Mission life: THE KUKMIN DAILY

PCK Tonghap Clergy Rally For Retraction of Hereditary Succession at Myungsung Church

2018-09-11 10:29

The decision of the trials department of Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK Tonghap), legitimizing the appointment of Rev. Kim Ha-na as pastor of Myungsung Church, has aroused strong reaction. On September 3 in the auditorium of the Korean Church Centennial Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, a “PCK Tonghap Clergy Rally For Retraction of Hereditary Succession at Myungsung Church” took place (photo), calling upon the general assembly delegates to invalidate the decision and to reconfirm by resolution the intent to pass a law banning hereditary succession to head pastor posts.

The auditorium was mostly filled with PCK Tonghap pastors and seminary students from around the country. Rev. Kim Ji-cheol of Somang Church confessed in his sermon, “We see in the hereditary succession incident at Myungsung Church a self-portrait of the Korean church…At its center are pastors, spiritual leaders, and they are principally responsible for the sinking of the Korean church.” Following the sermon, local clergy and seminarians made presentations. The participants read aloud a resolution demanding reorganization of the general assembly trials department and a retrial of the incident.

On the same day, the theology committee (Rev. Lee Jeong-bae, chair) of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) issued a statement saying, “It is a lamentable reality when the Bible is misinterpreted to justify hereditary succession…Economically struggling pastors and church members, who have understood and protected ministry as a calling, have been seriously bruised by this.”

385 missionaries dispatched by the PCK Tonghap general assembly have published a statement denouncing Myungsung Church’s illegal hereditary succession. As of 3 p.m. on September 3, a joint online-offline signature campaign protesting the controversial Myungsung Church decision has collected a total of 9,322 signatures. The campaign will continue till September 7.

Meanwhile, the Committee For Normalization of Myungsung Church and the Solidarity Movement Against Church Hereditary Succession have submitted a petition to the East Seoul Prosecution Service, charging that the Myungsung Church action was illegal.

Reporters DongWoo Kim & Hwang Yuntae (love@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)
Photo by senior reporter Kang Min Seok

Original Article in Korean:
‘명성교회 세습철회를 위한 예장목회자대회’ 열려… 총회 재판 무효·교회세습금지법 재확인 촉구

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