Reformed Church
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Zwinglian or Calvinist system of doctrine but organizationally independent. Each of the nations in which the Reformed movement was established had originally its own church government. Several of these local churches have expanded to worldwide denominations and most have experienced splits into multiple denominations. Commitment to teaching the original Calvinism usually continues to be reflected in their official definitions of doctrine, but in some cases is no longer necessarily typical of these churches. A 1999 survey found 746 Reformed denominations worldwide.
Form of Doctrine
Reformed doctrine is expressed in various creeds. A few creeds are shared by many denominations. Different denominations use different creeds, usually based on historical reasons. Some of the common creeds are (with year of writing):
The Three forms of unity are common among Reformed churches with origins in the European continent (especially those in the Netherlands). The Westminster Standards have a similarly common use, among Reformed churches (known commonly as the Presbyterian churches) with origins in the British Isles. More recent confessions and creeds are shared by fewer denominations.
Form of Government
Contrary to Lutheran, Anglican or Methodist churches with episcopal structures, Reformed churches have mainly three forms of church government:
A sub-family of the Reformed churches, called Reformed Baptist churches, adhere to modified Reformed confessions, and have Baptist views of the sacraments and of church government.
Continental Reformed churches
- Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basle (Johannes Oekolampadius), 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 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 later under William Farel and John Calvin coming from France. The Zwingli and Calvin branches had each 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. 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.
- 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 final revocation of toleration in 1685. The periods of persecution scattered French Reformed refugees to England, Germany, Switzerland, Africa and America. 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).
- Germany was established under the Peace of Westphalia, in 1648, but political difficulties at the end of the 17th century almost eliminated them. In the 19th century, by state mandate the Reformed churches were combined with the Lutherans to form an Evangelical Union in Prussia.
- Reformed churches in the Netherlands
- The Dutch Reformed churches have suffered numerous splits and unions. Currently existing denominations are:
- Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN) formed from the union of the Netherlands Reformed Church (NHK), the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (GKN) and the Reformed Congregrations in the Netherlands (GGN)
- Originally founded by Petrus Waldes in the 12th century, the Waldensian church adopted the Reformed doctrines under the influence of William Farel.
Reformed churches in 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.
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- The Presbyterian Church in Ireland serves the whole of the island.
In addition to these, there are also other churches with smaller flocks, notably in Northern Ireland.
Reformed churches in the United States of America and Canada (and Old World counterparts)
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- The CRC is a conservative/evangelical denomination founded by Dutch immigrants in the nineteenth century in West Michigan.
- The Presbyterian Church of Canada split from a larger group of the same name that voted to join the United Church of Canada in 1925
- The RCA is a liberal/evangelical denomination formed by Dutch immigrants during colonial times.
Most Presbyterian churches adhere to the Westminster Confession of Faith, but the Presbyterian Church (USA), in order to embrace the historical expressions of the whole Reformed tradition as found in the United States, has adopted a Book of Confessions. The BOC contains the Nicene Creed, Apostles Creed, Scots Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Second Helvetic Confession, Westminster Confession of Faith, Westminster Shorter Catechism, Westminster Larger Catechism, Theological Declaration of Barmen, Confession of 1967, and Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1810)
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Reformed churches in Korea
1. Presbyterian Church in Korea(Kosin). The PCK (Kosin) is a Reformed denomination in Korea which accepts the Westminster standards as its confession. The church also recognizes "Three Forms of Unity", to be same as the Westminster Standards. Kosin church wants to be a biblical and confessional denomination, pure in doctrine and life. There are about 2,000 local churches, including some churches in North America and Europe.
2. The Korean Presbyterian Church(Hapdong?) which formed the primary body of the Nigeria Reformed Church - (Dutch Reformed)
The various Reformed churches of Nigeria formed the Reformed Ecumenical Council of Nigeria in 1991 to further cooperation.
International organizations of Reformed churches
