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines
- Elders
- teaching elders, also called Ministers of the Word, are ordained by the Presbytery after satisfying lengthy ordination process and requirements that include a strong sense of calling, an educational degree in theology, ordination trials that include oral and written assessment of biblical and doctrinal conviction, readiness and background check. They are installed in the congregation that called them. Presbyterian Church of the Philippines does not set a term limit for Teaching Elders to serve in a local church.
- church Sessionto serve for a definite term.
Both the teaching elders and ruling elders govern a local church and have equal authority in governance. The teaching elder is always the Moderator of the Session. Every congregation is represented by an equal number of teaching and ruling elders to the Presbytery and General Assembly. A church is classified organized only when there is a teaching elder and at least two ruling elders. Unorganized churches are under the direct care of the Presbytery.
- Deacons
The
Statistics
The denomination consists of about 300 churches and 10 regional presbyteries.[11][12]
Presbytery | Moderator | |
---|---|---|
1. | Northern Luzon | Rev. Johnny Bagiw |
2. | Central Luzon North | Rev. Jose Pineda, Jr. |
3. | Central Luzon | Rev. Faustino Oraye |
4. | National Capital Region Presbytery ― North Metro | Rev. Nelson M. Dangan |
5. | National Capital Region Presbytery ― South Metro | Rev. Edgar Adra |
6. | Southern Luzon | Rev. Roderick Lanuza |
7. | Visayas | Rev. Manuel Maca |
8. | Western Visayas | |
9. | Mindanao | Rev. Valeriano Geloca |
10. | Cavite | Rev. Nelson M. Carillo |
The headquarters of the church is located in
Seminary and theological education
The Presbyterian Theological Seminary was established primarily to train future leaders of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines. The seminary was previously called Presbyterian School of Theology. The seminary opened its doors to leaders of other denominations and other nations. The
History of the seminary
The School of Theology was started in 1983 with ten students. The original name Presbyterian School of Theology, was changed to Presbyterian Theological Seminary (PTS) in 1985. It is located in Dasmariñas, Cavite since 1987.[16] PTS is the official ministerial training school of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines. While there are regional bible seminaries operated under the denomination, its graduates are required by the church to take additional courses at PTS. This policy has been contested in the General Assembly. To date, every motion to change the policy is defeated by majority votes.
Name changes
- 1983 Presbyterian School of Theology
- 1985 Presbyterian Theological Seminary
- 2010 PTS College and Advanced Studies
International organizations
Member of the World Reformed Fellowship[17] and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches.[18][19]
Practices
Theology and worship
The Presbyterian Church of the Philippines is a
Organization
Leaders are carefully selected based on spiritual maturity and giftedness instead of popularity and social status. Many churches still do not have ordained elders and deacons. However, churches that do not have ruling elders are under the care of the Presbytery through a minister who has been assigned as interim Moderator. More than half of all churches do not have elders.[11] It is required for ministers to obtain a degree in theology as a requirement for ordination.
It practices church discipline. It does not allow ordination of women as a matter of church policy, though some churches have Bible-women who are basically female pastors. Only ordained Ministers are authorized to administer baptism and the Lord's Supper or communion.[20]
Baptism
Normally, baptism by sprinkling or pouring is administered to infants of believing parents. In some cases, baptism by dipping or immersion is done. A
Communion is open to any baptized adults and older children who were confirmed by the Minister through a profession of faith but excludes individuals who are under church censure.Challenges
Despite the phenomenal growth of this denomination, the PCP had a relatively long list of weaknesses. Among the challenges the denomination faces is the lack of connection to other Presbyterian bodies outside the Philippines. Ministers who migrated to other countries are not readily absorbed by local Reformed and Presbyterian bodies due to the absence of the PCP's mutual connections with those denominations, notwithstanding their theological affinity.
