| ARP |
Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Church. |
| BPC |
Bible Presbyterian Church. This
group formed in 1938 as a split from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
In 1956 it divided into two groups, the larger BPC, Columbus Synod
and the smaller BPC, Collingswood Synod. The Columbus Synod group
changed its name in 1961 to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a
name which it held until 1965, when it merged with the RPCNA,GS to
become the RPCES. The BPC, Collingswood Synod group is still operating
under the BPC name. |
| CRC |
Christian Reformed Church. Not
precisely a Presbyterian denomination, this Reformed Church was formed
by Dutch immigrants. In the late 20th century it moved to allow the
ordination of women, prompting more conservative denominations to
break with it. |
| EPC |
Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
This name has been held by two different Presbyterian denominations.
From 1961 to 1965 it was the name taken by the Columbus Synod division
of the Bible Presbyterian Church. In the 1980s another group took
the same EPC designation upon leaving the United Presbyterian denomination. |
NAPARC
|
North American Presbyterian and
Reformed Council. This is a conservative ecumenical
organization which was organized in 1976. The current constituency of NAPARC includes the following denominations:
|
| N.L. |
New Light. This refers to different movements
toward splits in both the American and Scottish Presbyterian churches.
A New Light split led to the formation of the Church of Christ by
Kentucky Presbyterians after the camp meeting revivals. Covenanters
in both America and Scotland broke out in the 1830s over several issues. |
| N.S. |
New Side or New School.
Names for different movements in American Presbyterian history. The
New Side represented a mainly orthodox but more revivalistic wing
of the 1700s Presbyterian Church. The New School was a generally inclusivist
and often liberal movement within the 1800s PCUSA. |
| NPC |
National Presbyterian Church.
The organizational name of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
during its formation in 1973. The name was voluntarily relinquished
when a local congregation in Washington D.C. with the same name objected
to the new denomination taking this designation. |
| O.L. |
Old Light (see New
Light). Orthodox Presbyterians of Kentucky and Tennessee during
the revivalist controversy. Conservative or traditionalist elements
of the American and Scottish Covenanter churches in the 1830s schism. |
| O.S. |
Old Side or Old School.
Names for different movements in American Presbyterian history. The
Old Side represented the ultra-Calvinistic wing of the schism of the
1700s. The Old School was the orthodox Reformed church in the controversies
of the 1800s. |
| OPC |
Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
Established in 1936 under its original name as the Presbyterian Church
of America, by conservatives leaving the northern Presbyterian
church. The PC(USA) quickly brought suit forcing the name change to
the current OPC. |
| PCCSA |
Presbyterian Church in the
Confederate States of America. Organization of
the southern church from 1861-1865. After the Civil War the church
changed its name to the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS). |
| PCUS |
Presbyterian Church in the
United States. The major southern branch of the American
Presbyterianism from 1865 to 1983 when it merged with the UPCUSA to
form a new PCUSA. |
| PCUSA |
Presbyterian Church in the
United States of America. Originally the name for
the largest Presbyterian denomination in America, with its origins
in the Presbytery of Philadelphia (1706) and the Synod of Philadelphia
(1717). Despite several divisions and reunions, this body continued
under the PCUSA name until 1958 when it merged with the United Presbyterian
Church. The united group took the UPCUSA name until its union with
the PCUS in 1983, at which time the newly united church returned to
the old PCUSA name. |
| RE |
Ruling Elder. An ordained
position of service within the local congregation. |
| RPCES |
Reformed Presbyterian Church,
Evangelical Synod. Denomination formed in April of 1965
from the merger of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America,
General Synod (RPCNA,GS) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). |
| RPCNA |
Reformed Presbyterian Church
of North America, Synod (or, Covenanter). This denomination,
still in existence, is also known as the Old Light division of the
original Reformed Presbytery, which dated back to 1774. |
| RPCNA,GS |
Reformed Presbyterian Church
of North America, General Synod (New Light).
The other wing of the 1833 division of the Reformed Presbytery. The
New Light RP's, after near extinction, began to rebound and eventually
united with the Bible Presbyterian Church (Columbus Synod) to form
the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod. |
| TE |
Teaching Elder. An ordained
pastor serving in the local congregation. |
| UPC or UPCNA |
United Presbyterian Church
(properly the United Presbyterian Church of North
America). A smaller mainline denomination in existence from
1858 to 1958. Its churches were located primarily in the midwest and
in the north. |
| UPCUSA |
United Presbyterian Church
in the United States of America. This was the
name of the denomination formed by the 1958 merger of two largely
northern Presbyterian denominations, the PCUSA and the UPCNA. This
resulting body continued under the UPCUSA name until 1983, when it
merged with the southern PCUS to form a new denomination under the
old name of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
(PCUSA). |
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