| Presbyterian Church of Brazil | |
| Classification | Protestant |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Evangelical Calvinist |
| Polity | Presbyterian |
| Moderator | The Rev. Roberto Brasileiro Moderator of the General Assembly |
| Associations | World Reformed Fellowship |
| Geographical areas | Brazil |
| Founder | The Rev. Ashbel Green Simonton |
| Origin | August 12th, 1859 Rio de Janeiro |
| Branched from | Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and Presbyterian Church in the United States |
| Separations | Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil; Fundamentalist Presbyterian Church of Brazil; United Presbyterian Church of Brazil |
| Congregations | 4,212 |
| Members | 788.553 |
The Presbyterian Church of Brazil (Portuguese: Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil, or IPB) is an Evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in Brazil. Part of the Reformed family of Protestantism, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, having an estimate 788.553 members, 3,162 ordained ministers and 4,212 churches.[1] It is also the only Presbyterian denomination in Brazil present in all 26 States and the Federal District. It was founded by the American missionary Rev. Ashbel Green Simonton, who also oversaw the formal organization of the first congregation (Presbyterian Church of Rio de Janeiro) and the first Presbytery (Presbytery of Rio de Janeiro). Although the Presbyterian Church of Rio de Janeiro was only formally organized in January 1863, and the Brazilian church only left the jusrisdiction of the joint missions board of the American churches in 1888, when the Synod was formed, the denomination considers the date of Simonton's arrival in Brazil, August 12, 1859, as its foundation date.[2]
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Brazilian Presbyterianism owes its origin largely to the efforts of Rev. Ashbel Green Simonton (1833–1867). Born in West Hanover, Pennsylvania, he studied in New Jersey and initially considered becoming a professor, or a lawyer. Due to the influence of a religious revival in 1855, however, he entered Princeton Theological Seminary. A sermon preached by Professor Charles Hodge made him consider becoming a missionary, and three years later he volunteered to PCUSA's Missions Board, naming Brazil as his preferred destination. Two months after being ordained, he embarked to Brazil, where he arrived on August 12, 1859, at the age of 26. In April 1860, Simonton celebrated his first service in Portuguese. In January 1862, the first converts professed their faith and the Presbyterian Church of Rio de Janeiro was formally organized. He also founded the first Protestant Brazilian newspaper (Imprensa Evangélica, 1864) and oversaw the creation of the first Presbytery (Presbytery of Rio de Janeiro, 1865) and Seminary (1867). Simonton died of yellow fever at age 34, in 1867.[3]
Other missionaries assisted Simonton in the early years of the Brazilian mission: Rev. Alexander Latimer Blackford, who oversaw the creation of the churches in São Paulo and Brotas; Rev. Francis J. C. Schneider, who preached among German immigrants in Rio Claro, taught at the Rio de Janeiro Seminary and was also a missionary at the State of Bahia; and Rev. George W. Chamberlain, who remained at São Paulo. Only four students graduated at the Rio de Janeiro Seminary, and were very effective ministers: Revs. Antônio Bandeira Trajano, Miguel Gonçalves Torres, Modesto Perestrelo Barros de Carvalhosa and Antônio Pedro de Cerqueira Leite. The only other churches created in this first decade were the ones in Lorena, Borda da Mata, Pouso Alegre and Sorocaba, most of these due to the efforts of Rev. José Manoel da Conceição (1822–1873), former Roman Catholic priest and the first Brazilian to be ordained a Protestant minister (1865).[3]
In 1869, the first missionaries from PCUS, the southern-based Presbyterian Church in the United States, arrived in Brazil: Revs. George Nash Morton and Edward Lane, who settled in Campinas, where many American expatriates had immigrated to during the American Civil War. The church in Campinas, and also the famous, albeit short-lived International College, were founded in 1870. The PCUS missionaries pioneered the preaching of the Reformed faith in the Mogiana region, western Minas Gerais, the Triângulo Mineiro and southern Goiás, mostly due to the tireless efforts of Rev. John Boyle. PCUS missionaries were also the first to preach the Reformed faith in northeastern and northern Brazil (from Alagoas up to Amazonas). Meanwhile, the PCUSA missionaries extended their reach to Bahia and Sergipe. The church of Rio de Janeiro consecrated its first sanctuary in 1874, and a congregation in Nova Friburgo, a Swiss and German immigrant enclave, was founded. New congregations were also established in the States of São Paulo, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, and, in the city of São Paulo, the American School was founded.[4]
In September 1888, the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil was formally created, and thus the Church became autonomous from both American churches. The Synod comprised three presbyteries (Rio de Janeiro, Campinas-Oeste de Minas and Pernambuco), 20 missionaries, 12 native ministers and about 60 churches. Veteran Rev. A. L. Blackford was its first Moderator. The Synod created the Presbyterian Seminary, elected its first two professors and divided the Campinas-Oeste de Minas Presbytery in two: São Paulo and Minas.[5]
The church enjoyed a major expansion during the last years of the 19th century, with many new missionaries, Brazilian ministers, churches and schools. However, a crisis halted this progress. The Synod and the New York Missions Board had different priorities; whilst the former wanted more resources for the evangelistic work and the installation of the Seminary, the latter preferred an emphasis on education, especially through Mackenzie College. At the same time there was some attrition between Rev. Eduardo Carlos Pereira and the Schoolmasters of Mackenzie College, Horace M. Lane and William A. Waddell.[5]
Rev. Eduardo C. Pereira adopted some radical postures, losing even the support of many of his Brazilian colleagues. A newspaper battle ensued, between Pereira's O Estandarte and Álvaro Reis's O Puritano. In 1900 the United Presbyterian Church of São Paulo was formed, consisting mostly of people who left Pereira's church. By the same time, a new problem made matters even more complicated: the Freemasonry controversy.[5]
In March 1902, Pereira began divulging his five-point Platform on the missionary, educational and Masonic matters.[6] After an year of heated argument, the crisis came to its closure on July 31, 1903, during the Synod meeting. After having his proposals rejected, Pereira and his colleagues withdrew from the Synod and founded the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil.[5]
General rules regarding the church's public worship practices are laid in the Principles of Liturgy (PL), which stand as a Directory of Worship. Articles 7 and 8 of the PL read:
The Constitution of the Church[8] states that overseeing the liturgy and worship practices of the local congregation is the responsibility and private prerogative of the Minister of Word and Sacraments, who is free to arrange the elements of the service as he deems more edifying to the congregation, so long as worship practices don't come into conflict with the church's doctrinal standards.
In a short essay, Rev. Christian S. Bittencourt, former Professor of Theology of Worship at the Rio de Janeiro Presbyterian Theological Seminary, has stated that there are at least four distinct liturgical groups in Brazilian Presbyterianism: Old-school Conservatives, Evangelical Charismatics, Ultra-puritans and Neo-orthodox Conservatives.[9]
The IPB has no official liturgy akin to PC(U.S.A.)'s Book of Common Worship. In more solemn occasions, such as weddings and funerals, when ministers of all four liturgical groups find it necessary to use a set liturgy, they usually employ one of three resources: