Presbyterian Church of Panama

The Presbyterian of Panama Church - in Spanish Iglesia Presbiteriana de Panamá (IPP) - is a Protestant Reformed denomination, founded in Panama in 2011, by the missionary Gilberto Botelho, sent by the Presbyterian Agency for Transcultural Missions of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. Based on its growth, the denomination was recognized by the government of Panama in 2022.^[1][2]

Presbyterian Chuch of Panama
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Reformed
Theology	Calvinist
Governance	Presbyterian
Region	Panama
Origin	2011
Branched from	Presbyterian Church of Brazil

History

In 1698, some 1,200 Scots settled in the Darién Gap, in Panama (then within the Viceroyalty of Peru), with the aim of establishing a new British colony that it was to be called New Caledonia. Among the settlers were members of the Church of Scotland (a Presbyterian denomination), who sent ministers to minister to members of the colony. This was the first Presbyterian presence in the territory that would later become in the Panamá.^[3][4][5] However, the colony ceased to exist in 1700, leading to the departure of all Scottish Presbyterians from the region.^[6][7]

In 1916, the Congress of Panama was held, an ecumenical event that established that Latin America was already a Christian region (Roman Catholic) and should not be the object of Protestant missions. As a result, many Presbyterian denominations did not send missions to Panama until the 21st century.^{[8][9][10][11]}

In 2011, the Presbyterian Agency for Cross-Cultural Missions of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil sent missionary Gilberto Botelho, along with his wife Cristiane and their children, to Panama City, to initiate the planting of a Presbyterian church.^[12]

^[13] Church growth, others missionaries were sent to the country, including Rev. Raimundo Monteiro Montenegro Neto, Rev. Paulo César Duarte de Oliveira, Joaquim Ivanil Rodrigues dos Santos, and Rev. Luiz Otávio N. Gomes, among others.^[1]

In 2022, the denomination was formally organized and recognized by the government of Panama.^[1][2]

Doctrine

As a result of the mission of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, the Presbyterian Church of Panama is also a conservative and confessional church. The church does not support women's ordination, and only male members may serve as ministers, elders, or deacons. The Church subscribes to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and the Apostles' Creed.

References

1. . 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
2. "Official recognition of the Presbyterian Church of Panama" (PDF). Retrieved July 14, 2022.
3. Julie Orr (September 26, 2018). Scotland, Darién and the Atlantic world, 1698-1700. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781474427555. from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
4. Margaret Szasz (2007). University of Oklahoma Press (ed.). Scottish Highlanders and Native Americans: Indian Education igen in the 1980s 11th Century Atlantic World. p. 69. ISBN 9780806138619. from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
5. Juan Bosch (1985). Casa de las Americas (ed.). From Christopher Columbus to Fidel Castro: the Caribbean, imperial frontier: Volumes 1 to 2 (in Spanish). pp. 363–364. ISBN 9780806138619. from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
6. Luis Moreno (1995). Higher Council for Scientific Research (ed.). Scotland, nation and reason: from l he millennia of politics and society (in Spanish). p. 258. ISBN 9788400075651. from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
7. Gary Scott Smith and P. C. Kemeny (July 2019). Oxford University Press (ed.). Oxford Handbook of Presbyterianism. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-19060-840-8. from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
8. "Ecumenical History of Latin America". from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
9. John H. Sinclair and Arturo Piedra Solano (1999). "The Dawn of Ecumenism in Latin America: Robert E. Speer, the Presbyterians, and the Panama Conference of 1916". The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-) (in Spanish). Presbyterian Historical Society. 77 (1): 1–11. JSTOR 23335251. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
10. "Global changes in Protestantism since the Panama Conference of 1916". from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
11. "The Centennial of Panama in 1916". from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
12. "Story of missionary Gilberto Botelho". Jornal Brasil Presbiteriano. p. 7. from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
13. Gilberto Botelho. . Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2022.