Presbyterian Church of Korea
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox religion The Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK; Korean: Script error: No such module "Lang".; Hanja: Script error: No such module "Lang".Template:Category handler), also known as Yejang (Script error: No such module "Lang".Template:Category handler), is a Protestant denomination based in South Korea that adheres to Calvinist theology and the Westminster Confession of Faith.
The origins of Korean Presbyterianism dates back to the 1880s. Seo Sang-ryun, one of the first Koreans who was converted by Scottish Presbyterian missionaries, returned to Korea from Manchuria and established the Sorae Church in 1884.
The expansion of the Presbyterian mission caused an increase in demand for Korean pastors. In 1907, Presbyterians from the United States, Australia, and Canada established the first theological seminary in Korea, in Pyongyang. The same year, the PCK organized its first presbytery. [1]
Since the 1950s, the PCK has split into many different denominations due to theological and political disputes. As of 2019, there were 286 branches in South Korea with approximately 4 million church attendees,[2] many of which, though separated from the PCK, still use the title "Presbyterian Church of Korea."[3]
History
Early Missionaries
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Calvinism first arrived in Korea in 1865, when pastor Robert Jermain Thomas was captured and martyred during the General Sherman incident.[4] The first Korean Presbyterian church was founded by Seo Sang-ryun, who was converted to Christianity by Scottish pastor John McIntyre in Manchuria,[5] and established in Hwanghae Province in 1884.[6]
Full-scale missions began 20 years later, when Horace Newton Allen of the Northern Presbyterian Church was admitted into the royal court of Joseon as a physician.[7] In 1885, Horace Underwood and Template:Ill arrived and established the Korean mission church for the Northern Presbyterian Church. The Korean edition of the Bible was first translated by John Ross during the 1870s. This edition was first printed and published by the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Scottish Bible Society in 1886.[8]
Subsequently, more Western missionaries arrived in Korea, including Canadian missionary James Scarth Gale and Australian Joseph Henry Davies in 1889, and American missionary Samuel Austin Moffett in 1890. In 1891, female teachers such as Isabella Menzies, Jean Perry and Mary Fawcett arrived from Australia. Dr. James MacKenzie arrived in 1893, and in 1898, Dr. Robert Grierson, pastor W. R. Foote, and Duncan MacRae of the Presbyterian Church in Canada came to serve as missionaries.[9]
McKenzie died after a year and a half while working in evangelism and medical care at Sorae Church, Hwanghae Province. His efforts led to the organization of the Korean mission church for the Presbyterian Church in Canada (Script error: No such module "Lang".Template:Category handler) in Wonsan. In the Southern Presbyterian Church, pastors William D. Reynolds and Lewis B. Tate arrived in 1892 and organized the Korean mission church for the Southern Presbyterian Church (Script error: No such module "Lang".Template:Category handler) in Jeolla Province.[9]
In 1889, the Northern Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church of Victoria created The United Council of Presbyterian Missions (Script error: No such module "Lang".; Script error: No such module "Lang".Template:Category handler), with John W. Heron as chairman, to settle issues over the unification of churches. In 1893, the United Council of Presbyterian Missions became the Council of Missions Holding the Presbyterian Form of Government[10] (Script error: No such module "Lang".Template:Category handler, also known as the Council of Missions). Both councils consisted solely of foreign missionaries.[9]
Birth of the PCK
