List of Reformed denominations

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The Reformed churches are a group of Christian Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Calvinist system of doctrine.

Europe

Netherlands

The Dutch Reformed churches have suffered numerous splits, and there have been some subsequent partial re-unions. Currently there are at least nine existing denominations, including (between brackets the Dutch abbreviation):

Since the Reformation the Netherlands, as one of the few countries in the world, could be characterised as a mainly Calvinist state. Until the first half of the 20th century, a majority of the Dutch (about 55%) were Reformed and a large minority (35-40%) were Catholic. Because of large scale secularisation during the 20th century, these percentages dropped dramatically. Today only 15-20% of the Dutch (about 2.5 million people) is Reformed, while 25-30% is Catholic. About 45% is non-religious. Today many orthodox-reformed Christians in the Netherlands cooperate with Evangelicals in organizations such as the 'Evangelische Omroep' (Evangelical Broadcasting Company), the 'Evangelische Hogeschool' (Evangelical College), and the political party 'ChristenUnie' (ChristianUnion)

Dutch emigrants and missionaries brought Reformed churches to many other countries outside Europe, including Canada, United States, South Africa, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

Switzerland

The Swiss Reformed Churches were started in Zurich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basle (Johannes Oecolampadius), Berne (Berchtold Haller and Niklaus Manuel), St. Gall (Joachim Vadian), to cities in Southern Germany and via Alsace (Martin Bucer) to France. After the early death of Zwingli in 1531, his work was continued by Heinrich Bullinger, the author of the Second Helvetic Confession. The French-speaking cities Neuchatel, Geneva and Lausanne changed to the Reformation ten years later under William Farel and John Calvin coming from France. The Zwingli and Calvin branches each had their theological distinctions, but in 1549 under the lead of Bullinger and Calvin they came to a common agreement in the Consensus Tigurinus (Zurich Consent), and 1566 in the Second Helvetic Confession. Organizationally, the Reformed Churches in Switzerland remained separate units until today (the Reformed Church of the Canton Zurich, the Reformed Church of the Canton Berne, etc.), the German part more in the Zwingli tradition, in the French part more in the Calvin tradition. Today they are members of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches. They are governed synodically and their relation to the respective canton (in Switzerland, there are no church-state regulations on country-level) ranges from independent to close collaboration, depending on historical developments. A distinctive of the Swiss Reformed churches in Zwingli tradition is their historically almost symbiotic link to the state (cantons) which is only loosening gradually in the present.

There are small conservative churches like Evangelical Reformed Church (Westminster Confession)[1] and the Lausanne Free Church.[2]

A total of 2.4 million Swiss are members of a Reformed church, according to the 2000 census, which corresponds with 33% of the population. The past decades show a rapid decline in this proportion, coming from 46% in 1970.

Hungary

The Reformed Church in Hungary, Transylvania and southern Slovakia is one of the largest branches of the Reformed movement, and the only one of the national Reformed churches to survive without division since the Reformation to the present time. The Reformed Church is the second largest church in Hungary, it has 4 seminaries in the country (Debrecen, Papa, Budapest, Sarospatak). The Hungarian Reformed Church has adopted the Heidelberg Catechism and the Second Helvetic Confession as a definition of their teaching, together the Ecumenical creeds of the Christian Church: Athanasian Creed, Nicene Creed, Chalcedon, and the common creed ("Apostles' Creed"). The Hungarians organised the reformed church in 1557 in the Synod of Csenger and adopted the Second Helvetic Confession in 1567 in Debrecen.

The Hungarian Reformed Church maintains educational institutions, almost 80 primary schools, 28 high schools, 47 nurseries and several vocational schools and the Bethesda Hospital. There are diaconal institutions and conference centres.

In 2001, more than 1.6 million people in Hungary were members of the Hungarian Reformed Church, 600,000 are communicant members in 1,249 congregations. The HRC has 27 presbyteries and 4 districts and a General Synod. In Romania, 700,000 people were Reformed in 800 parishes, nearly all of them ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania.[3]

There are the smaller and very conservative Reformed Presbyterian Church of Central and Eastern Europe, which has approximately 25 congregations in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine. The church adheres to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism.English websiteHungarian website

There is a mission church of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches in Diósd, near Budapest.

