The History of Presbyterianism

The History of Presbyterianism

This article relates to The Dearly Beloved

Two of the main characters in Cara Wall's debut novel, The Dearly Beloved, are ministers in the Presbyterian Church. The novel focuses on the turbulence the Church faced in America during the social upheaval of the 1960s, but the roots of Presbyterianism, a Protestant denomination, can be traced back to 16th-century Europe.

On October 31, 1517, an impassioned Augustinian monk named Martin Luther posted an inflammatory document that has become known as the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The widely influential theses called into question many of the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines, particularly its practice of granting indulgences to the wealthy, allowing them to be expunged of sin in exchange for money. News of Luther's act quickly spread across a Europe fed up with the Church's hypocrisy and greed; the theses became the spark that ignited the Protestant Reformation, a historical event that ultimately saw many congregations abandon Catholicism for one of the non-Catholic religious denominations that arose over the ensuing decades.

Lawyer and theologian John Calvin (1509-1564), born in Noyon, France, supported the Reformation and became well known across Europe for his radical beliefs. One of his most revolutionary ideas was the creation of a body of clergy and laymen that would preside over each church. Britannica.com states: "According to Calvin's theory of church government, the church is a community or body in which Christ only is head and all members are equal under him. The ministry is given to the entire church and is distributed among many officers. All who hold office do so by election of the people whose representatives they are. The church is to be governed and directed by assemblies of officeholders, pastors, and elders chosen to provide just representation for the church as a whole." In other words, Calvin helped diffuse the authority of Christianity. He rejected the single head of church model under Roman Catholicism (i.e. the Pope) and advocated spreading out responsibilities among elected bodies of congregants and ministers. So influential was Calvin in Europe that fellow Reformer and preacher Guillaume Farel asked him to lead the burgeoning Protestant movement in Geneva, Switzerland.

In Geneva, Calvin met Scotsman John Knox (1513-1572). Knox, inspired, returned to his homeland to lead the Reformation there according to religious principles set out by Calvin. Like his mentor, Knox espoused the "presbyter" organizational model (from the Greek presbyteros, meaning "one that presides over assemblies or congregations") in which elders of a church work with a main pastor on matters of doctrine and administration. As with Calvin, Knox exerted strong sway over the public, and Scotland gradually turned away from Catholicism. In 1560, the Scottish Parliament rejected the Pope's authority and even outlawed the Mass in an effort to stamp out the Vatican's presence in the country. In 1592, the Scottish Church finally embraced a full Presbyterian system.

Presbyterians were among the earliest of the Reformed churches to migrate to America, with congregations being established in the New World as early as 1630. The Church steadily grew throughout the colonial period, with the first presbytery of seven ministers forming in 1706. Three more dotted the East Coast by 1717, and that same year Presbyterians in Philadelphia held the first synod, a council of church that convenes to debate and decide upon matters relating to faith, morals, or discipline. By the time the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on August 2nd, 1776, Presbyterianism had a well-established presence in the colonies; the only minister of any religion to add his signature was Presbyterian John Witherspoon.

Today, the Presbyterian Church USA is the largest Presbyterian/Reformed denomination in the United States, with 1.3 million active members. The more conservative Presbyterian Church in America is the next largest, with nearly 400,000 active members; but dozens of other Presbyterian denominations exist.

Differences between the various denominations abound, but generally they divide church duties into four main categories: the session, the deacons, the trustees, and the presbytery. The first three function at the congregational level. The session is in charge of all the strictly church matters, such as the selection of pastors and the order of the service. The deacons take care of concerns that go beyond church walls, like caring for the poor of the community. Trustees control the finances and the physical property of the church (the building, the landscaping, etc.). The presbytery is formed by all the ministers in a given area, plus one elder from each congregation in the district. Although congregations elect their own pastors, the presbytery must approve any appointment, and is responsible for ordaining, transferring and removing ministers (generally congregations can't "fire" a minister; any such action must be approved by the presbytery). It also serves as a court of appeals for religious matters decided by congregational sessions, and has overall religious, financial and legal authority.

Photo of Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, courtesy of W Nowicki

Filed under People, Eras & Events

This "beyond the book article" relates to The Dearly Beloved. It originally ran in August 2019 and has been updated for the July 2020 paperback edition. Go to magazine.

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