Understanding the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) helps explain why we have sister Presbyterian churches today, all part of NAPARC (North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council), yet with distinct histories that kept us separate. It also illustrates how the Lord preserves His church through complicated, tangled histories involving sinful people and sometimes senseless splits.

The Geographic Context

Before diving into the history, geography matters enormously here. These Scottish-American churches concentrated heavily in specific regions: Western Pennsylvania was dense with both RPCNA and ARP congregations, with some scattered along the Hudson River in New York and Vermont. As people moved westward into Ohio, they settled predominantly in the southwestern part of the state and along the eastern border near Pennsylvania.

In the South, these churches established themselves in the Charlotte area of North Carolina and throughout South Carolina, extending into Georgia. Today, Mecklenburg County alone has about 30 ARP congregations, while Wake County has two. This geographic clustering reflects the migration patterns and community bonds of these tight-knit denominations.

The Covenanters: Roots of the RPCNA

The Reformed Presbyterians, also called Covenanters, trace their origins to 1640s Scotland when the entire nation signed the Solemn League and Covenant—a pledge to reform the churches of Scotland, England, and Ireland. While others quickly abandoned this covenant, the Covenanters held fast, even when it meant meeting in secret “societies” at the risk of persecution and death.

Beginning in 1662, they migrated to the American colonies, initially settling in Eastern Pennsylvania before spreading to South Carolina, New York, and Western Pennsylvania. By 1740, they had established their first known congregation near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1774, on the brink of the American Revolution, four ministers from Scotland and Ireland constituted a Reformed Presbytery in North America.

The Great Division of 1782

The American Revolution created a crisis of conscience for the Covenanters. Many felt that forming a new nation released them from their covenant obligations to reform the churches of Britain. In 1782, the majority—about 600 people—joined with the Associate Presbytery (whom we’ll discuss shortly) to form the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Synod. They simply combined their names: “Associate” from one group, “Reformed” from the other.

However, a remnant believed this union required too many compromises. With support from ministers sent from Ireland and Scotland, they formed a new Reformed Presbytery in 1798. This illustrates a common pattern: when two denominations unite, you often end up with three—the merged body and the holdouts from each original group.

The holdouts maintained that because the U.S. Constitution made no reference to Christ’s lordship over the nation, America was illegitimate. Therefore, faithful Christians should dissent from political involvement. Until the 1960s, the RPCNA formally prohibited members from voting, holding office, or sometimes even serving in the military.

The Seceders: Origins of the ARP

The Associate Presbyterians, known as Seceders, began in Scotland in 1732 when the General Assembly prohibited churches from selecting their own ministers, giving that authority instead to wealthy landowners and civil leaders.

Ebenezer Erskine, whose name you’ve probably heard, opposed this decision and wanted his dissenting vote recorded—a common practice in church courts. When his request was refused due to rule changes, he preached against what he saw as the synod’s ungodly decision. The synod censured him for this sermon. Erskine appealed to the General Assembly, but they refused to let him read his formal protest.

In response, Erskine and three other ministers walked out and formed the Associate Synod in 1733. Nine years later, the first Associate Synod church was established in the American colonies near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. By the Revolution, they had 13 ministers in the colonies.

The Burgess Oath Controversy

The Associate Synod faced its own internal division in 1747 over the Burgess Oath—an oath required for local borough leaders in Scotland. Part of the oath read:

“Here I protest before God and your lordship that I profess and allow with my heart the true religion presently professed within this realm and authorized by laws thereof… renouncing the Roman religion called papistry.”

This sounds thoroughly Christian, right? The problem was the phrase “true religion.” The Associate Synod had left the Church of Scotland because they viewed it as corrupt. How could they swear to uphold Scotland’s “true religion” when they believed the established Church of Scotland was wrong?

The “Anti-Burgess” party refused to take this oath, while the “Burgess” party, including Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, were willing to take it. This created a 70-year division in Scotland, though it made little sense in the American colonies where no such oath existed.

One poignant story illustrates the personal cost: James, Ebenezer Erskine’s son-in-law, was in the Anti-Burgess party. When he returned from the synod meeting where they had excommunicated the Erskines, his wife (Ebenezer’s daughter) asked how it went. After a long pause, he replied, “We have excommunicated them.” She responded, “You have excommunicated my father and my uncle. You are my husband, but never more shall you be minister of mine.” For the rest of her life, she attended an Anti-Burgess church while he helped her onto her horse every Sunday to get there.

The Formation of the ARP (1782)

In 1782, about 1,500 Seceders and 600 Covenanters united to form the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Both groups considered themselves more faithful and strict than the emerging mainline Presbyterian church. They shared several distinctive practices:

• Closed communion: Only church members could partake of the Lord’s Supper
• Opposition to “occasional hearing”: Members shouldn’t worship in other denominations’ churches
• Exclusive psalm singing: They used only the 1650 Psalter, rejecting Isaac Watts’ psalm renditions that some mainline churches had adopted

The new ARP was organized into three presbyteries: one for central and western Pennsylvania, one for the Philadelphia area extending south to South Carolina, and one for New York reaching into Canada.

The Great Fragmentation (1802-1858)

By 1802, the ARP had grown to about 5,000 members divided into four regional synods: New York, Pennsylvania, the West (Ohio and Kentucky), and the South. This growth contained the seeds of future division.

The outlying synods resented traveling long distances to synod meetings and grew concerned about laxity in the New York presbytery. A prominent case involved John Mason, an influential ARP minister in New York City who founded the first ARP seminary in 1805.

Mason violated core ARP principles: he served communion to PCUSA members (breaking closed communion), preached occasionally in PCUSA churches, and led congregations in singing Isaac Watts’ hymns. When investigated, he gave a remarkable three-hour defense speech but ultimately wasn’t disciplined. He later joined the PCUSA and became a college president.

