Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap)

The Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap) is a mainline Protestant denomination based in South Korea; it currently has the second largest membership of any Presbyterian denomination in the world. It is affiliated with its daughter denomination, the Korean Presbyterian Church in America (KPCA) in the United States, which adopted the "Korean Presbyterian Church Abroad" as its new name in 2009.

The Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap)
Logo of the Presbyterian Church of Korea.
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationCalvinist
PolityPresbyterian
ModeratorRev. Seong Gi Cho
AssociationsWorld Council of Churches,
World Alliance of Reformed Churches,
Council for World Mission,
Christian Conference of Asia,
National Council of Churches in Korea
RegionSouth Korea
FounderSeo Sang-ryun
Origin1884 when a church was founded in
Hwanghae province.
SeparationsGosin group
Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea
Hapdong faction
Congregations9,190 [1]
Members2,554,227[2]
Ministers20,506[1]
Official websitehttp://www.pck.or.kr/
Presbyterian Church of Korea
Hangul
대한예수교장로회(통합)
Hanja
大韓예수敎長老會(統合)
Revised RomanizationDaehan yesugyo jangnohoe Tonghap
McCune–ReischauerTaehan yesugyo changnohoe T'onghap

Presbyterianism in Korea was reconstructed after World War II in 1947. The church adopted the name the Reformed Church in Korea. In the 1950s the church suffered tensions because the issues of theology, ecumenism and worship. In 1959 Presbyterian Church of Korea broke into two equal sections. This church and The Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) church separated. In 1984 the church celebrated the 100th anniversary of Presbyterianism in Korea. The church is an ecumenical denomination.[3] Membership is about 2.1 million and has 6,000 congregations in 56 presbyteries in 2004.[4]

The denomination is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches[5] and World Council of Churches.

The Apostles Creed and the Westminster Confession are the official recognised confessions.[6]

According to the World Council of Churches there are 2.85 million members in 8,200 congregations.[7]

Cause of formation

The Korean Presbyterian Church split for the third time (1951, 1953, and 1959) when the church divided for and against Park Hyung- Ryong (박형룡 朴亨龍, 1897 ~ 1978), president of the Presbyterian Seminary Society of the General Assembly. The anti-Park party is called 대한예수교장로회(통합)'Tonghap' (the united body) and the pro-Park party is called 대한예수교장로회(합동)'Hapdong' (the union body). The divisions from all three splits during the 50s still exist. The divisions from the third split between Tonghap and Hapdong respectively are still the largest Presbyterian dominations in South Korea .[8]

References
  1. "World Council of Churches - Presbyterian Church of Korea". Oikoumene.org. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  2. "교세현황 > 교세현황 > 대한예수교장로회총회". pck.co.kr. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. "The Presbyterian Church of Korea : History". Pck.or.kr. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  4. "Adressdatenbank reformierter Kirchen und Einrichtungen". Reformiert-online.net. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  5. "World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC)". Wcrc.ch. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  6. "The Presbyterian Church of Korea : Introduction". Pck.or.kr. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  7. "Presbyterian Church of Korea". Oikoumene.org. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  8. Kim, In Soo (2008). "Towards Peace and Reconciliation between South and North Korean Churches: Contextual Analysis of the Two Churches (Ch9)". Peace and Reconciliation : In Search of Shared Identity. Farnham: Ashgate Pub. p. 137. ISBN 9780754664611.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.