The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), or PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S., followed by the Presbyterian Church in America. The PC(USA) was established by the 1983 merger of the former Presbyterian Church in the United States, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, whose congregations could be found in every state.
With 1,952,287 members and 21,064 ordained ministers in 10,657 congregations at the end of 2011, the reunited denomination is the most visible and influential Presbyterian denomination in North America. The denomination reported a loss of 61,047 members (−2.9%) in 2010, a loss of 63,804 in 2011 and had a membership of 1,952,287 at the end of 2011. Denominational offices are located in Louisville, Kentucky. The PC(USA) is a member of the National Council of Churches, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Council of Churches, and Christian Churches Together.
Read more about Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): Worship, Missions, Ecumenical Relationships and Full Communion Partnerships, Current Controversies
Famous quotes containing the words presbyterian and/or church:
“What I often forget about students, especially undergraduates, is that surface appearances are misleading. Most of them are at base as conventional as Presbyterian deacons.”
—Muriel Beadle (b. 1915)
“The church is a sort of hospital for men’s souls, and as full of quackery as the hospital for their bodies. Those who are taken into it live like pensioners in their Retreat or Sailor’s Snug Harbor, where you may see a row of religious cripples sitting outside in sunny weather.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)