There are hard feelings on both sides. Some who are moving to the new congregation say PCUSA is trying to “change” the Bible. Some on the other side disagree with the church’s growing fundamentalist tilt and say the schism began with the hiring of an assistant pastor who disagrees with the direction PCUSA has taken.

The schism at Second Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Tenn., where part of the congregation has opted to leave the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (PCUSA) and follow Senior Pastor Bryan Wilson to a new church that will be part of the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO), is part of a national movement that has pitted traditionalists against the PCUSA over social issues, including same-sex marriage.

PCUSA has left decisions in these matters up to the discretion of individual congregations.

The church at 2829 Kingston Pike stands atop the hill where General William P. Sanders was mortally wounded in 1863 while holding off Confederate forces until the nearby fort (which was immediately named for him) could be prepared for the battle that effectively ended the siege of Knoxville.

It is a commanding location on one of the most visible pieces of real estate in the city, and is held in trust by the Presbytery of East Tennessee for PCUSA. It is unclear where the new congregation will meet, how large it will be or what it will be named. The existing congregation will appoint an interim minister while a ministerial search is conducted.

There was discussion of “nesting” a second congregation within the existing church, but that idea was rejected as unworkable, said Knoxville attorney Dean Farmer, a church elder who will not be following Wilson to a new church.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]