Southern Presbyterian Church (Australia)
The Southern Presbyterian Church[2] is a small denomination with a community of about 130 persons located exclusively in Tasmania, Australia.[3] It formed in 1986 when two ministers (one of whom died a few months later) and a number of members left the Evangelical Presbyterian Church because of a difference of belief over doctrinal issues.[4]
| Southern Presbyterian Church | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Calvinism |
| Origin | 1986 |
| Separated from | Evangelical Presbyterian Church |
| Congregations | 2 (and 1 preaching place)[1] |
As of 2019, the Southern Presbyterian Church had two congregations: one in Glenorchy and one in Launceston.[3] Public worship is conducted with preaching, prayer, and the unaccompanied singing of Psalms. The Southern Presbyterian Church holds exclusively to the use of the King James Version of the Bible,[5] in public worship, and its supreme standard is the Bible according to the 'Received Text' but, according to Ward and Humphreys, "in other respects are close to the PCEA in orientation"[6] with whom it is exploring closer relations.
Reconciliation with Evangelical Presbyterian Church
In March 2019, a joint meeting with officer bearers of the EPC and the SPC sought to repair damaged relations between the two denominations due to the historic split from decades before. The statement said in part:
We of the EPCA and SPCA, as we consider our two histories as churches, acknowledge before the Lord Jesus, the Head of the Church, that while there were honourable principles and legitimate concerns involved, and while there was a desire on both sides for the good of Christ Jesus’ cause, there was also sin committed by all those involved in the events which led to a separation and alienation of brethren a generation ago.Together we acknowledge that those sad events of yesteryear have harmed the name and cause of Christ Jesus and have hurt and caused to stumble various of His children.
...
We therefore, in the spirit of Christian and brotherly love, jointly publish this statement, and extend the right hand of fellowship to one another, seeking to offer mutual respect and care, and to work together as able, to honour and uphold Christ in our two churches and our future relationship [7]
References
- Southern Presbyterian Church
- Ministryblue: Presbyterian Denominations in Australia, accessed 2010-02-18.
- Tasmania Online: Southern Presbyterian Church, accessed 2010-02-18.
- Brief History of the Southern Presbyterian Church Accessed 3 April 2007.
- A summary of what we are at www.spc.org.au
- Rowland Ward and Robert Humphreys, Religious Bodies in Australia, 3rd edition (Wantirna, Victoria: New Melbourne Press, 1995), 88.
- The Presbyterian Banner, June 2019, page 12