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Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap)
The Presbyterian Church of Korea, also known as Yejang Tonghap (Korean: 예장통합) or just Tonghap, is a mainline Protestant denomination based in South Korea; it currently has the second largest membership of any Presbyterian denomination in the world.[3] HistoryIn the 1950s, the Presbyterian Church of Korea suffered from a series of schisms over issues of theology, ecumenism, and worship.[4] The first of these divisions was connected to a controversy that began in the 1930s, when Korea was still under Japanese rule. During that time, university students were instructed to bow to the shinto shrine in worship. This was controversial for Christians, theologically and politically. While many acquiesced to this, there were Christians at Pyongyang Theological Seminary who adamantly opposed it, holding that the Bible prohibited such actions. After Korea was liberated from Japanese rule, Korea divided and many Koreans from the north of the country moved to South Korea. Those who formerly opposed the shinto shrine worship created a new seminary, Koryo Theological Seminary (today's Kosin University) in 1946, and eventually a new denomination, Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin) in 1951.[5] The second division occurred in 1953 when progressives separated, forming the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea (KiJang). In the 1970s, the KiJang Presbyterians would produce some of the key leaders of minjung theology who advocated for social justice issues under the dictatorship of Park Chung Hee.[6] In 1959 at the 44th General Assembly, a third schism resulted in the divide of the Presbyterian Church of Korea into two equal sections: the Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap) and the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong). The main issue related to whether or not the Presbyterian Church of Korea should be a part of the ecumenical organization, the World Council of Churches (WCC). Park Hyun-nyon, president of the Presbyterian Seminary of the General Assembly, led the formation of the evangelical "HapDong" (the union body), whereas those who supported relations with the WCC formed the ecumenical "TongHap" (the united body). Today, the TongHap and HapDong represent the largest factions of Korean Presbyterianism.[4]OrganizationToday, the Tonghap Presbyterian denomination has about 2.85 million members in 8,200 congregations.[7] As an ecumenical denomination, it maintains relations with the World Council of Churches and is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches[8] It has a daughter denomination in the United States, the Korean Presbyterian Church in America, which was later renamed in 2009 the Korean Presbyterian Church Abroad. The denomination maintains seven colleges and theological seminaries to train its leaders:[9]
ControversiesIn September 2024, former constitutional chairpersons of the denomination's General Assembly sparked controversy by issuing a statement requesting the removal of Article 28, Section 6 of Part 2 of the Constitution, commonly known as the "Anti-Succession Law." Their main argument was that the law limits the autonomy of individual churches in appointing their pastors.[10] However, at the 109th General Assembly, the motion to abolish the 'Anti-Hereditary Succession Law' was rejected, confirming that the majority of the delegates opposed the privatization of churches through succession.[11] References
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