Presbyterianism is a branch of Reformed Protestantism tracing its roots to the UK. John Knox, a Scottish minister of the 16th century who studied with the French theologian John Calvin, is considered the founder of the Presbyterian Church. An Irish Presbyterian minister of the 17th century named Francis Makemie is credited with joining many independent congregations into an organized denomination in America.
Presbyterian churches take their name from their form of government, which is a representative assembly of elders. There are two main divisions of Presbyterianism in the U.S.; the PCUSA (membership of 1.75 million) and the PCA (membership of 365,000).
The PCUSA is the more liberal of the two, rejecting the belief in the inerrancy of the Bible, having approved homosexual marriage in 2014, taking on the cause of social justice, and joining the World Council of Churches. The PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) is the more conservative, distancing itself from the more liberal positions of the PCUSA. Their most famous representative was Dr. D. James Kennedy from Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Coral Gables, Florida.
Presbyterians have traditionally held to the view that there are only two sacraments:
- Baptism (both infants and adults) by aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring) rather than by immersion. Presbyterians don’t baptize infants on the basis of a belief in baptismal regeneration.
- The Lord’s Supper, or “communion”, believing that Christ is present in the bread and wine through the Holy Spirit rather than physically present