Elections for the first Korean presbyters for the council began in 1900. Template:Ill (Hwanghae), Kim Chong-sŏp, and I Yŏng-ŭn (both South Pyongan) were elected as elders that year.Template:Efn In 1901, Kil Sŏn-chu and Template:Ill were elected as elders. On September 20 of the same year, three Korean presbyters and six ministers along with 25 missionaries organized the Council of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Chosun)Script error: No such module "Unsubst". (Script error: No such module "Lang".; Script error: No such module "Lang".Template:Category handler) at a missionary council held at the Saemoonan Church in Seoul. Missionary William L. Swallen was inaugurated as the first chairman. However, because the Council of Missions retained jurisdiction over church affairs, the Presbyterian Church of Korea initially functioned only as a fraternal organization. In 1902, Template:Ill was appointed as an elder, and additional elders were elected in 1903.[11]
In 1901, Samuel Moffett established the Pyongyang Theological Seminary and became its first principal. The spread of Presbyterianism was further intensified by the Great Pyongyang Revival of 1907. On June 20, 1907, Kil Sŏn-chu, Yang Chŏn-paek, Template:Ill, Template:Ill, Sŏ Kyŏng-cho, Template:Ill, and Pang Kich'ang became the first graduates of the Pyongyang Theological Seminary. That same year, the United Council decided to appoint a party committee member to oversee church affairs for the five local councils of Pyeongan, Gyeongseong, Jeolla, Gyeongsang, and Hamgyeong.[12]
On September 17, 1907, with the approval of four presbyters from the Mission Council, 33 missionaries and 38 presbyters organized the Presbyterian Church of Korea into an independent church. The five local councils were reorganized into the seven sub-presbyteries (Script error: No such module "Lang".; Script error: No such module "Lang".Template:Category handler)[13] of Pyongbuk, Pyongnam, Hwanghae, Chungcheong, Jeolla, Hamgyong, and Gyeongsang.[12][14] The PCK was also known during this era as the "Independent Council" (Template:Korean/auto). On September 17, 1911, during an assembly at Nammoon Church, Daegu, the Independent Council agreed to create a General Assembly, and converting the seven sub-presbyteries into official presbyteries. On September 1, 1912, the first General Assembly of the PCK took place in Pyongyang.[11][15] In 1916, the Presbytery of Gyeongsang was divided into the presbyteries of Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk, and the presbytery of Pyongseo (west Pyongan) was separated from the presbytery of Pyongbuk.[12]
The Colonial Period
Korean Presbyterians were advised to remain uninvolved in any political cause, even after the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910. As a result, initial relationships between the colonial government and the Presbyterians were peaceful. Missionaries accepted Japanese rule as "the powers that be" and asserted a position of "loyal recognition" of the occupation.Template:Sfn Nevertheless, many Korean Presbyterians were suspected by the colonial government of being political agents and were arrested, often without proper explanation or trial. In one incident, a group of Presbyterians was accused of plotting to assassinate then-Governor-General of Korea Terauchi Masatake in Sonchon. Missionaries were also accused of distributing firearms for the alleged assassination plot.Template:Sfn
The Government-General of Chōsen actively pursued policies that suppressed Christianity. A set of restrictions established in 1915 limited evangelist activities and placed sermons under police scrutiny. The same year, the colonial government further demanded that all schools in Korea discontinue all courses on Bible studies within ten years.[16] Tensions between Christians and the colonial government led many Korean Presbyterians, such as Kil Sŏn-chu, to become closely involved in the March First Movement of 1919.[16][17] Of the Template:Ill of the movement, sixteen were Christians,Template:Sfn and seven were Presbyterians.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
