History of the Standards

The first known organized congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America was that of Middle Octorara, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (1738). The Reformed Presbytery was constituted in 1774 by ministers sent for that purpose: John Cuthbertson, who came from Scotland in 1752 and Matthew Linn and Alexander Dobbin, who came from Ireland in 1774, it was dissolved in 1782, the Reformed Presbytery of the United States of North America was reconstituted in 1798, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Synod was constituted in 1809.

The first extant record of Church Standards is a reference in 1802 to an earlier decision “to display a judicial testimony for truth and against error.” In 1804 Presbytery ordered the preparation of a three-fold Testimony, Historical, Declaratory, and Argumentative. In 1806 Presbytery adopted the Historical View, with a Preface, and the Declaration and Testimony.

In 1834 a continuation of the Historical View through 1833 was approved. This document was never included with the standards named in the Terms of Communion. A complete revision of it, continuing the history to the time of its revision and written especially for young people, was authorized in 1921, and published in booklet form in 1929, was entitled “A Brief History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.”

The Argumentative Testimony was designed to examine the various systems of doctrine considered hostile to the Reformation and to warn against them individually. At least four chapters were prepared in overture by 1841. In 1845 the plan of work was changed. No final action was ever taken.

The Declaration and Testimony was amended in 1823 by the addition of a chapter on Adoption, with its proof texts added in 1834. In 1861 a section was added on Secret Associations (chap. 22.5 and error 7) and one on Slavery (29.4 and errors 7 and 10). In 1883 a section on Temperance was added (22.6 and error 9). These sections confirmed officially in permanent form positions long held by the church. (Secrecy—from the beginning, as was stated by Synod in 1821. Slavery—errors 8 and 9 were in the original Testimony. Temperance—a cumulative witness, recorded from 1801 on). In 1928 chapters 29 and 30 were revised.

In 1807 Presbytery adopted revisions of the Terms of Communion and the Formula of Queries. The original Terms and Queries, of which there is no record extant, evidently were those of the Presbyteries in Scotland and Ireland (for these, see Matthew Hutchison’s The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland: Its Origin and History, p. 213). In the Terms and Queries now adopted is found the only extant record of the place occupied as subordinate standards by the Westminster documents—Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms, Form of Church Government, and Directory for Worship—and by the National Covenant of Scotland and the Solemn League and Covenant. The Westminster standards were approved “as they were received by the Church of Scotland.” The reference is to the Acts of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1647 and 1648 approving the documents (see regular editions of these standards). The Church made two reservations regarding the Confession of Faith, the first being the lack of mention of the different ecclesiastical officers, and the second being strictures on Chapter 31.2 and its teaching on the relation of magistrates to the Church. Reservations were made in adopting the Directory for Worship, concerning the observance of the Lord’s Supper, as well as to particular items of order and practice appointed by the Church. Reservations were made in adopting the Form of Government concerning the office of doctor or teacher, and concerning the relations of presbyteries and people in the calling of ministers. These points are covered by declarations in our Synod’s standards. The Terms were amended in 1823 by the substitution of the name of the Synod. In 1841 the second statement of the First Term was restored, after years of omission in printed copies. In 1878 the Fourth Term was amended to include the Covenant of 1871. In 1938 a complete revision was adopted, and in 1948 the new Fourth Term was amended to fit the revised standards. In connection with the revision of 1938 a Covenant of Church Membership was adopted. The Queries were revised in 1939, to conform to the revised Terms.

In 1802 Presbytery appointed a minister to prepare a Form of Covenant, “containing the spirit of the National and Solemn League.” Various forms were prepared in later years, but none was adopted until the one solemnly subscribed by Synod in 1871, and by the several congregations. Fifty years after, in 1921, Synod adopted an “Additional Statement,” but did not submit it in overture. A brief covenant was developed by the Synod of 1953 and subscribed by the church at her National Conference the following year. Subsequently, most of the congregations held their own subscription services.

