Written by Harry Metzger for The Reformed Presbyterian Witness.
To borrow from the opening lines of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” When, on Friday, May 12, the brothers and sisters of our Canadian churches were established as a new denomination, it was a time of both rejoicing and sorrow.
There was joy because, as the churches and ministries of the Canadian churches have grown over the years, it was deemed that there was sufficient internal, external, and financial strength for them to be established as their own denomination. This is a reason for rejoicing as this is seen as a fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to build His church (Matt. 16:18).
On the other hand, the churches, brothers, and sisters will be truly missed as part of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, as we have enjoyed sweet fellowship together and have valued their participation in the life and ministry of the RPCNA.
The idea of forming a new denomination in Canada has its genesis in a St. Lawrence Presbytery meeting in April 1999 when a motion was passed “to establish a Canadian Presbytery by July 1999.” However, no progress was made on the motion until October 2018, when the St. Lawrence Presbytery appointed a committee to initiate discussions with a view to proceeding to form a Canadian RP Church. At the RPCNA Synod of 2022, the churches of Canada were organized as the Canadian Presbytery of the RPCNA and were given permission to establish themselves as a new denomination. These efforts culminated in the formation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Canada (RPCC) on the 12th of May.
Pastor Andrew Quigley states that “there are two reasons why the RPCC was formed—one theological and the other practical. The idea of a nationally covenanted church is a biblical reality. The command of Lord Jesus to His universal visible church is to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20.) God created the nations with languages, lands, and boundaries (Gen. 10:5, 20, 31-32 and Acts 17:26), and we know from Psalm 2:10-12 that every civil magistrate must serve the Lord with fear and “kiss the Son of God.” This responsibility requires that national civil governments address the unity and peace of the church (Westminster Confession of Faith, chap. 23:3). So the RP Church needed to be established in Canada for theological reasons. But there are also strong practical reasons, including the necessity for the ministers and elders in the congregations in Canada to be given the time and opportunity to form and implement a coherent vision for the church in Canada.”
At the RPCNA Synod of 2021, a committee consisting of pastors and elders from the Canadian and American churches was formed to work out the details of the formation of the new denomination and bring back recommendations to the following synod. The plans suggested by the committee for the establishment of the RPCC were approved by the 2022 Synod. After the drafters of the new constitution for the RPCC had completed their work, six meetings of ministers and elders of the Canadian churches were held to amend the constitution prior to its approval in October 2022.
At a special meeting of the Canadian Presbytery on Friday, May 12, in Ottawa, Ont., the RPC of Canada was formally constituted. Pastors Scott Wilkinson and Matt Kingswood served as the moderator and as the clerk pro tem of the new presbytery. The prayer for the formation of the new denomination was given by Pastor Allen MacLeod. There was also prayer offered seeking God’s blessing on the church. (Andrew Quigley, RPCC Presbytery clerk, was unable to attend the meeting due to the death of his father in Northern Ireland.)