| Presbyterian Church in Ireland | |
|---|---|
 Modern logo of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Presbyterian |
| Theology | Reformed |
| Polity | Presbyterian |
| Moderator | Richard Murray[1] |
| Associations | World Communion of Reformed Churches |
| Region | Ireland |
| Origin | 1610 |
| Branched from | Church of Scotland |
| Congregations | 519 |
| Members | 200,000[2] |
| Official website | www |
ThePresbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI;Irish:Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn;Ulster-Scots:Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann)[3][4] is the largestPresbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largestProtestant denomination inNorthern Ireland. Like mostChristian churches in Ireland, it is organised on an all-island basis, in both Northern Ireland and theRepublic of Ireland. The church has approximately 210,000 members.
The Church has a membership of approximately 210,000 people in 534congregations in 403 charges across bothNorthern Ireland and theRepublic of Ireland.[5] About 96% of the membership is in Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest church in Northern Ireland after theCatholic Church, and the second-largestProtestant denomination in the Republic, after theChurch of Ireland. All the congregations of the church are represented up to theGeneral Assembly (the church's government).
Presbyterianism in Ireland dates from the time of thePlantation of Ulster in 1610. During the reign ofJames VI of Scotland, a large number of Scottish Presbyterians emigrated to Ireland, chiefly toUlster. The first move away from theChurch of Scotland, of which the Presbyterians in Ireland were part, saw the creation of thefirst presbytery in Ulster in 1642 by chaplains of a ScottishCovenanter army which had arrived to protect the mostly Protestant British (Scottish and English) settlers in Ulster and to crush theIrish Rebellion of 1641 threatening these settlers. It succeeded in protecting the settlers but failed abysmally to crush the rebellion. Under the more secure protection ofCromwell congregations multiplied and new presbyteries were formed. However, after the Restoration, nonconforming ministers were removed from parishes of theEstablished Church, but no matter the opinions of the king on religion, the Irish administration could not afford to alienate such a substantial Protestant population and Presbyterianism was allowed to continue in the country, with the stipends of ministers paid through theregium donum – literally 'the King's gift'.
William III rewarded Presbyterian support againstJames II (James VII of Scotland) with an increase in theregium donum. From the 1690s, Presbyterian congregations, now organised in theSynod of Ulster, enjoyed practical freedom of religion, confirmed by theToleration Act 1719. However, their members remained very conscious both of continuing legal disabilities under thepenal laws and of economic hardship as many were tenant farmers and objected to the payment of tithes to support theChurch of Ireland. Throughout the eighteenth century, many Presbyterians were involved in movements for reform which, carried by enthusiasm for the American and French revolutions, culminated with their prominent involvement in theUnited Irishmen.[6] Among the ordained ministers publicly associated with the republican society wereThomas Ledlie Birch,William Steel Dickson, William Porter,William Sinclair andDavid Bailie Warden.[7]
The eighteenth century saw significant tensions within the Synod of Ulster, which was divided between theOld Lights and the New Lights. The Old Lights were conservativeCalvinists who believed that ministers and ordinands shouldsubscribe to theWestminster Confession of Faith. The New Lights were more liberal and were unhappy with the Westminster Confession and did not require ministers to subscribe to it. The New Lights dominated the Synod of Ulster during the eighteenth century, allowing the more conservativeScottish Presbyterian dissenters,Seceders andCovenanters to establish a strong presence in Ulster.[8][clarification needed]
In the nineteenth century, a belief that some of those who did notsubscribe to the Westminster Confession were in factArian provoked a new phase of the conflict.[9] This ended when seventeen ministers opposed to subscription seceded with their congregations to form the Remonstrant Synod. This led to the restoration of obligatory subscription to the Westminster Confession within the Synod of Ulster and facilitated union with the Seceders in 1840 to create the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, whose first moderator wasSamuel Hanna. The united church was active in missionary activity both at home and abroad, particularly benefitting from the evangelicalUlster Revival of 1859.[10]
The headquarters of the church are at Assembly Buildings, Fisherwick Place, Belfast, which were extensively renovated as part of a multimillion-pound project in 2010–2012. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, a founding member of theWorld Alliance of Reformed Churches, has 537congregations in19 presbyteries across Ireland. The church's two nineteenth-century theological colleges,Magee College (Derry) and Assembly's College (Belfast), merged in 1978 to formUnion Theological College in Belfast.[11] Union offers post-graduate education to the denomination's candidates for the full-time ministry.
Until 2007 the church was connected to acredit union,Presbyterian Mutual, that collapsed with the savings of almost 10,000 members, almost all of whom were also members of the church.[12]
The PCI is involved in education, evangelism, social service and mission in a number of areas around the world:[13]
Apart from the seats for worshippers, the inside of a Presbyterian church building (often called the meeting house) is dominated by four items of furniture.
Presbyterianism is confessionally tied to what is known as the 'regulative principle of worship' which teaches that only that which is commanded in scripture should be done in worship. According to chapter 21 of theWestminster Confession of Faith a service of worship includes, reading the bible, asermon on a selected passage or passages, (this being the central element in the Presbyterian Church's services), along withprayer andsinging. The order all these things take place in the service varies from congregation to congregation.
In recent years, the singing of hymns has almost exclusively taken over from what was usual in the past, which was the singing ofpsalms andparaphrases. At the turn of the last century, many Irish presbyterian congregations also moved from singing without being accompanied by musical instruments to the use of them and now most if not all Presbyterian churches use a variety of instruments but nearly always a piano or guitar, many still have a traditional organ as well.