This situation forces migrant ministers to join other denominations, instead, like Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, etc., which are more open and accommodating. Those who opted to join Presbyterian denominations in the United States were required to go through their ordination process. To date, the sending denominations of the missionaries in the Philippines have not affirmed the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines as their coequal and fraternal church, but only as a mission field. The PCP's affiliation with the World Reformed Fellowship (WRF), which is a fellowship and not a council,[22] is based on agreement on Reformed orthodoxy and partnership.
Native leaders complain about the paternalistic attitude of many foreign missionaries, who are continually trying to control the denomination and churches. Foreign mission groups have difficulty working together for a common cause. The lack of cooperation between mission bodies also threaten the unity of the Filipino church leaders, especially those who are loyal to their respective "patron-missionaries".[23][24]
Tension among missionaries are also evident. Some missionaries duplicate the errors of the many Western missionaries in the early years of Protestant Christianity in the Philippines, such as spirit of superiority and lack of trust on the local leaders' financial management ability. The proliferation of theological institutions within the denomination attest to its lack of control over the mission agencies that operate them.
Stance on social issues
The Presbyterian Church of the Philippines, unlike other Presbyterian and Reformed denominations — such as the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo, and the Christian Reformed Church — does not have official stand on socio-political issues. However, individual members can freely express their personal views on such issues.
See also
References
- ^ Guillermo and Verora, p. 3
- ^ "Create a Free Church Website - OurChurch.Com". Ourchurch.com. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "Asia". Roxborogh.com. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "Orthodox Presbyterian Church". Opc.org. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Presbyterian Church of the Philippines". Gapcp.org. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ Fasse, Christoph. "Adressdatenbank reformierter Kirchen und Einrichtungen". Reformiert-online.net. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "The Larger Catechism | Presbyterian Church of the Philippines". Archived from the original on 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
- ^ "Confession of Faith | Presbyterian Church of the Philippines". Archived from the original on 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
- ^ "Standards". 19 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "Presbyterian Church of the Philippines". Gapcp.org. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Churches | Presbyterian Church of the Philippines". Archived from the original on 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
- ^ "Committees | Presbyterian Church of the Philippines". Archived from the original on 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
- ^ "General Secretary". Gapcp.org. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "About Us". Presbyterian Theological Seminary-Philippines. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
- ^ "Foreign Students | PTS-CAS". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
- ^ "Brief History | PTS-CAS". Archived from the original on 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
- ^ "Denominational Members". Wrfnet.org. 2013-01-22. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "PCEC - Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches: Discipling the Nation for Christ". Archived from the original on 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
- ^ "Los Banos Presbyterian Church | About Us". Archived from the original on 2012-04-29. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
- ^ The Directory of Worship, Government, and Discipline
- ^ Mark Reynolds, "Position paper on Roman Catholic Baptism". GA Minutes, 2002
- ^ Preamble, By-Laws of the World Reformed Fellowship
- ^ This is a term coined in missiological circles describing some of the abuses and failures in the mission field.
- ^ "Patron-Client Missions". Missionfrontiers.org. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
Further reading
- Guillermo, Merlyn L., and L. P. Verora. Protestant churches and missions in the Philippines. Philippines: World Vision Philippines, 1982.
- Kim, Hwal. From Asia to Asia: A history of cross-cultural missionary work of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong), 1959-1992 (D.Miss. Dissertation). Jackson: Reformed Theological Seminary, 1993.
- Kwantes, Anne C.. Presbyterian missionaries in the Philippines: conduits of social change (1899-1910). Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1989.
- Nam, Hu-soo. Missions strategies of Korean Presbyterian missionaries in Central and Southern Philippines: In Light of Paul's Missions Strategies. Cheltenham Pa.: Hermit Kingdom Press, 2006.
- Park, Timothy Kiho, Missionary Movement of the Korean Church. Seoul: Institute for Asian Mission, 1999.
External links
- Media related to Presbyterian churches in the Philippines at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- PTS College and Advanced Studies
- Presbyterian Church of the Philippines on Facebook