How does a Catholic become a presbyterian?

Answer 1

While the actual process to switch churches is easy, the decision behind making such a move is the difficult part. Such a move would mean that you were staying within the Christian faith while adopting a different approach to your worship of God. Since there are differences it would be important to meet with the pastor of a Presbyterian Church to make sure that you would be comfortable accepting the tenets of the Reformed tradition. If you are in agreement, you should visit a few church services to see which community you would like to join. These churches will have classes that you can take in order to become a full fledged church member.

Presbyterian is not a religion. The religion of a Presbyterian Church, like a Catholic Church, is Christianity. Presbyterian is the governance system under which the church operates. Presbyterians are a part of the Reformed tradition of Christianity that also includes the United Church of Christ, Dutch Reformed, Swedenborgian, and Congregational, among others.

Recognizing that entire books have been written on the differences and similarities between different religious approaches, I raise these few so that you have a basis to ask questions. Each church believes and uses the Nicene and Apostles Creed. With the exception of the Apocrypha in the Old Testament in the Catholic Bible, both religions accept the 37 books of the Hebrew Testament and the 29 books of the New Testament. Both groups accept Baptism and Communion as Sacraments. Both groups also accept one Baptism of faith so you would not be asked to be "re-baptized", as you are already a Christian. Presbyterians accept the other five Catholic sacraments as Ordinances, meaning that they were not introduced into the world by Jesus, but are part of God's order of life. Both churches are heavily involved in the life of the community and provide wonderful services in the spirit of the God they serve.

Differences abound and you should be aware of these areas as you make your decision. The centrality of a Protestant service is the Word while the Catholic mass is centered around the sacrament of communion. The Priests and Saints intercede on behalf of Catholics with God while Presbyterians believe in "the priesthood of all believers" and a direct path of the believer to God. Most Presbyterian denominations allow woman to be ministers and all allow their ministers to be married, while Roman Catholic clergy can only be male and can only be married if they have converted while serving as an ordained minister of a Protestant denomination. There are other Catholic religions like the Greek Orthodox that do allow their priests to marry. Please know that the Reformed tradition also holds quite a different view than the Catholic tradition on Mary and Jesus' family in general.

The process of becoming a member of the a different church is easy once you have come to the conclusion in your heart that this is the right decision for you. I hope that I have touched on some of the things that you should consider as you make this decision.