North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council
The North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) is an association of several Presbyterian and Reformed churches in the United States and Canada.[1] The Council meets annually.
It lists biblical inerrancy as its basis, along with the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Belgic Confession, the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dordt.
The 34th Meeting was hosted by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Taylors, South Carolina, on November 11 and 12, 2008. The 35th Meeting was hosted by the Heritage Reformed Congregations at Puritan Reformed Seminary in Grand Rapids Michigan, on November 17 and 18, 2009. The 40th Meeting was hosted by the Canadian Reformed Churches at Grassie Ontario, on November 11-13, 2014.
History and Basis
The first NAPARC meeting was held in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania in the fall of 1975, and had the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), the Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRCNA), the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod as its founding members.[2] In time, NAPARC would grow to include 12 Continental Reformed and Presbyterian denominations.
In 1997, the membership of the Christian Reformed Church was suspended, largely on the basis of its 1995 decision to open the offices of elder and minister of word and sacrament to women.[3]
The Constitution of NAPARC states that the Basis of the Council is "Confessing Jesus Christ as only Savior and Sovereign Lord over all of life, we affirm the basis of the fellowship of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches to be full commitment to the Bible in its entirety as the Word of God written, without error in all its parts and to its teaching as set forth in the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dordt, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms. That the adopted basis of fellowship be regarded as warrant for the establishment of a formal relationship of the nature of a council, that is, a fellowship that enables the constituent churches to advise, counsel, and cooperate in various matters with one another and hold out before each other the desirability and need for organic union of churches that are of like faith and practice."
Purpose and function
- Facilitate discussion and consultation between member bodies on those issues and problems which divide them as well as on those which they face in common and by the sharing of insights "communicate advantages to one another" (Institutes IV, 2,1).
- Promote the appointment of joint committees to study matters of common interest and concern.
- Exercise mutual concern in the perpetuation, retention, and propagation of the Reformed faith.
- Promote co-operation wherever possible and feasible on the local and denominational level in such areas as missions, relief efforts, Christian schools, and church education.
Member denominations
| Denomination | Number of congregations | Number of members |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church[5] | 296 | 39,681 |
| Canadian and American Reformed Churches[6] | 54 | 17,093 |
| L'Église réformée du Québec (ERQ), or "Reformed Church of Quebec" (RCQ) in English | 5[7] | ? |
| Free Reformed Churches of North America[8] | 21 | 4,689 |
| Heritage Reformed Congregations | 11 | approx. 2,000[9] |
| Korean-American Presbyterian Church | 340 | 33,000 |
| Orthodox Presbyterian Church[10] | 275 | 30,279 |
| Presbyterian Church in America[11] | 1,777 | 364,014 |
| Reformed Church in the United States[12] | 45 | 2,940 |
| Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America[13] | 79 | 6,572 |
| United Reformed Churches in North America[14] | 106 | 22,495 |
| Presbyterian Reformed Church[15] | 6 | ? |
| Membership pending | ||
| Korean Presbyterian Church in America |
References
- ↑ "Links | Aisquith Presbyterian Church". Aisquith Presbyterian Church. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ↑ "The Constituting Meeting of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC)" accessed June 21st, 2013 http://www.naparc.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Minutes-of-the-1st-1975-Meeting-of-NAPARC.pdf
- ↑ "NAPARC Votes, 6-1, to Suspend the Christian Reformed Church" accessed June 20th, 2013 http://www.presbyteriannews.org/volumes/v4/1/n-crc.htm
- ↑ "Member Churches -NAPARC". North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ↑ "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches". The National Council of Churches. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ↑ J. Visscher (ed.), Yearbook Anno Domini 2010 Canadian and American Reformed Churches (Winnipeg: Premier Printing, 2010).
- ↑ http://www.erq.qc.ca/english/ourchurches.html Retrieved December 21, 2012.
- ↑ "2012 Yearbook of the Free Reformed Churches of North America."
- ↑ http://heritagereformed.com/about/about-page-1
- ↑ "2012 General Assembly Report".
- ↑ http://theaquilareport.com/stated-clerks-summary-of-the-actions-of-the-41st-general-assembly-of-the-pca/
- ↑ "Abstract of the Minutes of the 266th Synod" (PDF). pp. 64–68. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ↑ Minutes of Synod and Yearbook of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America 2008. Pittsburgh: Crown and Covenant, 2009, 62.
- ↑ Bill Konynenbelt. "Directory of the United Reformed Churches in North America" (PDF). United Reformed Churches in North America. p. 3. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ↑ Presbyterian Reformed Church (2012), Congregations, retrieved 2012-11-13
External links
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