what is presbyterian church

Presbyterianism is a form of Christianity that broke from the Roman Catholic Church and is part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the presbyterian form of church government by representative assemblies of elders. The Presbyterian Church is a representative democracy governed by elders elected from and by the congregation. Its authority resides with the duly elected representatives of the congregation in the appointed church governing bodies. The local church governing body is the session, which oversees the day-to-day work of the church and supervises deacons, elected to conduct the temporal and charitable ministry of the church. The Presbyterian Church (USA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States, having 1.4 million members in more than 9,450 congregations). Presbyterians believe in God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, forgiveness of sin, life everlasting, and the Bible as the inspired Word of God. Presbyterianism is founded on the idea of a plurality of elders and the connectivity of local churches for governance, accountability, and ministerial collaboration. Most Presbyterian churches only hold two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.