Presbyterian Church of Korea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Presbyterian Church of Korea | |
|---|---|
| Hangul: |
대한예수교장로회총회
|
| Hanja: |
大韓--敎長老會總會
|
| Revised Romanization: | Daehan Yesugyo Jangrohoe Chonghoe |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Taehan Yesugyo Changnohoe Ch'onghoe |
The Presbyterian Church of Korea or PCK is a mainline Protestant denomination based in South Korea and currently has the largest membership of any Presbyterian denomination in the world. It is affiliated with its daughter denomination, the Korean Presbyterian Church in America (KPCA). The church, while primarily made up of Korean-speakers, welcomes people of all nationalities.
The first Korean Presbyterian minister was Suh Sang-yoon, who founded a church in Hwanghae province in 1884. Shortly thereafter, several foreign Presbyterian missionaries arrived on the peninsula, including Horace Allen, Horace G. Underwood, and Henry Davies.
Like other Christian sects, the Korean Presbyterians were closely involved in the peaceful March first movement for Korean independence, in 1919.
In the 1950s, the PCK was cut off from any remaining believers in North Korea, and three schisms occurred. In the first of these, in 1952, the Gosin group split off. In the second in 1953, the "Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea" separated from the PCK. In the third, and thus far final, schism, the Hapdong faction separated in 1959.
