The Free Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination founded and moderated by the cleric and politician, Ian Paisley¹. Most of its membership live in Ulster. Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Statistics Area: 24,481 Population (estimate) 1,931,981 Ulster (Irish: Cúige Uladh, IPA: ) forms one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland. ...

Founding

The Free Presbyterian Church began in March 17, 1951 (St Patrick's Day), as the result of a conflict between the local Lissara Presbyterian congregation in Crossgar, County Down, Northern Ireland and the Down Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... St. ... Crossgar is a small village approx 15 miles south of Belfast in Northern Ireland. ... County Down, (An Dún in Irish) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, covering an area of 2,448 km² (945 square miles). ... Dieu et mon droit (motto) (French for God and my right)2 Northern Irelands location within the UK Official Languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP Area  - Total Ranked 4th UK 13,843...

The Down Presbytery at a presbytery meeting on January 8, 1951 banned the elders of the local congregation from using the church hall for a Gospel mission but the date when the Lissara elders were informed of this is disputed. The Presbytery met with the Lissara Session ninety minutes before the mission was due to begin on February 3 with an "Opening Witness March" and when two elders refused to accept the Presbytery decision they were immediately suspended. Rather than give in to the presbytery, 5 of the 7 session members, all the Sunday School teachers and 60 members of the congregation withdrew from the Down Presbytery and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Modern logo of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (or PCI) has a membership of 300,000 people in 650 congregations across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, though the bulk of the membership is in Northern Ireland. ...

The elders felt the denomination was inconsistent in allowing dances and parties to be held in the church halls, while at the same time refusing a Gospel mission. The Free Presbyterian Manifesto published in the lead up to the founding of the new church also mentioned issues such as the failure of the 1927 heresy trial to unseat Professor Davey, membership of the World Council of Churches, and poll irregularities for the election of elders as reasons for the secession (Moore and Dick, 26-30). In that year, under the leadership of Paisley, four congregations went together to form the Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster.

One of the inaugural elders of the new church George Gibson was subsequently expelled for his views on the doctrines of Holiness and subsequently re-joined the Lissara Presbyterian church in 1958. He had been the first secretary of the new Church, had served as the architect for the first purpose built church building in the new denomination and his office had been used as the registered offices of the denomination (Moore and Dick, 151-152).

Doctrine

Doctrinally, the church describes itself as fundamentalist, evangelical, and separatist. Baptism and the Lord's supper are recognized as sacraments of the Free Presbyterian Church. Members are allowed to determine the proper mode (dipping, pouring, sprinkling) and subjects (infants, adult believers) that they prefer, but the church will not sanction baptismal regeneration. The Lord's supper is observed monthly, unless a local congregation prefers a more frequent observance. Alongside the Free Presbyterian Articles of Faith, the Westminster Standards are considered doctrinal standards subordinate to the Bible. On account of their additional adherence to the Articles of Faith, and because of their baptismal views, some regard the church as only nominally Presbyterian, and actually nearer to the Baptist Church, and more nearly allied to modern Fundamentalist Christianity than to the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition. This article concerns the self-labeled Fundamentalist Movement in Protestant Christianity. ... Baptism in early Christian art. ... The Lords Supper is a variation of the name and the service of The Last Supper or Eucharist. ... The Westminster Standards are Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and the Westminster Larger Catechism, referred to collectively. ... Baptist churches are part of a Christian movement often regarded as an evangelical, protestant denomination. ... This article concerns the self-labeled Fundamentalist Movement in Protestant Christianity. ...

For many outside the church, political and religious opposition to the Roman Catholic Church, construed by the Free Presbyterians as Protestant reformation principles, represents the single most distinctive characteristic of this denomination, not least because this is the single most distinctive characteristic of the Rev Ian Paisley's own theological outlook. Catholic Church redirects here. ...

Churches worldwide

From four churches in 1951, the denomination has grown to about 60 congregations in Northern Ireland, and a total of about 100 through the world, including England, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, and the United States. According to the 2001 Northern Ireland census, it has around 12,000 members in that country. Missionaries are currently (2004) in India, Jamaica, Kenya, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, the Philippines and Germany. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ...

The Church currently operates the Whitefield College Of The Bible in Banbridge, County Down, and the Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina, USA. It organises protests against Belfast's annual gay pride parade. Whitefield College of the Bible is a theological college operated by the Free Presbyterian Church, located in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Theological school of The Free Presbyterian Church of North America. ... Greenvilles skyline from the south Greenville is the county seat of and largest city in Greenville CountyGR6 South Carolina, United States. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Six color rainbow gay pride flag flying over Castro Street, San Francisco, June 2005 The gay pride or simply pride campaign of the gay rights movement has three main premises: that people should be proud of what they are, that sexual diversity is a gift, and that sexual orientation and...

Books

Glynn Moore and Sharon Dick The History of Crossgar Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, A New Beginning ..(Crossgar, Co. Down: Crossgar Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, 2001) ISBN 1840301163

See also

• Religion in the United Kingdom
• Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland a different denomination, begun in 1893 (a paragraph of comparison between the two is included on the page about the Scottish denomination).

St Pauls Cathedral The United Kingdom is a traditionally Christian state, with two of the four home nations having official faiths: Anglicanism, in the form of the Church of England, is the established church in England. ... St. ...

External links

• Official Web Site
• Calvary Free Presbyterian Church
• Calvary Free Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Free Presbyterian Audio
• Free Presbyterian Youth Council
• Geneva Reformed Seminary
• Let The Bible Speak
• Burning Bush
• European Institute Of Protestant Studies
• Sermon Audio
• :Lisburn Free Presbyterian Church

Footnote

• 1. As well as leader in the founding of the Free Presbyterian Church, pastor, and evangelist, Ian Richard Kyle Paisley (b. 1926-) also founded the DUP - Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland.