Upper Cumberland Presbyterian Church

The Upper Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Christian denomination in the United States that maintains less than 1,000 members among twelve congregations in Alabama and Tennessee.

Origins

The name Cumberland comes from the church's historic connection with the Cumberland Presbyterian (CP) denomination. The Upper Cumberland Presbyterian Church uses a slightly revised version of the 1883 Confession of Faith of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church; the main body of the CPC adopted a new Confession Of Faith in 1984. The seeds of the Upper Cumberland Presbyterian Church arose from a group known as the Fellowship of Cumberland Presbyterian Conservatives. Members of this group protested modernizing trends within that denomination, in particular the widespread usage of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible.

The Fellowship of Cumberland Presbyterian Conservatives formed a conference and planned a second one in Memphis, Tennessee. When the CP General Assembly declared their actions to be unconstitutional, several leaders of the group departed the CPC and formed the new Upper Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

The Upper Cumberland part of the name refers to the fact that the denomination was established in Gallatin, Tennessee on the Upper Cumberland River, the section of the Cumberland River east of Nashville, Tennessee.

The King James Version is the official Bible of the denomination.

Distribution

The Upper Cumberland Presbyterian congregations are mostly rural, country churches. They are located in three geographic areas; East of Nashville, South of Nashville, and North Central Alabama.

Governance

The representatives of the twelve congregations meet twice a year to form a presbytery. This is the highest church court of the denomination; there are no synods or general assemblies as in other Presbyterian bodies. A moderator of presbytery is elected for a six-month term. The denomination's official publication is called The Bulletin.

Training of ministers

The denomination does not have a college or seminary. Ministers are usually self-taught men who are then further trained by the Ministerial Training Committee. Some prominent ministers of the denomination have held other careers while serving as pastors.

Presbyterian and Reformed denominations in the United States

American Presbyterian Church Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America Bible Presbyterian Church Calvin Synod (United Church of Christ) Canadian and American Reformed Churches Christian Presbyterian Church Christian Reformed Church in North America Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches Conservative Congregational Christian Conference Covenant Presbyterian Church Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church Covenanting Association of Reformed and Presbyterian Churches Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America ECO Evangelical Assembly of Presbyterian Churches in America Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians Evangelical Presbyterian Church Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church Federation of Reformed Churches Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Free Presbyterian Church of North America Free Reformed Churches of North America Heritage Reformed Congregations Hungarian Reformed Church in America National Association of Congregational Christian Churches Netherlands Reformed Congregations Orthodox Christian Reformed Church Orthodox Presbyterian Church Presbyterian Church in America Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Presbyterian Reformed Church Protestant Reformed Churches in America Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin) Primitive Baptists Reformed Anglican Church Reformed Church in America Reformed Church in the United States Reformed Congregations in North America Reformed Presbyterian Church – Hanover Presbytery Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America Reformed Presbytery in North America Sovereign Grace Churches United Church of Christ United Reformed Churches in North America Upper Cumberland Presbyterian Church Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States

All Reformed denominations

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