Charles Chiniquy: The Meta-Denominational And "Protest"ant Presbyterian -- By: Jason Zuidema

Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 72:1 (Spring 2010)
Article: Charles Chiniquy: The Meta-Denominational And "Protest"ant Presbyterian
Author: Jason Zuidema


Charles Chiniquy: The Meta-Denominational And Protestant Presbyterian

Jason Zuidema

Jason Zuidema [Ph.D. McGitt University) is a full-time lecturer in Christian Spirituality in the Department of Theological Studies at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec.

I. Introduction: Chiniquy’s Presbyterianism Revisited

In the posthumously compiled Forty Years in the Church of Christ, Charles Chiniquy relates that 15 April 1860 would be a date not to be forgotten by the French believers in St. Anne, for it was on this date that they chose to link themselves officially with the American Presbyterian Church. 1Having existed as the independent Eglise Catholique Chretienne for almost two years, the congregation now affiliated itself with an existing Protestant denomination by which it could be supported and protected. Although his link with this particular Presbyterian denomination soured after a little over two years, Chiniquy joined forces with a sister Presbyterian body in Canada in which he remained for the rest of his life.

However, more needs to be said about Chiniquy’s relationship to Presbyterianism in the years following his controversial conversion. No one during his lifetime or after would doubt his commitment to Presbyterianism in general, but when we look closely at the sources, we note that Chiniquy’s was a certain type of Presbyterianism which was not shared by all of his fellow Presbyterian Church members. It is not that his faith and practice were entirely anti-Presbyterian, but, rather, he was allowed a substantial amount of leeway in his work of combating “Romanism” and promoting the evangelization of French Canadians.

Many Protestants viewed Chiniquy as a tremendous asset to French Canadian evangelization. Born in 1809 in Kamouraska, a small village along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River north-east of Quebec City, Chiniquy pursued theological studies at the College of Nicolet and entered the priesthood in 1833. He soon gained a reputation as a fiery preacher and leading crusader in the temperance movement in Quebec in the 1840s.2 In 1851, Chiniquy was sent to be priest of a French-speaking immigrant community in rural Illinois where he had almost constant conflict with his ruling bishops in Chicago. This conflict

finally resulted in his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church, a very controversial conversion, and his affiliation with the Presbyterians.

Although certain aspects of the idiosyncratic nature of Chiniquy’s Presbyterianism have been considered by histo...

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