Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | CREC |
Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Reformed |
Theology | Evangelical |
Polity | Presbyterian |
Presiding minister | Uri Brito |
Region | |
Origin | 1998 |
Congregations | 140 [1] |
Other name(s) | Confederation of Reformed Evangelicals Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches |
Official website | crechurches |
The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), formerly the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches, [2] was founded in 1998 as a body of churches that hold to Reformed theology. [3] Member churches include those from Presbyterian, Reformed, and Reformed Baptist backgrounds. The CREC has over a hundred member churches in the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Belarus, Poland, Brazil, Jersey, and the Czech Republic. [4] These are organised into nine presbyteries, named after figures in church history: Anselm, Athanasius, Augustine, Bucer, Hus, Knox, Kuyper, Tyndale, and Wycliffe.
The denomination began in 1998 as the Confederation of Reformed Evangelicals (CRE). [5] The founding churches were Community Evangelical Fellowship (now Christ Church) in Moscow, Idaho; Eastside Evangelical Fellowship (now Trinity Church) in Bellevue, Washington; and Wenatchee Evangelical Fellowship in Wenatchee, Washington. Its co-founders include Douglas Wilson. [6] [7] [8]
The name was changed to the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches in 2004, [9] and then, in 2011, to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. [10]
The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches holds to Reformed theology as set forth in the Westminster Standards, Three Forms of Unity, and 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. On some doctrines, such as the Federal Vision, paedocommunion, and paedobaptism, the CREC allows each church to determine its own position.[ citation needed ] The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches requires that all member churches adopt a statement of faith including the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon, and at least one of the following historic confessions: [11]
The CREC rejects both modernism and fundamentalism. [13] It has published a number of "memorials", which among other things affirm Young Earth creationism, deprecate government schooling, and reject women serving in the military. [14] While non-partisan, CREC churches are "uniformly hostile to the leftist agenda". [15]
Churches in CREC generally practise covenant renewal worship. [15]
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community which summarize its core tenets.
Reformed Baptists, Particular Baptists and Calvinistic Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology. Depending on the denomination, Calvinistic Baptists adhere to varying degrees of Reformed theology, ranging from simply embracing the Five Points of Calvinism, to accepting a modified form of federalism; all Calvinistic Baptists reject the classical Reformed teaching on infant baptism. While the Reformed Baptist confessions affirm views of the nature of baptism similar to those of the classical Reformed, they reject infants as the proper subjects of baptism. The first Calvinistic Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith is a significant summary of the beliefs of Reformed Baptists. The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20th century to denote Baptists who retained Baptist ecclesiology, and reaffirmed Reformed biblical theology, such as Covenant theology.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology. It is a conservative Calvinist denomination. It is most distinctive for its approach to the way it balances certain liberties across congregations on "non-essential" doctrines, such as egalitarianism /complementarianism in marriage or the ordination of women, alongside an affirmation of core "essential" doctrinal standards.
The International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC) is a federation of Reformed or Calvinist churches around the world. The ICRC convenes international meetings every four years.
The reformed confessions of faith are the confessional documents of various Reformed churches. These express the doctrinal views of the churches adopting the confession. Confessions play a crucial part in the theological identity of reformed churches, either as standards to which ministers must subscribe, or more generally as accurate descriptions of their faith. Most confessions date to the 16th and 17th century.
Catholicity is a concept pertaining to beliefs and practices that are widely accepted by numerous Christian denominations, most notably by those Christian denominations that describe themselves as catholic in accordance with the Four Marks of the Church, as expressed in the Nicene Creed formulated at the First Council of Constantinople in 381: "[I believe] in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church." The English adjective catholic is derived from the Ancient Greek adjective καθολικός, meaning "general", "universal". Thus, "catholic" means that in the Church the wholeness of the Christian faith, full and complete, all-embracing, and with nothing lacking, is proclaimed to all people without excluding any part of the faith or any class or group of people. An early definition for what is "catholic" was summarized in what is known as the Vincentian Canon in the 5th century Commonitory: "what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all."
Christ Church is a Calvinist church in Moscow, Idaho, pastored by Douglas Wilson, and a member of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. The congregation has received international coverage for its views, which include advocating for a theocracy, and its desire to make Moscow a "Christian town". It has formal and informal affiliations with a number of ministries, including a three-year ministerial training program, a private accredited college, a campus ministry, and formerly a publishing operation and magazine. The church is estimated to have between 900 and 2,000 members.
Douglas James Wilson is a conservative Reformed and evangelical theologian, pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, faculty member at New Saint Andrews College, and author and speaker. Wilson is known for his writing on classical Christian education, Reformed theology, as well as general cultural commentary. He is a public proponent of postmillennialism, Christian nationalism, and covenant theology. He is also featured in the documentary film Collision documenting his debates with anti-theist Christopher Hitchens on their promotional tour for the book Is Christianity Good for the World?.
The Federal Vision is a Reformed evangelical theological approach that focuses on covenant theology, Trinitarian thinking, the sacraments of baptism and communion, biblical theology and typology, justification, and postmillennialism. A controversy arose in Reformed and Presbyterian circles in response to views expressed at a 2002 conference entitled The Federal Vision: An Examination of Reformed Covenantalism. The ongoing controversy involves several Reformed denominations including the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA), and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States (RPCUS), and the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRCA).
The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical, Christian fellowship that advances partnerships among confessional Reformed churches around the world.
ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians is an evangelical Presbyterian denomination in the United States. As a Presbyterian church, ECO adheres to Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity. It was established in 2012 by former congregations and members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA). Denominational disputes over theology—particularly ordination of practicing homosexuals as pastors and gay marriage—and bureaucracy led to the founding of ECO. In 2018, ECO has over 383 congregations, 103,425 covenant partners and over 500 pastors. ECO churches are egalitarian in beliefs and ordain women as pastors and elders.
The Reformed Church of East Africa was founded in 1944 when the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa started mission work in Eldoret Kenya. This work was overtaken by the missionaries came from the Netherlands Reformed Church. The church accepted the Three Forms of Unity. When the Dutch missionaries left, they left behind a Kenyan Reformed church. At the time it has more than 600 congregations and 110,000 members. The denomination has a theological seminary in Eldoret, The Reformed Institute For Theological Training (RITT). RITT offers courses in Theology. The church become autonomous in 1963. There are more than 110,000 adherents. The Christian Reformed Church in Eastern Africa separated in 1992. It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. It has official relationship with the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in the USA began to send missionaries to Mexico.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of India is a historic confessional Presbyterian denomination in India, established in the 19th century by Scottish and Irish missionaries.
The Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church (AEPC) is a growing conservative Presbyterian and Reformed Church which adheres to the Westminster Confession of Faith started in Kenya, later spread to the surrounding countries like Burundi, Tanzania, Congo and as far as Zimbabwe. The headquarters of the church is located in Nairobi, Kenya. The current Moderator is Rev. Dr Joseph Mutei installed on Sunday 26th June 2022.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Myanmar is a conservative Reformed denomination in Myanmar.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Myanmar was founded by Reverend Robert Thawm Luai in 1983. Members of this Church were once affiliated with different Christian denominations and churches, eventually seceding due to liberalism, ecumenism and charismatism.
The Fellowship of Reformed Baptist Churches in New Zealand is a Reformed Baptist denomination in New Zealand. It holds to the early creeds the Apostles Creed, Athanasian Creed and Nicene Creed, and also to the Reformation distinctives, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Confession of Faith and also to the five solae. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith is the Reformed Baptist Confession.