The persecution of Christians intensified as a result of the movement. Presbyterians properties were frequently destroyed by police forces, and many missionaries were placed under scrutiny. By the end of June 1919, 1,461 Presbyterians had been arrested by Japanese police; within less than four months, the total number of Presbyterian arrests increased to 3,804. Forty-one Presbyterian leaders were killed, and twelve churches were destroyed.[18] Horace Underwood made detailed accounts of the Jeam-ni MassacreTemplate:Sfn during a trip to Suwon with his colleagues.[18] The March First Movement did not end in complete vain, however, as it led to the resignation of Governor-General Hasegawa Yoshimichi on August 4, 1919, and the appointment of Saitō Makoto as his successor. Saitō accepted the Korean representatives' demands and agreed to alleviate restrictions on protests and the press.[16] In September, a complaint documenting the requests of the church to the colonial government, which included an end to the ban on Bible study courses, was drafted among six missionary councils. The complaint was submitted to the Government-General, which accepted the requests.[16]
By 1937, the Presbyterian churches were largely independent of financial support from the United States.[19] Presbyterianism in Korea was reconstructed after World War II in 1947, when the church adopted the name Reformed Church in Korea.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Schisms in the 1950s
In the 1950s, the Presbyterian Church of Korea suffered from a series of schisms over issues of theology, ecumenism, and worship.[20]
The first of these divisions was connected to a controversy that began in the 1930s, when Korea was still under Japanese rule. At that time, university students were instructed to bow to the Shinto shrine in worship, which was theologically and politically controversial for Christians. While many complied, some Christians at Pyongyang Theological Seminary who adamantly opposed it, holding that the Bible prohibited such actions. After Korea's liberation from Japanese rule and subsequent division, many northern Koreans relocated to the south. Those who formerly opposed the Shinto shrine worship established a new seminary, Koryo Theological Seminary (now Kosin University) in 1946, and eventually formed a new denomination, Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin) in 1951.[21]
The second division occurred in 1953, when progressives separated to form the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea (KiJang). In the 1970s, the KiJang Presbyterians would produce some of the key leaders of minjung theology, a movement advocating social justice under the dictatorship of Park Chung Hee.[22]
In 1959, at the 44th General Assembly, a third schism divided of the Presbyterian Church of Korea into two equal branches: the Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap) and the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong). The main issue was whether the Church should be a part of the ecumenical organization, the World Council of Churches (WCC). Park Hyun-nyon, president of the Presbyterian Seminary of the General Assembly, led the formation of the evangelical "HapDong" (the union body), whereas those who supported relations with the WCC formed the ecumenical "TongHap" (the united body). Today, TongHap and HapDong represent the largest factions of Korean Presbyterianism.[20]
General assembly
| General assembly |
Date | Host | General Secretary | Note | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1907 | Samuel Austin Moffet | Dongnohoe | |||||
| 2 | 1908 | James Scarth Gale | ||||||
| 3 | 1909 | Horace Grant Underwood | ||||||
| 4 | 1910 | James Scarth Gale | ||||||
| 5 | 1911 | W. D. Reynolds | ||||||
| 1 | September 1–4, 1912 | Pyongyang Theological Seminary | Horace Grant Underwood | General assembly era | ||||
| 2 | September 7–11, 1913 | Soandong Church, Seoul | G. Engel | |||||
| 3 | September 6–9, 1914 | Namsanhyeon Church, Chaeryong | Eugene Bell | |||||
| 4 | September 4–18, 1915 | Seomunbak Church, Jeonju | Kim Pil-su | |||||
| 5 | September 2–6, 1916 | Pyongyang Theological Seminary | Yang Jeon-baek | |||||
| 6 | September 1–6, 1917 | Seungdong Church, Seoul | Han Seok-jin | |||||
| 7 | August 31–September 5, 1918 | Sincheonbuk Church, Sinchon | Kim Seon-du | |||||
| 8 | October 4–9, 1919 | Pyongyang Theological Seminary | Samuel Austin Moffet | |||||
| 9 | October 2–7, 1920 | Andong Church, Seoul | Kim Ik-du | |||||
| 10 | September 10–15, 1921 | Jangdaehyeon Church, Pyongyang | Lee Ki-pung | |||||