Slovakia

Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia was part of the Reformed Church in Hungary until the end of World War I. In 1993 a Theological Seminary was opened in Komárno. Cathechial schools are in Kosice and Komarno. In Slovakia, 110,000 Calvinists were recorded.[4]

Romania

The Reformed Church in Romania consist of 2 districtes in Romania. These districtes are the :

In Transylvania the Reformed faith took root in the 16th century. In 1564 a Synod was held in Nagyenyed when the Reformed and Lutheran church separated. This date is the founding date of the Transylvanian Reformed Church. Partium was an adjected part of Transylvania it was a separated geographical area, the Hungarian-transylvanian princes ruled this part too. In this land was founded the Kiralyhagomellek Reformed District. Transylvania was part of Hungary till 1920. The Confessions of these churches are the Apostles Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism. In the church buildings especially in smaller villages the men and women sitting separated and the childrend and those who were not yet married were sitting in the church choir or gallery. The believers are predominantly (95%) Hungarian so the worship language is also Hungarian. It has 800 congregations and 700,000 members. The Romanian Hungarian are very religious the religion is community binding.

Germany

The German Reformed Church (Reformierte Kirche) forms, together with German Lutheran and united Protestant churches, the umbrella named Evangelical Church in Germany (German: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland) or EKD. The member churches of EKD were formerly the Protestant state churches in German states before the separation of religion and state in 1919. EKD represents, alongside Catholicism, Germany's "mainstream" religious bodies.

The German Reformed Church, unusually, does not trace its origins back to Zwingli or Calvin, but rather to Philipp Melanchthon, Luther's best friend and closest ally. After Melanchthon's death in 1560, extremist Lutherans (from whom Luther had previously distanced himself) accused Melanchthon's successors in the "Philippist" cause of Crypto-Calvinism and mercilessly persecuted and sometimes killed them in several states, especially Saxony. Other states, such as Hesse(-Cassel), remained openly Philippist and Reformed. Only during the time of Calvin (1509–1564) himself did genuinely Calvinist influences enter the German Reformed faith; even today, it remains more Philippist than Calvinist.

In the German Empire (1871–1918) some states were Lutheran, some Reformed. King Frederick William III of Prussia united both major Protestant confessions in his domains into the Prussian Union of churches in 1817, allowing congregations to maintain Lutheran or Reformed confession, or declare their union, also in Bremen (1877), Hesse-Cassel (1817), and Hesse-Darmstadt (1832) Reformed and Lutherans form a union merely in administration. Some states saw unions of Reformed and Lutherans to a united confession, such as Anhalt (1820 in Anhalt-Bernburg, 1827 in Anhalt-Dessau, and 1880 in Anhalt-Köthen), Baden (1821), Nassau (1817) and Bavarian Palatinate (1848), while Lutherans in other states (Bavaria proper, Hamburg, Hanover, Lübeck, the Mecklenburgs, Oldenburg, Saxon Duchies, Saxony, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schleswig-Holstein, and Württemberg) did not followed suit.

The German Reformed Church's finest hour arguably occurred during the Third Reich (1933–1945): although by far not all Reformed clergy and their flocks opposed the Nazis, the Reformed Church dominated the Confessing Church resistance against Hitler — partially, it has been said, because Reformed congregations had fewer hierarchy- and state-centered perspectives than the Lutherans.

As of 2009 German Protestants come in four different guises, all under one national umbrella, but differentiated by region (Landeskirche, usually regions smaller than the states):

  1. Lutheran
  2. Reformed, namely Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany (comprising Reformed congregations in all areas, where Lutherans and Reformed did not unite, but Lippe), and Church of Lippe
  3. Administration-United - in these churches, each parish is either Lutheran, Reformed or united Protestant, and so is the congregation and the Pastor, but all share the same administration
  4. Consensus-United - there is no difference even at the parish level

In Germany As of 2009 roughly 25 million Germans (less than one-third of the entire population, slightly more than half of German Christians) are Protestant. Of these, less than 2 million are Reformed. The main coordinating body for Reformed churches in Germany is the Reformed Alliance in Germany.[7]

Smaller, separate denominations include the Evangelical Old-Reformed Church in Lower Saxony, the Union of Evangelical Reformed Churches in Germany, and the episcopally governed Free Reformed Churches of Germany.

