“The Presbyterian Church in America is a pace-setting denomination within evangelicalism,” said CBMW President and Boyce College Professor Denny Burk. “I am grateful that they declared the Danvers Statement a faithful declaration of biblical conviction. This kind of clarity will serve their churches well. I’m also grateful that the PCA voted decisively to maintain its ordination standards for deacons. This move was crucial for maintaining complementarian integrity within their polity.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – A vote at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in favor of the Danvers Statement brings greater clarity to the denomination’s position on complementarianism.

The Danvers Statement is a document published in early 1988 by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood that establishes the framework for complementarianism in both the home and the church.

Calvary Presbytery, a body of PCA churches in 13 counties of the Upcountry region of South Carolina, unanimously adopted Overture 61 on declaring the Danvers Statement as a “Biblically Faithful Declaration” at its meeting on Feb. 7. During the general assembly on June 27, the overture passed by a 934-841-34 vote, two days after making its way out of the Overtures Committee by a slim 66-64 vote, with three absentations.

Its passage makes the Danvers Statement suitable to promote among PCA teaching materials and in the PCA bookstore.

The vote came weeks after Southern Baptists gave a two-thirds affirmative vote for the Truth and Unity Amendment. A second two-thirds approval next year in Indianapolis would make it part of the SBC Constitution.

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