What We Believe
Historical Roots of Presbyterianism

While Presbyterians see themselves connected with the whole of Christian history, the particular community of faith emerged from the Protestant Reformation and the theological genius of John Calvin.

The term "Protestant Reformation" is a summary of a series of historical events that occurred in the 1500s, events preceded by several centuries of reform efforts within the Roman Church. These events center around four major reform movements: the Anabaptists, Lutherans, Anglicans, and the Reformed Tradition.

Lutheranism was formed out of the life and work of Martin Luther (1483-1546) who led the Protestant Reformation in Germany. In October 1517 he issued his Ninety-Five Theses against the abuse of indulgences. His Small Catechism, written in 1529, is a basic statement of faith for all Lutherans. One of Luther's significant contributions to all of Christianity is his emphasis on singing hymns in worship, many of which he authored.

Anglicanism takes its historical root in an essentially political battle between the papacy and the English King, Henry VIII (1491-1547). The intrigue of Henry's reign and the matter of his several wives is well known. The result of it all being that in 1534 Henry declared himself head of the Church of England in direct defiance of the papacy. Henry's concerns were more secular than theological. He was never truly "Protestant", holding on to the essentials of Roman Catholicism. His efforts in church affairs were clearly aimed at strengthening England's position in the power structure of Europe; consequently, the Episcopal Church, which is Anglican, is much closer in theology, government and practice to the Roman Church than to the Protestant Church with which it is usually associated.

The term "Anabaptist" refers to a collection of the most radical groups within the Protestant Reformation. The term literally means "re-baptizers" a reference applied by their opponents because Anabaptists did not believe in baptizing infants and so insisted on the re-baptism of all believers. There are four general categories of Anabaptists: the main liners, those who formed communities to live a strict biblical life; the spiritualists, those who appealed to the Holy Spirit more than the Bible; the rationalists, those who read the Bible in the light of reason and thus rejected many traditional beliefs; and the revolutionaries, those who proposed bringing in the Kingdom of God by the sword. These groups were heavily persecuted and except for the Mennonites have few descendants.

The greatest intellectual genius of the Protestant Reformation was John Calvin (1509-1564). His work, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, written in 1536, systematically presents a Protestant response to Roman Catholic doctrine and formed the theological basis for the Reformed Tradition. It is a work generally viewed as one of the great classics of Christian history.

Calvin, trained as a lawyer and theologian, centered his activity in Geneva where he served as a teacher, pastor, and mayor of the city. One of the many people influenced by Calvin while in Geneva was a Scotsman named John Knox (1513-1572). Through a series of violent events and imprisonment on a gallery ship, it was Knox who would lead the movement forcing the abdication of the Roman Catholic monarch, Mary, Queen of Scotland, in 1567. Knox played a substantial role in authoring the Scot's Confession, one of the important Reformation confessions of faith.

Presbyterians and Puritans, with a strong Scot's influence, came to power in England in the 1640's and through the Westminster Assembly, which met from 1643 to 1658 produced the great Westminster Confession of Faith. This linkage of Presbyterians and Puritans would have profound consequences in America.

Presbyterianism came to America and Jamestown in 1611 in the person of the Rev. Alexander Whittaker. Presbyterian churches were also organized in Connecticut (1630), New York (1640), and throughout New Jersey (1643-1692). In New England the Puritans carried the essentials of Calvinism.

It was not until 1683 and the arrival of the Rev. Francis Makemie (1658-1708) in Maryland that organized in Philadelphia, the first Synod in the same city in 1717, and the General Assembly in 1789.

Presbyterians played a major role in developing the intellectual and political climate that brought about the American Revolution and the American form of government. John Witherspoon (1723-94), a Presbyterian minister, was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. Throughout most of the first one hundred years of American life the Presbyterians remained united and played the dominant religious role in shaping American life.

In the great turmoil of the Civil War Presbyterians were divided into the what would become known as the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (north) and the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. in 1983 resulted in the reuniting of these two bodies into the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).