Brazil Partner Churches and Organizations

Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPB)
The first Presbyterian missionary to Brazil was Rev. Ashbel Green Simonton, who arrived in 1859 and founded the first Presbyterian church in Rio de Janeiro in 1862. Out of that church grew the Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPB), by far the largest of the Presbyterian denominations in Brazil today. During the early 1970s, tension arose between the IPB and the former UPC(USA) over theological divergences and the appropriate response to the political repression. All issues came to a head in 1973, when the IPB severed relations for a number of reasons, including disagreements about properties, social justice issues, confessional standards, and ecumenical stances. The IPB did maintain relations with the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS). After unification of the U.S. churches in 1983, the IPB unilaterally ended the official relationship with the PC(USA).

Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB)
The second-oldest Presbyterian body in Brazil is the Independent Presbyterian Church (IPIB), which split from the Presbyterian Church of Brazil in 1903. The IPIB was born on July 31, 1903, when a group of pastors and elders walked out of a meeting over an issue that is now almost forgotten. For some time their ambition had been to evangelize their beloved country with Brazilian resources and without the help of North American missionaries. The "miracle of the loaves and fishes" took place, nay-sayers were refuted, and the new denomination grew. A strong emphasis on tithing has helped to maintain the independence of the IPIB. Partnership with a precursor of the PC(USA) was restored in the 1970s when the IPIB received several of our missionaries who no longer had a place in the IPB. The partnership with the PC(USA) has grown ever since, as both partners understand that the IPIB "came of age" long ago. Its independence is not in doubt. The IPIB has a strong missionary spirit. It evangelizes both in urban areas and in distant areas considered "unreached," and has sent mission workers to other countries (Africa and the United States). A strong network of social programs is coordinated by the IPIB's national social action agency, Diaconia. The IPIB is an active member of AIPRAL, the Association of Latin American Reformed Presbyterian Churches.  The president of AIPRAL is an IPIB pastor. The church also reaches out to smaller Presbyterian bodies in Brazil who are not necessarily affiliated with PC(USA) and has covenant relationships with several Presbyterian denominations outside Brazil (including Taiwan and the Waldensians in Argentina and Uruguay). The IPIB is also a member of CLAI, the Latin American Council of Churches, and has recently joined the World Council of Churches.

The IPIB has a long history of ordaining women as deacons. In 1999 the denomination changed its constitution to permit the ordination of women elders and ministers.  Eleven PC(USA) mission workers are serving with the IPIB.