Along with these aspects, many churches will also have a section of public announcements, a time to give money to the church, and often, a talk designed especially for children. Other elements found less regularly are, a time of explicit doctrinal teaching using one of the church'stwo catechisms or confession of faith, the celebration of one or both of the churchestwo sacraments baptism and the Lord's supper, an interview of some person in aParachurch organization or who does some role in the church, usually forfree but sometimes paid, a vow ceremony whereby teenagers or adults become communicant members and very rarely ordinations of elders or ministers.
The motto of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland isArdens sed Virens– "burning but flourishing". It is usually seen alongside theBurning Bush, the church's symbol. A burning bush was included in the more modern logo (top).
According to the Bible, inExodus 3:2,Moses heard the voice of God coming from a burning bush that was not consumed by fire. This occurred after he had to flee Egypt, and was when he was called to go and demand the release of theIsraelites.
The Presbyterian Church is active in social issues, and is conservative in regards to LGBT rights and abortion.
The church ordains women as ruling elders and ministers of word and sacrament.[14]
On life issues, the denomination opposes abortion except for when the woman's life is in danger,[15] and holds "total opposition" to the liberalisation of Northern Ireland's abortion laws.[16] The denomination quoted itself as being "deeply disappointed" at the passing of theNorthern Ireland (Executive Formation) Act 2019.[17]
In 2021 the General Assembly agreed to ‘…direct the Trustees to employ a 'divest and engage' strategy in relation to companies producing or usingfossil fuels, thereby divesting from those that derive more that 10% of their turnover from oil and gas extraction (the coal, oil and gas majors), and engaging with companies that derive more than 10% of their turnover from the use of fossil fuels encouraging them to make clear commitments to the targets for global heating and carbon emission reduction as set out in the COP 21 Paris Agreement; reporting back to the 2022 General Assembly.'[18]
On the issue of dealing with the legacy of the Troubles, the Church's Council for Public Affairs has commented on "the right of victims and survivors to seek due process and justice in the courts. The Council’s report expressed its 'deep disquiet at the current proposals' stating that, 'whilst the Stormont House Agreement (SHA) was not perfect, it did set out a broader, four-strand framework to address legacy issues. We are on public record stating our support for all four key principles outlined in the SHA, especially the right of victims and survivors to seek due process and justice in the courts."[19]
The Church is active in social work and provides services to those with addictions and offending behaviours, and who require supported housing through specialist facilities.[20]
Along with the other major Protestant denominations (Church of Ireland and Methodist Church in Ireland), the Church is heavily involved in education. The three denominations nominate over 1,800 governors to serve on the boards of controlled schools in Northern Ireland. Controlled schools are 'church-related schools' because in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, the Protestant Churches transferred their school buildings, pupils and staff into state control (hence the terms 'transferor' and 'controlled') on the understanding that the Christian ethos of these schools would be maintained in perpetuity.[21]
In May 2006, the church's press officer stated that current regulations did not prohibit blessing same-sex relationships.[22] However, in June 2006, the General Assembly (GA) voted to ban its ministers from blessing same-sex relationships, clarifying the previous ambiguity.[23] In 2015, the church voiced its opposition to the legalisation of same-sex marriage.[24]
In June 2018, the General Assembly held a debate "the specific theological question of what constitutes a credible profession of faith and how it is to be understood and applied in [the] particular pastoral circumstances" of same-sex couples. The report from the Doctrine Committee stated,
"In light of our understanding of Scripture and the Church’s understanding of a credible profession of faith, it is clear that same sex couples are not eligible for communicant membership, nor are they qualified to receive baptism for their children. We believe that their outward conduct and lifestyle is at variance with a life of obedience to Christ."[25]
The Assembly subsequently agreed with this report, and voted 'That appropriate training be offered to Kirk Sessions on the theology and practice of the Church's understanding of 'a credible profession of faith' and the pastoral guidelines on homosexuality.'
The outcome of this debate was controversial among the church's members,[26][27] and several ministers spoke out against the adoption of any formal rules.[28][29] It also led to several resignations; notable Presbyterian elder,Lord Alderdice, announced his resignation in protest,[30] and later wrote a book on the subject of tolerance.[31] When a minister of Whitehead Presbyterian, Ian Carton, resigned three years later, he partially attributed his decision to the 2018 decision of the General Assembly.[32] Anopen letter was published by newspapers from 232 members of the church, including many ministers, elders, and one former Moderator of the Church Assembly,[33][34] entitled "A Cry from the Heart",[35] addressing the "profound sense of hurt" the church had inflicted on its LGBT members.[36][37][38]
In the same year, the church voted to loosen its ties with the Church of Scotland with a vote of 255 to 171, after that church took steps towards letting its ministers preside at same-sex marriages.[39][40] This followed several years of the Assembly's decision to not have the Moderator attend the Church of Scotland's meetings, in protest of that church's steps towards liberalisation.[41]
In September 2019 the church dismissed a Dublin-based elder, Steven Smyrl, after he had contracted a same-sex civil marriage in November 2018, citing that this was "not compatible" with the church's ordained leadership.[42][43][44] This led to a bitter and divisive investigation,[45] which in December 2021 found that the minister of Christ Church, Sandymount, Rev Katherine Meyer, had breached the Church’s laws and teachings on sexuality, had refused to recant her decision to support the elder,[46] and that her church council had coopted the dismissed elder back onto its membership and then refused the Presbytery's demand to reverse that action.[46][47][48][49] The response from the media and several congregations was highly critical, with an editorial inThe Irish Times describing the church as being on "the road to irrelevance".[50][51] In 2024 Katherine Meyer was ruled by a church court, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Judicial Commission, to have failed to "yield submission in the Lord to the courts of the Church"; she decided to resign from her ministry.[52]
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