The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ( UPCUSA ) was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958, to 1983. It was formed by the union of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), often referred to as the "Northern" Presbyterian Church, with the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA), a smaller church of Covenanter - Seceder tradition at a conference in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , in May 1958. Vigorous ecumenical activity on the part of PCUSA leaders led to this merger, something of a reunion of two long-separated branches of the larger Presbyterian family deriving from the British Isles .
36-982: United Presbyterian Church may refer to: Denominations [ edit ] United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (1958–1983) United Presbyterian Church of North America (1858–1958) United Presbyterian Church of Brazil United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan United Presbyterian Church (Scotland) (1847–1900) Congregations and buildings [ edit ] United Presbyterian Church of Canehill , Arkansas United Presbyterian Church (Malad City, Idaho) United Presbyterian Church, Summerset , Scotch Ridge, Iowa United Presbyterian Church (Lisbon, New York) United Presbyterian Church and Rectory (Albany, Oregon) United Presbyterian Church of Shedd , Oregon United Presbyterian Church (Pullman, Washington) United Presbyterian Church, Thurso , Caithness, Scotland Topics referred to by
72-462: A 55-member international team of experts and volunteers. In July 2005 excavators discovered the Zayit Stone , which contained an inscription dating to the 10th century BCE (King Solomon's reign). The two-line inscription, on a 33-pound limestone boulder embedded in the stone wall of a building, is the earliest securely-dated example of the complete Hebrew alphabet (an "abecedary"). The letters show
108-597: A burden and potentially divisive, the commission developed a new confession. Known as the Confession of 1967 , it was heavily influenced by neo-orthodoxy . The commission also added several other confessional standards to what was called the Book of Confessions . Furthermore, the UPCUSA revised its ordination vows. Prior to 1967, the ordination vows required an affirmative to this question: "Do you sincerely receive and adopt
144-560: A crucial transition period created problems for the fledgling institution and it never really took root. In 1930, Xenia merged with a seminary that was founded in Pittsburgh in 1825, which was known as Pittsburgh Seminary (1825–1833; 1913–1930) and Allegheny Seminary (1833–1912). Together Pittsburgh and Xenia formed the Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary. This institution was later augmented by
180-562: A faculty member from 1963–1972. Many of the books and periodicals in the collection were made possible by a $ 15 million gift from wealthy banker and businessman Thomas Clinton . The library was managed by Dikran Hadidian during its formative years. Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is home to the Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology. The museum contains a collection of ancient Near Eastern and Palestinian pottery and artifacts brought together by travelers and archeologists over
216-942: A merger with the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS), as well as with the Episcopal Church . Both denominations had also been in contact with the Reformed Church in America , as well as the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church . By the time of the merger, the PCUSA had churches in all 50 states, while the heaviest concentration of UPCNA congregations could be found in Western Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio . One institutional expression of
252-748: A position which he filled until 1970. However, despite the progressive views of many members, a scandal erupted in 1970 and 1971 when the denomination gave $ 25,000 to defend the Black Panthers and $ 10,000 to the Angela Davis Defense Fund. Katie Cannon was ordained on April 24, 1974, in Shelby, North Carolina , by the Catawba Presbytery, in the Synod of Catawba, becoming the first African-American woman to be ordained in
288-637: A student at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, informed his presbytery that, while he would be willing to work with female ministers, or not impede their ordination, he would not participate in their installation. While his ordination was narrowly approved, it was overturned by the Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly the following year, with the commission stating that it was
324-546: A transitional script emerging from Phoenician and leading to the Hebrew national script of the 9th century BCE. The first significant inscription from this period in nearly a century, the discovery was reported in the New York Times . World Mission Initiative (WMI) at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is a fellowship of Presbyterians. WMI prepares seminarians to become pastors, and coordinates cross-cultural trips. It has
360-560: Is a Presbyterian graduate seminary in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Founded in 1794, it houses one of the largest theological libraries in the tri-state area . Pittsburgh Theological Seminary was formed in 1959 by consolidating the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. 's Western Theological Seminary and the United Presbyterian Church of North America 's Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary . The consolidation
