History of the Presbyterian Church
John Calvin, the father of the Presbyterian church, was converted to Protestantism in 1533. He eventually settled in Geneva where he wrote The Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536-1559), a massive work that influenced the development of Reformed Protestantism.
Another name in early Presbyterian history is John Knox, a Scottish Protestant. Knox fled persecution in Scotland and relocated to Geneva to study with John Calvin. He returned to Scotland in 1559 and established Presbyterianism in Scotland.
Presbyterians were among the earliest Reformed Protestants to arrive in the New World in America in the early 1600's. They settled on the eastern shore in Virginia and then pushed inland where they founded numerous congregations.
Presbyterians were among the leaders in the American Revolution and were influential in drafting state and national constitutions. Presbyterianism was so dominant in America that some British called the American Revolution the Presbyterian Revolt. Twelve men with Presbyterian affiliation were among the signers of The Declaration of Independence, including the only active clergyman, John Witherspoon.
In June of 1789 the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian church convened in Philadelphia with John Witherspoon presiding.
The founding of theological institutions, Service (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) in 1794 and Princeton Theological Seminary in 1812, was the logical result of the emphasis on an educated clergy by Presbyterians. The requirement for educating and ordaining ministers was chief among the concerns that led to disagreements and a split wherein the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was formed in 1810.
The denomination continued to grow, establish boards, societies and mission and evangelistic programs. In 1858 the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Associate Presbyterian Church merged to form the United Presbyterian Church of North America. In 1861 the Presbyterian Church of the Confederate States (later the Presbyterian Church in the United States) was formed following disputes over slavery and evangelism.
In 1906 reunion with a majority of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was accomplished and in 1920 union with the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church was completed.
The first women elder, Sara E. Dickson, was elected in 1930 and in 1956 women were accepted as ordained ministers.
In 1958 Pittsburgh hosted the General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church in the USA and the United Presbyterian Church of North America where the merger decision was made to form the United Presbyterian Church in the USA.
In 1969 at the invitation of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, a Special committee on the Reunion of the Presbyterian Church in the US and the United Presbyterian Church in the USA was formed.
