The Presbyterian Church of Brazil (Portuguese: Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil, or IPB) is an Evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in Brazil. Oldest of the Reformed family of Protestantism in Brazil. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, having an estimate 702,949 members, 4,915 ordained ministers and 5,420 churches and parishes. It is also the only Presbyterian denomination in Brazil present in all 26 States and the Federal District. It was founded by the American missionary Rev. Ashbel Green Simonton, who also oversaw the formal organization of the first congregation (Presbyterian Church of Rio de Janeiro) and the first Presbytery (Presbytery of Rio de Janeiro). Although the Presbyterian Church of Rio de Janeiro was only formally organized in January 1863, and the Brazilian church only left the jurisdiction of the joint missions board of the American churches in 1888, when the Synod was formed, the denomination considers the date of Simonton's arrival in Brazil, August 12, 1859, as its foundation date. History The beginnings and first decades Brazilian Presbyterianism owes its origin largely to the efforts of Rev. Ashbel Green Simonton (1833–1867). Born in West Hanover, Pennsylvania, he studied in New Jersey and initially considered becoming a professor, or a lawyer. Due to the influence of a religious revival in 1855, however, he entered Princeton Theological Seminary. A sermon preached by Professor Charles Hodge made him consider becoming a missionary, and three years later he volunteered to PCUSA's Missions Board, naming Brazil as his preferred destination. Two months after being ordained, he embarked to Brazil, where he arrived on August 12, 1859, at the age of 26. In April 1860, Simonton celebrated his first service in Portuguese. In January 1862, the first converts professed their faith and the Presbyterian Church of Rio de Janeiro was formally organized. He also founded the first Protestant Brazilian newspaper (Imprensa Evangélica, 1864) and oversaw the creation of the first Presbytery (Presbytery of Rio de Janeiro, 1865) and Seminary (1867). Simonton died of yellow fever at age 34, in 1867. Other missionaries assisted Simonton in the early years of the Brazilian mission: Rev. Alexander Latimer Blackford (1829 Martins Ferry OH - May 1890, Atlanta), who oversaw the creation of the churches in São Paulo and Brotas, and Rev. Blackford was the first president of the Presbytery of Rio de Janeiro; Rev. Francis J. C. Schneider, who preached among German immigrants in Rio Claro, taught at