France

In France, the Reformed Protestants were called Huguenots. The Reformed Church of France survived under persecution from 1559 until the Edict of Nantes (1598), the effect of which was to establish regions in which Protestants could live unmolested. These areas became centers of political resistance under which the Reformed church was protected until 1628, when La Rochelle, the Protestant center of resistance to Louis XIII, was overrun by a French army blockade. After the Protestant resistance failed, the Reformed Church of France reorganized, and was guaranteed toleration under the Edict of Nantes until the final revocation of toleration in 1685 (Edict of Fontainebleau). The periods of persecution scattered French Reformed refugees to England, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Africa (especially South Africa) and America. Louis XVI granted an edict of toleration. Freedom of religion came with the French Revolution. Napoleon organized state controlled French Reformed church with the Organic Articles in 1802. A free (meaning, not state controlled) synod of the Reformed Church emerged in 1848 and survives in small numbers to the present time. The French refugees established French Reformed churches in the Latin countries and in America.

The first Reformed churches in France produced the Gallic Confession and French Reformed confession of faith, which served as models for the Belgic Confession of Faith (1563).

Today, about 300,000 people are members of the Reformed Church of France (now United Protestant Church of France). There is also the smaller Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine and the more conservative National Union of Independent Reformed Evangelical Churches of France.

The Malagazy Protestant Church in France is a Reformed denomination whose members come from Madagascar. The Union of Free Evangelical Churches in France is another denomination.

Britain and Ireland

The churches with Presbyterian traditions in the United Kingdom have the Westminster Confession of Faith as one of their important confessional documents.

In Wales there are the Union of Welsh Independents which is another congregational body. The Presbyterian Church of Wales is one of the biggest Christian denomination in Wales.

In Scotland presbyterianism was established in 1560 by John Knox who studied in Geneva and planted Calvinism in his home country. The presbyterian churches in the USA, Canada, Australia trace their origin back primarily from Scotland.

In Ulster, Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland spread the reformed faith in the 17th century.

Greece

Croatia

Italy

The Waldensian Evangelical Church is an Italian historical Protestant denomination.

After Protestant Reformation, the small church absorbed Calvinist theology - under the influence of Guillaume Farel- and became the Italian branch of Reformed churches.

In 1975 the Waldensian Church (45,000 members circa, plus some 15,000 affiliates in Argentina and Uruguay) joined forces with the Italian Methodist Church (5,000) to form the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches. It is member both of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and of the World Methodist Council, due to its nature of united church.

The Evangelical Reformed Baptist Churches in Italy is Reformed baptistic denomination in Italy. This network of churches recover the Reformed tradition like Pietro Martire Vermigli and Girolamo Zanchi. A member of the World Reformed Fellowship.

Ukraine

70-75% of Transcarpathian Hungarians are followers of the reformed faith. Transcarpathian Reformed Church has 3 diocese with about 120,000 - 140,000 members. It maintains schools and this church is the oldest Protestant community in Ukraine established in the 16th century. A member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.

This church was started by missionaries of the Presbyterian Church in America and has 12 congregations and missions with 11 ordained national pastors; it maintains a Reformed seminary in Kiev.

Serbia

Sweden

Slovenia

Poland

Bulgaria

Denmark

Belgium

Spain

Lithuania

Czech Republic

Portugal

Latvia

Luxemburg

Austria

Liechtenstein

Cyprus

Russia

Belarus

Macedonia

Finland

Albania

Oceania

Australia

Congregational churches

American Samoa

Cook Island

Fiji

French Polynesia

Marshall Islands

Micronesia

New Caledonia

New Zealand

Kiribati

Nauru

Niue

Solomon Islands

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

Western Samoa

North America

Associated with the Dutch Reformed (Gereformeerde Gemeenten (Dutch)) churches in the Netherlands.
The PCA is the second largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States, after the PC(USA). Its motto is: "Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed Faith and Obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ."
The Presbyterian Church in Canada, formed in June 1875, as a union of 4 Presbyterian groups in the Dominion of Canada (created in 1867); These "Continuing Presbyterians", did not join the United Church of Canada in 1925, of Presbyterians, along with Methodists, Congregationalists, and Union Churches.
Most Presbyterian churches adhere to the Westminster Confession of Faith, but the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in order to embrace the historical expressions of the whole Reformed tradition as found in the United States, has adopted a Book of Confessions which includes the Westminster Confession of Faith.
One of the most conservative of all Reformed/Calvinist denominations, the PRCA separated from the Christian Reformed Church in the 1920s in a schism over the issue of common grace.