396-575: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Church building disambiguation pages United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America Between 1937 and 1955, both the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and the United Presbyterian Church of North America had been looking to merge with Reformed Churches . The PCUSA had discussed
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#1732764640952432-583: The Presbyterian Church in America , which led to an exodus of conservatives from the PCUS, plans for union accelerated, and were also hastened, albeit less decisively, by the creation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church by conservatives leaving the UPCUSA in 1981. In 1983, the vote was finally held regarding the merger, with a unanimous 151 presbyteries in the UPCUSA affirming it, and the PCUS affirming it 53 to 8. On June 10, 1983,
468-552: The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod . In 1976, the New York Presbytery petitioned the General Assembly asking for advice over what to do about a candidate who was a homosexual, yet who was otherwise qualified for ministry. A task force was assigned and came back with the proposal that the question should be up to the discretion of the presbyteries. However, after lobbying from
504-611: The 1983 merger between the UPCUSA and the Presbyterian Church in the United States . Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education . The seminary has scholars in all major fields of theological inquiry and offers language training in Greek and Hebrew. The following degrees are offered by
540-620: The Confession of Faith and Catechisms of this Church as containing the system of doctrine taught in Holy Scripture?" After 1967, the ordination vows read: "Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed Faith as expressed in the confession of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead
576-732: The Episcopalians, and the United Church of Christ, beginning what was called the “Consultation on Church Union,” but would be eventually renamed the “ Churches of Christ Uniting ”. The UPCUSA was also part of both the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches, the latter of which Blake would become the General Secretary of in 1966. Despite being the largest Presbyterian body in
612-625: The Presbyterian Church USA created Western Seminary. It was indeed a western seminary in 1825, furnishing a ministry for the rapidly opening frontier territories along the Ohio River. Since the 1959 consolidation, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary has been located on the former Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary campus in the Highland Park/East Liberty section of Pittsburgh. It became a PC (USA) seminary following
648-547: The Presbyterians United for Biblical Concerns, the majority report was rejected by the General Assembly, which voted overwhelmingly to affirm instead that “unrepentant homosexual practice does not accord with the requirements of ordination as set forth in the Book of Church Order ." Another controversy rocked the UPCUSA when the National Capital Union presbytery voted to receive a minister by
684-468: The UPCUSA continued its more liberal shift, talks had begun regarding a merger between the UPCUSA and the Presbyterian Church in the United States , who had split from the main Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1861 due to the Civil War. Initially committed to “Old School” Presbyterianism, the PCUS had been beginning a shift towards liberalism in the 1950s and 1960s, including allowing
720-598: The UPCUSA. In December 1960, UPCUSA stated clerk, Eugene Blake, preached a sermon at Grace Cathedral [Episcopal Church] in San Francisco, in which he laid down the plan for uniting UPCUSA, The Methodist Church (USA) , the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ . Following Blake's lead, the 1961 General Assembly sent invitations to the Presbyterian Church in the United States, the Methodists,
756-581: The United States, controversies and schisms would soon shake the UPCUSA, which would lead to the exodus of several well-known congregations and members. In keeping with the practice of the PC-USA (which the PC-USA had begun in 1956) the UPCUSA continued the ordination of women. When the union between the UPCNA and the PC-USA occurred in 1958, it was understood that the new denomination would permit, but not require female ministers However, in 1974, Walter W. Kenyon,
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#1732764640952792-626: The United States. The library is located in a three-story building of American Colonial design, dedicated in 1964. The library houses several valuable collections, including the John M. Mason Memorial Collection, which consists of many rare theological works dating from the Reformation. On display in the Hansen Reading Room are the desk and chair of Karl Barth , dedicated to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary by Barth's son, Markus Barth ,
828-601: The denomination's responsibility to refuse ordination to those who did not theologically accept the ordination of women, as the General Assembly had no power to grant the presbytery an exception to an already explicit constitutional provision. Furthermore, in 1979, the General Assembly ruled that all congregations must elect both men and women to the office of ruling elder. The ruling resulted in an exodus of approximately forty congregations, including Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, which would eventually realign with
