Alliance of Reformed Churches | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | ARC (note that ARC can also refer to the Association of Related Churches) |
Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Reformed |
Theology | Reformed |
Governance | Strategic Board with policy governance |
Region | United States |
Origin | 2021 |
Separated from | Reformed Church in America |
Congregations | 130 |
Official website | arc21 |
The Alliance of Reformed Churches (ARC) is a Reformed Christian denomination formed in 2021 by a group of churches that broke away from the Reformed Church in America. [1] [2]
In the 2010s, the Reformed Church in America (RCA) faced internal conflict to define its position on same-sex marriage and homosexuality. [3] [4]
In 2021, after failing to find an agreement among the internal groups, the denomination approved a restructuring of its classes (presbyteries), to regroup the churches according to their positions on marriage and sexuality. This generated the dissatisfaction of the more conservative members, who saw with it the implicit permission for churches to celebrate same-sex marriage when they form classes that support this conduct. [5]
In response, about 55 churches left the RCA in 2021 and formed the Alliance of Reformed Churches. [1] [2]
The ARC permits ordination of women and subscribes to the Apostles' Creed, Athanasian Creed and Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.
It also subscribes to the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, the Belhar Confession and the Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality. [6]
Within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexuality. The view that various Bible passages speak of homosexuality as immoral or sinful emerged in the first millennium AD, and has since become entrenched in many Christian denominations through church doctrine and the wording of various translations of the Bible.
The Protestant Church in the Netherlands is the largest Protestant denomination in the Netherlands, being both Calvinist and Lutheran.
Presbyterianism is a Reformed (Calvinist) Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders. Though there are other Reformed churches that are structurally similar, the word Presbyterian is applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that formed during the English Civil War.
The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 84,957 members. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church.
The Christian Reformed Church in North America is a Protestant Calvinist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. Having roots in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church was founded by Dutch immigrants in 1857 and is theologically Calvinist.
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The United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of Reformed churches founded in 1996. Many churches joined the URCNA after splitting from the Christian Reformed Church in North America denomination.
The Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands is a Protestant church in the Netherlands.
The Free Reformed Churches of North America (FRCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of churches in the Dutch Calvinist tradition with congregations in the United States and Canada. It officially adopted its current name in 1974.
The Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States (WPCUS) was a Presbyterian denomination, founded in United States in 2006, by Rev. Brian Schwertley, formerly affiliated with Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church and other pastors formerly affiliated with other Presbyterian denominations. The founders were particularly concerned with the perceived spread of liberal teaching within Presbyterianism in the United States and in particular with Federal Vision theology, which they believe supplies a different understanding of doctrines such as justification and the perseverance of the saints.
The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by many Calvinist churches.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church - Hanover Presbytery is a very conservative Protestant, Presbyterian denomination, founded in 1991, with congregations in United States and also in Brazil.
The Covenant Presbyterian Church (CPC) is a Protestant, Reformed denomination, founded in United States in 2006 by a group of churches that split from the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly for supporting paedocommunion.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. Like most Christian churches in Ireland, it is organised on an all-island basis, in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The church has approximately 210,000 members.
The Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) is an Evangelical Presbyterian denomination, which is the biggest Christian church in South Korea. The headquarters of the church is in Seoul, South Korea.
The American Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination formed in 1979 by churches that separated from the Bible Presbyterian Church (BPC) for defending Exclusive Psalmody, alcohol abstinence, and a premillennialist.
Evangel Presbytery is a Presbyterian denomination, formed in 2019, by four churches. Two independent churches, one church formerly from the Presbyterian Church in America, and one reformed baptist church formed the presbytery to protect the individual freedom of the churches regarding the doctrine of baptism, thus allowing the adhesion of churches paedobaptists and credobaptists.
The Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church (CRPC) is a Presbyterian denomination, formed in 1997, by churches from various other denominations.
The Presbyterian Reformed Church in India (PRCI) is a Presbyterian denomination, established in South India, in 2015, as a result of the missionary work of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil in Goa, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Sikkim (EPCS) is a Presbyterian denomination that was established in Sikkim in 1993 by various churches that broke away from the Church of North India. As of 2014, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sikkim.