GS 1965 ARTICLE 141: Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC).

Advisory Committee III now presents a finalized proposal on possible contact with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), Agenda item 8 N. See Articles 95 and 118.

The Synod adopts them as follows:

• ‘I. The Synod took note of
  • A. The proposal of the Regional Synod of the Churches in Ontario 1965
    • “1. To appoint deputies for contact with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church;
    • 2.    To request the General Assembly of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church to do the same: in order to clarify whether the differences in Confession and Church Government between the Canadian Reformed Churches and The Orthodox Presbyterian Church are of such a nature, that correspondence with the latter Churches according to the Word of the Lord is impossible.”
  • B.    The report attached to this proposal on possible contact with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church;
  • C.    The proposal of the Church at Toronto “to establish contact with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church by means of Deputies, in order that in due time correspondence with this Church be established”;
• II. The Synod judges:
  • Correspondence with Churches abroad should not be entered into until a careful and serious examination has shown that these Churches have not only officially accepted the Reformed confession and church government, but maintain it in deed.
• III. The Synod considers
  • A.   that with a view to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church such a careful and serious examination makes sense,
    • 1.    because the report indicates that The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
      • a.    as a Presbyterian Church is the fruit of the Calvinist Reformation;
      • b.    has confessional writings and a church government that are Calvinistic in character;
      • c.    in this century has decisively chosen for Orthodoxy and against Modernism;
    • 2.    because maintaining correspondence with these Churches would be practical given distance and language;
  • B.    that with a view to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church engaging in such a careful and serious examination is necessary,
    • 1.    because the report has shown Synod that there are differences in confession and church government between the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and our Churches;
    • 2.    because there are differences between the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and our Churches with a view to correspondence with other church communities;
• IV. The Synod decides:
  • A.   to appoint three deputies for contact with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC);
  • B.    to request the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church that deputies be appointed to receive our deputies;
  • C.    to instruct our deputies as follows:
    • 1.    to inform the Orthodox Presbyterian Church via its deputies concerning our confession and our church government and ask it if it can accept the Canadian Reformed Churches on the ground of this confession and this church government as true Churches of the Lord Jesus Christ;
    • 2.    to discuss frankly with the deputies of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church the differences in confession and church government which exist between the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and our Churches, and to test these differences against the Word of the Lord;
    • 3.    to show to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church via its deputies what correspondence means to our Churches by means of the rules laid down for this purpose, and to inform themselves of the views of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church in this regard;
    • 4.    to speak with deputies of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church about existing correspondence with other church communities, which the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and our Churches maintain;
    • 5.    to keep the Churches informed of what is being done in the exercise of this contact and to submit a report to the next General Synod;
  • D.   to include the historical portion of the “Report on Possible Contact with The Orthodox Presbyterian Churches” in the publication of the Acts of this Synod.”