Merger of UPCUSA and PCUS - Timeline Event
Time Period
1983
Description
In 1983, the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and the Presbyterian Church in the United States merged to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The Presbyterian Church in the United States was located in the Southern and border states while the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was located in every state. These two denominations were the largest Presbyterian bodies in the United States at the time.
The merger was a reunion of two churches that were once united prior to the Civil War. Like the Baptists and the Methodists, the Presbyterians broke off into northern and southern religious bodies in 1861 despite having similar doctrine and church polity. Although it took more than a century for these Presbyterian bodies to reunite, the merger subsequently created the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country.
The merger was a reunion of two churches that were once united prior to the Civil War. Like the Baptists and the Methodists, the Presbyterians broke off into northern and southern religious bodies in 1861 despite having similar doctrine and church polity. Although it took more than a century for these Presbyterian bodies to reunite, the merger subsequently created the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country.
Interactive Timeline(s)
Browse Related Timeline Entries
Religious Groups
Presbyterian-Reformed Family: Other ARDA LinksPresbyterian-Reformed Family: Religious Family Tree
Photographs
Presbyterian worship service- Wikimedia Commons- photo by National Presbyterian Church
 church in Erie, PA- photo by Corielle Stickles.jpg)
First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, PC(USA) church in Erie, PA- photo by Corielle Stickles
Presbyterian denominational tree- Courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, PA
Book/Journal Source(s)
Melton, J. Gordon, 2009. Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions, Eighth Edition Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.Web Page Contributor
Benjamin T. GurrentzAffliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in Sociology