| 11 | September 10–15, 1922 | Seungdong Church, Seoul | Kim Seong-taek | |||||
| 12 | September 8–13, 1923 | Sinuiju Church | Ham Tae-yeong | |||||
| 13 | September 13–18, 1924 | Sinchangni Church, Hamhung | Lee Ja-ik | |||||
| 14 | September 12–18, 1925 | Seomunbak Church, Pyongyang | Im Taek-gwon | |||||
| 15 | September 11–17, 1926 | Seomunbak Church, Pyongyang | Kim Seok-chan | |||||
| 16 | September 9–15, 1927 | Gwangseok Church, Wonsan | Kim Yeong-hun | |||||
| 17 | September 7–13, 1928 | Sinjeong Church, Daegu | Yeom Bong-nam | |||||
| 18 | September 6–12, 1929 | Saemunan Church, Seoul | Cha Jae-myeong | |||||
| 19 | September 12–18, 1930 | Seomunbak Church, Pyongyang | Hong Jong-pil | |||||
| 20 | September 11–17, 1931 | Geumgangsan Church | Jang Gyu-myeong | |||||
| 21 | September 9–16, 1932 | Changdong Church, Pyongyang | Namgung Hyeok | |||||
| 22 | September 8–15, 1933 | Seoncheonnam Church, Sonchon | Jang Heung-beom | |||||
| 23 | September 7–14, 1934 | Seomunbak Church, Pyongyang | Lee In-sik | |||||
| 24 | September 6–13, 1935 | Seomunbak Church, Pyongyang | Jeong In-gwa | |||||
| 25 | September 11–19, 1936 | Yangnim Church, Gwangju | Lee Seung-gil | |||||
| 26 | September 10–16, 1937 | Daegu Jeil Church, Daegu | Lee Mun-ju | |||||
| 27 | September 9–15, 1938 | Seomunbak Church, Pyongyang | Hong Taek-gi | |||||
| 28 | September 8–15, 1939 | Sineuiju Jei Church, Sinuiju | Yun Ha-yeong | |||||
| 29 | September 6–13, 1940 | Changdong Church, Pyongyang | Kwak Jin-geun | |||||
| 30 | November 21–26, 1941 | Changdong Church, Pyongyang | Choi Ji-hwa | |||||
| 31 | October 16–20, 1942 | Seomunbak Church, Pyongyang | Kim Eung-sun | 1943–45: Discontinued due to World War II | ||||
| 32 | June 11–14, 1946 | Seungdong Church, Seoul | Bae Eun-hui | South Korea era | ||||
| 33 | April 18–22, 1947 | Daegu Jeil Church, Daegu | Lee Ja-ik | |||||
| 34 | April 20–23, 1948 | Saemunan Church, Seoul | Lee Ja-ik | |||||
| 35 | April 19–23, 1949 | Saemunan Church, Seoul | Choi Jae-hwa | |||||
| 36 | April 21–25, 1950 | Daegu Jeil Church, Daegu | ||||||
| 36 | May 25–29, 1951 | Jungang Church, Busan | Kwon Yeon-ho | |||||
| 37 | April 29–May 2, 1952 | Seomun Church, Daegu | Kim Jae-seok | |||||
| 38 | April 24–28, 1953 | Seomun Church, Daegu | Myeong Sin-hong | |||||
| 39 | April 23–27, 1954 | Jungang Church, Andong | Lee Won-yeong | |||||
| 40 | April 22–26, 1955 | Yeongnak Church, Seoul | Han Gyeong-jik | |||||
| 41 | September 20–25, 1956 | Saemunan Church, Seoul | Lee Dae-yeong | |||||
| 42 | September 19–24, 1957 | Jungang Church, Busan | Jeon Pil-sun | |||||
| 43 | September 25–October 1, 1958 | Yeongnak Church, Seoul | No Jin-hyeon | |||||
| 44 | September 24–29, 1959 | Jungang Church, Daejeon | Schism | |||||
Branches of the PCK
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All of these churches have the same confessional basis the Apostle Creed and the Westminster Confession.
See also
Footnotes
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References
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- ↑ Kenneth Scott Latourette, Christianity in a Revolutionary Age: Vol. 5: The Twentieth century outside Europe (1962) pp 414-5
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Bibliography
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Further reading
- Clark, Donald N. Christianity in Modern Korea (University Press of America, 1986)
- Grayson, James H. Korea—A Religious History (Routledge Curzon, 2002)
- Kang, Wi Jo. Christ and Caesar in Modern Korea: A History of Christianity and Politics ( State University of New York Press, 1997)
- Latourette, Kenneth Scott. Christianity in a Revolutionary Age: Vol. 5: The Twentieth century outside Europe (1962) pp 412–23
- Lee, Timothy S. "A Political Factor in the Rise of Protestantism in Korea: Protestantism and the 1919 March First Movement," Church History 2000. 69#1 pp 116–42. in JSTOR
- Mullins, Mark, and Richard Fox Young, eds. Perspectives on Christianity in Korea and Japan: The Gospel and Culture in East Asia (Edwin Mellen, 1995)
- Park, Chung-shin. Protestantism and Politics in Korea (U. of Washington Press, 2003)
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