This controversy triggered a cascade of divisions:

• 1820: The Synod of the West withdrew from the denomination
• 1822: The Synod of the South followed suit
• 1825: The Pennsylvania Synod joined the PCUSA
• 1855: The Synod of the West rejoined the New York Synod
• 1858: This northern ARP united with the continuing Associate Synod to form the United Presbyterian Church

The Synod of the South continued as the ARP, eventually dropping “Synod of the South” to become simply the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church—the denomination we know today.

The United Presbyterian Church Legacy

The United Presbyterian Church (1858-1958) became a significant force in American Presbyterianism, especially in Pennsylvania. Notable figures included John Gerstner (R.C. Sproul’s mentor), Jay Adams (biblical counseling pioneer), and G.I. Williamson (author of study guides to the Westminster standards).

In 1958, the United Presbyterian Church joined the PCUSA, which is why you could find two enormous Presbyterian churches 0.2 miles apart in small towns like Grove City, Pennsylvania—one formerly United Presbyterian, the other mainline Presbyterian, both becoming PCUSA after the merger.

The Reformed Presbyterian Journey

Meanwhile, the Reformed Presbyterians who stayed out of the 1782 ARP merger faced their own complicated history. By 1798, about 1,000 people had gathered enough ministers from Ireland and Scotland to establish a new Reformed Presbytery. In 1809, they had grown sufficiently to form a synod.

Distinctive Characteristics

The RPs of this era were remarkable in several ways:

Premillennial Optimism: One prominent early minister believed the Antichrist’s reign began in the 1600s with the papacy and would end in 1866, ushering in Christ’s millennial reign. He predicted that by 1866, “all the nations would consistently understand, profess, and support the true religion.” This aggressive postmillennialism proved overly optimistic.

Opposition to Slavery: The RPs were among the few Bible-believing denominations that aggressively opposed slavery from the early 1800s. They prohibited slave owners from church membership. In 1802, minister Alexander McLeod published “Negro Slavery Unjustifiable,” arguing that Exodus 21:16’s prohibition of man-stealing made chattel slavery sinful.

This anti-slavery stance explains why so few RPCNA churches exist in the South—it was an extremely unpopular position. Many Southern RPs either joined other denominations to continue as slave owners or migrated to Ohio and Indiana, where RPCNA influence remains relatively strong today.

The Old Light/New Light Division (1833)

The RPs faced their own major split during the same period the mainline church was dividing over the Old School/New School controversy. The RP division, known as the Old Light/New Light controversy, centered on their principle of political dissent.

The War of 1812 created practical problems. Some RPs had never taken naturalization oaths to become American citizens because they objected to affirming what they saw as an ungodly constitution. As technically British citizens, they couldn’t serve in the American military and were told to move away from coastal areas.

Some RPs began taking modified oaths they believed made them citizens without affirming the Constitution, creating tensions. Questions arose about serving on juries and whether local governments could be righteous even under an unrighteous federal system.

At the 1833 synod, conflict erupted when the Old Lights essentially shouted down the former moderator, someone threatened to call the police, and the Old Light faction walked out to form their own synod.

Two Paths Forward

The New Lights (Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod) couldn’t join the mainline PCUSA because of disagreements about church-state relations. They considered joining various groups but objected that others didn’t consistently oppose slavery. Through the 1800s and into the 1900s, they gradually lost their distinctive identity—adding hymns and instruments, loosening Sabbath keeping and church discipline. By 1953, they had dwindled to 1,300 members. In 1965, they joined the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (not today’s EPC), eventually becoming part of the RPCES, which joined the PCA in 1982.

Interestingly, this means the modern PCA includes remnants of the Reformed Presbyterian Covenanter tradition dating back to 1600s Scotland.

The Old Lights maintained stricter political dissent and continued their aggressive opposition to slavery. During the Civil War, some met with Abraham Lincoln to request a constitutional amendment recognizing Christ’s kingship and to discuss slavery’s evils. They formed the National Reform Association, initially focused on this constitutional amendment but later expanding to broader social reform—fighting prostitution, gambling, pornography, and Sabbath-breaking.

In the late 1800s, they experienced another split when younger ministers joined the United Presbyterians. Around this time, one congregation ordained a female deacon without authority. The synod’s failure to discipline this action opened the door for female deacons, which the RPCNA still permits today.

The Modern Legacy

What emerged from these complex divisions are the denominations we know today:

The RPCNA gradually abandoned most of its distinctive practices through the 20th century—political dissent, restrictions on voting, and prohibitions on drinking and smoking. Today, their primary distinguishing feature is exclusive psalm singing, which ironically wasn’t their original main identity. As late as 1900, five different Presbyterian denominations were exclusively psalm-singing churches.

The ARP continues as a southern-based denomination about the size of the OPC, having spread across the United States and into Canada while maintaining its historic roots in the Carolinas.

Conclusion

This tangled history illustrates several important principles. First, division has been a constant reality in Presbyterian history, but so has unity—numerically, more groups have reunited than remained separate, though theological compromise often accompanied these mergers.

Second, faithful Christians can disagree on applications of biblical principles—like the nature of church-state relations or the proper response to slavery—while maintaining core doctrinal commitments.

Finally, God preserves His church through human failure, complicated histories, and even seemingly senseless divisions. The existence today of multiple Presbyterian denominations that maintain biblical fidelity and Reformed theology demonstrates that the Lord works through imperfect people and imperfect institutions to accomplish His purposes.

As we continue studying Presbyterian history, remember that the conflicts and divisions we see today aren’t new. They’re part of the ongoing story of how sinful people seek to be faithful to God’s Word in changing circumstances, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing, but always under the sovereignty of our gracious God who builds His church despite our weaknesses.