The Presbyterian Church in America has voted to affirm the Danvers Statement, a move that gives clearer public expression to the denomination’s complementarian convictions on the roles of men and women in the home and the church.
According to a report by Baptist Press, the Danvers Statement was first published in 1988 by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and has long served as a key evangelical document outlining complementarian theology.
The action began with Calvary Presbytery, a PCA body representing churches across 13 counties in South Carolina’s Upcountry region. At its Feb. 7 meeting, the presbytery unanimously approved Overture 61, which called for the Danvers Statement to be recognized as a “Biblically Faithful Declaration.”
The overture was later considered by the PCA General Assembly, where commissioners voted in favor of the measure on June 27.
The Danvers Statement is organized into three main sections: rationale, purposes and affirmations.
Its “Rationale” section lists 10 concerns that led to the document’s creation. These include “widespread uncertainty and confusion” over biblical manhood and womanhood, along with the “increasing promotion given to feminist egalitarianism,” which the statement says disrupts “the glad harmony portrayed in Scripture between redeemed husbands and wives.”
The same section also warns against church leaders accommodating “the spirit of the age” rather than relying on the reforming power of the Holy Spirit.
The statement’s purposes include presenting a biblical understanding of the relationship between men and women in both family and church life, while encouraging continued study of Scripture’s teaching on manhood and womanhood.
Its affirmations state that Adam and Eve were both created in the image of God, while also teaching that the Fall distorted the relationship between men and women. The document says redemption in Christ heals those distortions and grants salvation equally to men and women, while reserving governing and teaching offices in the church for men.
According to Baptist Press, CBMW President and Boyce College Professor Denny Burk welcomed the PCA’s action, saying the denomination holds significant influence within conservative evangelicalism.
“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.”