The majority of the original Reformed Church in the United States, which was founded in 1725, merged with Evangelical Synod of North America (a mix of German Reformed & Lutheran theologies) to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1940 (which would merge with the Congregational Christian Churches in 1957 to form the United Church of Christ) leaving the Eureka Classis serving as a Continuing church of the Reformed Church in the United States until 1986, when it was dissolved to form the Synod of the Reformed Church in the United States

The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is the oldest Dutch Reformed denomination in the United States, dating back from the mid-17th century

Although most churches in the Southern Baptist Convention cannot be described as Reformed, the Baptist Faith and Message is open enough to allow for Reformed Baptist churches. These Reformed Baptist churches generally also affirm the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. The Founders Ministries is a group of Southern Baptists that assert that the founding of the Southern Baptist Convention had placed the denomination within the Reformed tradition.
The United Church of Christ was formed in 1957 as a union bringing together the majority of Congregational churches in the US, the (German) Reformed Church in the United States, the (German) Evangelical Synod of North America (a body descended from the Reformed-Lutheran Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union), and the Christian Connection (a restorationist movement).

Asia

Bangladesh

Cambodia

China

East Timor

Japan

Republic of Korea

Most Presbyterian denominations share same name, the Presbyteian Church in Korea, tracing back their history to the United Presbyterian Assembly. There are 15 million Protestants in South Korea, about 9 millions are Presbyterians and there are more than 100 Presbyterian denominations. Before the Korean War Presbyterians were very strong in North Korea, many fled to South, and established their own Presbyterian denominations.[14] The Presbyterian Churches are by far the largest Protestant churches with well over 20 000 congregations. For more information see Presbyterianism in South Korea.

India

Indonesia

(source: reformiert-online)

Kazakhstan

Laos

Lebanon

Malaysia

Mongolia

Myanmar

Nepal

Pakistan

Philippines

Sri Lanka

Singapore

Thailand

Taiwan

Turkey

Vietnam

Africa

Algeria

Angola

Benin

Botswana

Burundi

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Central African Republic

Chad

Democratic Republic of Congo

Republic of Congo

Djibouti

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Erithrea

Ethiopia

Gabon

Gambia

Ghana

Guinea-Bissau

Ivory Coast

Lesotho

Liberia

Kenya

Malawi

Madagascar

Mauritius

Mozambique

Morocco

Namibia

Niger

Nigeria

The various Reformed churches of Nigeria formed the Reformed Ecumenical Council of Nigeria in 1991 to further cooperation.

South Africa

According to the census of 2001, more than 3.2 million people recorded themselves as Reformed. This however is fast decline compared to the 1996 census, when still 3.9 million people were Reformed. Particularly amongst black and coloured people the Reformed churches lost many members, while the number of Reformed whites remained status quo due to mass emigration.

Senegal

Sierra Leone

Swaziland

Sudan

Uganda

Reunion

Rwanda

Togo

Tunisie

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Central America and the Caribbean

Bahamas

Bermuda

Belize

Costa Rica

Cuba

El Salvador

Guatemala

Haiti

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Guadalupe

Honduras

Jamaica

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Puerto Rico

Trinidad and Tobago

South America

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Reformed churches

Presbyterian Churches

Congregational churches

Chile

Colombia

Ecuador

French Guyana

Guyana

Paraguay

Peru

Suriname

Uruguay

Venezuela

Middle East

Israel

Syria

Lebanon

Iran

Iraq

Iran

See also

Individual church congregations
International organizations

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ www.reformatus.hu
  4. ↑ www.reformatus.hu
  5. ↑ church website
  6. ↑ church website
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ www.rbc.org.nz
  10. ↑ www.firefellowship.org
  11. ↑ http://www.kpca.org/
  12. ↑
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ http://www.crcna.org/news-and-views/touched-devotion-south-korea
  15. ↑ Independent Reformed Church
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ , http://www.reformiert-online.net/adressen/detail.php?id=1320&lg=eng
  18. ↑ , http://www.reformiert-online.net/adressen/detail.php?id=1323&lg=eng
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ www.presbyterianchurchpk.org
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ http://www.crcphil.com/home.html
  23. ↑ www.prca.org/missions/foreign/philippines
  24. ↑ http://wwrn.org/articles/24977/?&place=eastern-africa&section=presbyterian
  25. ↑
  26. ↑ http://relzim.org/major-religions-zimbabwe/reformed/
  27. ↑
  28. ↑
  29. ↑
  30. ↑
  31. ↑
  32. ↑
  33. ↑ http://www.standrewsjerusalem.org/english/

External links

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