The Reunion of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church with the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. , 1906.

The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches — Philip Schaff

The revision of the Westminster Confession of Faith by the Presbyterian Church North, 1903, modifying the definitions of the divine election and free will, opened the way for the return of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which had existed as an independent body for nearly a century, to the parent communion. A committee on 'Presbyterian fraternity and union' was appointed by the Cumberland Assembly, 1903, to 'confer with such like committees as may be appointed by other Presbyterian bodies in regard to the desirability and practicability of closer affiliation and organic union among the members of the Presbyterian family in the United States.' An immediate reply was given by the Presbyterian Church North in the appointment of a committee and a Basis of Union was favorably acted upon by a large majority of the presbyteries of both bodies. In 1906, 'the Union and Reunion' of the two bodies was declared to be 'in full force and effect.' At the same time the General Assembly of the Church North made the declaration that 'no acceptance of the doctrines of the Church is required of any communicant beyond a personal faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Saviour of the world and a sincere acceptance of him' and also that 'ministers, elders, and deacons, in approving the Confession as Revised, 1903, are required to assent only to the system of doctrine contained therein and not to every particular statement in it.' The representatives of the united bodies met in one General Assembly, 1907. At the time of the reunion, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church had 200,000 members, a number of whom chose to reorganize or continue an independent organization. The terms of the Basis of Union are as follows. See Min. of the Gen. Assembly of the U. S. A., 1903, p.122; 1904, p.119; 1905, p.67; 1906, p.2111 [2251]

"The union shall be effected on the doctrinal basis of the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, as revised in 1903, and of its other doctrinal and ecclesiastical Standards; and the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments shall be acknowledged as the inspired Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice."

Footnotes:

[2251] In 1920 the Calvinistic Methodist (or Welsh Presbyterian Church in the U. S.) was received into corporate union with the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. on the basis of the Westminster Confession and the Scriptures as the inspired Word of God and the infallible rule of faith and practice.