In 1807 Presbytery took steps to prepare a Directory for the Worship of God and a Book of Discipline. Both were adopted in 1819, and Forms of Process were ordered prepared to accompany the latter. The Directory was not published, and the Westminster Directory remained the standard until 1945. The Book of Discipline was not published. A revised draft was published in 1836, with the Forms. It was amended and adopted in 1841, and the Forms were approved. Extensive amendments were adopted in 1863.

In 1819 and in 1836 a Form of Church Government was submitted in overture. Neither Form was adopted, and the Westminster Form remained the standard. In 1863 Rules of Procedure for conducting ecclesiastical business, taken almost entirely from Chapter 3 of the proposed Book of 1836, were adopted, and served as a supplement to the Westminster form. “Rules for directing the organization and proceedings of” (Presbytery and) Synod were listed in 1802 and revised last in 1874.

It appears that the Westminster standards, with the exception of the Form of Government, were not printed by the Church in her official publications. In 1806 the Declaration and Testimony and the Historical View were published in one volume, entitled “Reformation Principles Exhibited.” In 1834 the Terms of Communion and the Queries were included in this volume. In 1874 the Covenant of 1871 was included. A second volume was published in 1841, containing the Westminster Form of Government, the Book of Discipline with the Forms, the Terms of Communion and the Queries. There were added in 1863 the Rules of Procedure; in 1874 the Rules for the meetings of Synod; and also the Covenant of 1871.

A committee of four men was appointed in 1939 to the work of revision. The revised Form of Government (including the Rules of Procedure and Rules for Meetings of Synod), Book of Discipline and Directory for Worship were sent down in overture, and in 1945 were declared adopted by the Church.

After several years of discussion in the Synod and The Covenanter Witness, the church in 1964 officially declared there was not enough evidence to require the practice of what had come to be called “Political Dissent” and subsequently changes were made in the Testimony, particularly Chapters 29 and 30, a change which continued to assert the Church believed Christ was king in the public arena.

The Synod of 1969 gave approval to the “rewriting of the Testimony of the Church without change in the system of theology.” A committee completed the task by 1979 when the full document went down in overture to the Sessions of the church. The 1980 Synod declared the revised Testimony to be the law and order of the Church. It is presented in a form which enhances the teaching of the Confession, yet speaks to issues of the day without unnecessary duplication.

Following several years of study by the Synod on “Officers of the Church,” the Synod of 1981 appointed a special committee to revise and rewrite the Form of Church Government, taking into consideration the conclusions regarding the nature of the eldership already adopted by Synod. The procedure of the committee was to add principial parts of the previous Form of Church Government to appropriate chapters in the Testimony, and to put procedural parts in a new Directory for Church Government. All of the proposed changes were adopted by the Synod of 1986 and sent down in overture. The 1987 Synod declared the revisions to the Testimony and the new Directory for Church Government to be the law and order of the church. The revision of the Forms in the back of the Directory for Church Government was approved by the 1987 Synod.

During the 1980s and into the 1990s there was considerable discussion in the courts of the church as to whether the Bible required either communicant members or ordained church officers to abstain from the use of alcoholic beverages. The Synod resolved the matter by interpreting the Declaration and Testimony to teach that while total abstinence was encouraged it was not required of communicant members nor officers.

The Synod determined in 1997 that the “Queries for Ordination and Installation” had never been sent down in overture and were not therefore a part of the Constitution. It was deemed this situation needed immediate correction so the Queries were subsequently sent down in overture with two optional forms of Query 8. The first option continued the Query as worded since 1939. The second was a modified Query 8 which removed the clause requiring total abstinence from beverage alcohol and habit-forming drugs. The queries, including the second option of Query 8, were ratified by the Sessions and declared adopted by the 1998 Synod.

Synod in the 1990’s determined a revision of 1945 Book of Discipline was needed. A revision was approved in 2002 and sent down in overture and was declared passed by the 2003 Synod.

The Directory for Worship was next document to be revised. After several starts and stops a new Directory was approved by the Synod in 2009 and sent down in overture and declared adopted by the 2010 Synod.

Throughout this present volume, the earlier documents are to be interpreted by those adopted later.