864-434: The first General Assembly was held for the new denomination, which would be called the Presbyterian Church (USA) . Prominent leaders and theologians from the period included Eugene Carson Blake , Robert McAfee Brown , Lloyd John Ogilvie , William Sloane Coffin , and David H. C. Read . Among its members was President Dwight Eisenhower . Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Pittsburgh Theological Seminary ( PTS )
900-569: The growing population in the Midwest . Joseph Kyle joined the faculty in 1900 (leaving 4th United Presbyterian Church in Allegheny, Pennsylvania ). In approximately 1914, Kyle was appointed president. In 1920, the trustees determined to move the seminary to St. Louis, Missouri , also to be nearer to potential students in the Plains states. In 1921, Kyle died unexpectedly. This loss of leadership at
936-545: The institution: The Seminary also cooperates with other institutions within the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education to offer joint degree programs, including: The Clifford E. Barbour Library is a theological library in Western Pennsylvania. Its 300,000 volumes, several online databases, and more than 800 periodical subscriptions make it one of the larger stand-alone theological libraries in
972-449: The name of Mansfield Kaseman, a move that was upheld by the 1981 General Assembly. Ordained in the United Church of Christ , Kaseman declined to affirm straightforwardly the deity of Christ, His sinless nature and the bodily resurrection. This case resulted in a further wave of departures from the UPCUSA, including those who founded the Evangelical Presbyterian Church , along with longtime Pittsburgh Seminary professor John Gerstner . As
1008-567: The ordination of women in 1964. While there had been a failed attempt to merge the UPCUSA and the PCUS in 1954, there had been increased cooperation between the two denominations, including joint foreign mission boards, a new hymnal in 1955, union presbyteries in 1968, and in 1970, the so-called “Plan of Union” was drafted. With the December 1973 creation of the National Presbyterian Church , which would soon be renamed
1044-646: The past 60 years. Many exhibits resulted from the eight excavations of which the seminary has been a part. The Seminary is very involved in Biblical archaeology , and sponsors the Zeitah Excavations in Israel at Tel Zayit . The excavation was founded under the direction of Professor Ron E. Tappy, Professor of Bible and Archaeology and director of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary's Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology. The excavation began in 1999 with
1080-493: The people of God?" Despite strong opposition from conservative evangelicals , much of which dovetailed with their hostility toward the denomination's perceived focus on social action that the Confession of 1967 in particular appeared to endorse, nine-tenths of the presbyteries approved the new documents. Generally speaking, the UPCUSA, especially its leadership, was a strong supporter of progressive causes, such as civil rights and feminism . Eugene Carson Blake , who served as
1116-524: The resources of Newburgh Seminary , founded in New York City in 1805 by John Mitchell Mason . Western Theological Seminary, the other branch of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary's pre-1959 history, began with the establishment of classical academies in Washington, Pennsylvania , the first in 1785 by Joseph Smith and another in 1787 by John McMillan. Out of these academies, the General Assembly of
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1152-448: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title United Presbyterian Church . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_Presbyterian_Church&oldid=827970207 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1188-545: The stated clerk of the UPCUSA from 1954 until 1966, was particularly active in the civil rights movement, including partaking in the August 28, 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , with Martin Luther King Jr. The following year, the UPCUSA took an unprecedented step in electing Edler Garnet Hawkins (1908-1977), an African American, who had served as pastor of St. Augustine Presbyterian Church, as moderator,
1224-548: The union was the consolidation of two nearby seminaries into the new Pittsburgh Theological Seminary . As had been customary for centuries, the UPCUSA originally held solely to the Westminster Confession of Faith and catechisms. But, one of the details of the 1958 merger was to revise the Westminster Confession. Realizing that the task of revising the Westminster Confession was too much of
1260-405: Was dependent on a supply of ministers sent from Scotland . John Anderson was elected as the first teacher of divinity and the school began with an enrollment of six students. Service Seminary moved several times, from Service to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania , then to Xenia, Ohio , where it became Xenia Theological Seminary . This occurred in the 1850s and was prompted by a desire to locate nearer to
1296-531: Was the result of the 1958 merger between the PCUSA and the UPCNA to form the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America . Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary began with the founding of Service Seminary (Associate Theological Seminary in the town of Service, Beaver County, Pennsylvania ) in 1792 by the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania. Prior to that time, the Presbytery
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