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The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th century as a loose association of churches working toward Christian unity. These slowly formed quasi-denominational structures through missionary societies, regional associations, and an international convention. In 1968, the Disciples of Christ officially adopted a denominational structure. At that time, a group of churches left in order to remain nondenominational.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Union of Utrecht, the Lutheran World Federation, the Anglican Communion, the Mennonite churches, the World Methodist Council, the Baptist World Alliance, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the Pentecostal churches, the Moravian Church and the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. Notably, the Catholic Church is not a full member, although it sends delegates who have observer status to meetings.
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but typically when two or more denominations are in full communion it enables services and celebrations, such as the Eucharist, to be shared among congregants or clergy of any of them with the full approval of each.
Ecumenism – also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalism – is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjective ecumenical is thus applied to any non-denominational or inter-denominational initiative which encourages greater cooperation and union among Christian denominations and churches. Ecumenical dialogue is a central feature of contemporary ecumenism.
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worship style and, sometimes, a founder. It is a secular and neutral term, generally used to denote any established Christian church. Unlike a cult or sect, a denomination is usually seen as part of the Christian religious mainstream. Most Christian denominations refer to themselves as churches, whereas some newer ones tend to interchangeably use the terms churches, assemblies, fellowships, etc. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine; issues such as the nature of Jesus, the authority of apostolic succession, biblical hermeneutics, theology, ecclesiology, eschatology, and papal primacy may separate one denomination from another. Groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as "branches of Christianity". These branches differ in many ways, especially through differences in practices and belief.
The Consultation on Church Union (COCU) was an effort towards church unity in the United States, that began in 1962 and in 2002 became the Churches Uniting in Christ. It was a significant part of the Christian movement towards ecumenism. This effort can be seen in the context of the worldwide ecumenical attitude that was manifested in the 1948 formation of the World Council of Churches, the 1950 formation of the National Council of Churches, the 1957 formation of the United Church of Christ, and the formation of the Roman Catholic Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity during the Second Vatican Council. The original task of COCU was to negotiate a consensus between its member denominations.
A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denominational orientations or traditions. Multi-denominationalism, or a multi-denominational church or organization, is a congregation or organization that is affiliated with two or more Christian denominations, whether they be part of the same tradition or from separate and distinct traditions.
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The Federal Council of Churches, officially the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, was an ecumenical association of Christian denominations in the United States in the early twentieth century. It represented the Anglican, Baptist, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Oriental Orthodox, Polish National Catholic, Presbyterian, and Reformed traditions of Christianity. It merged with other ecumenical bodies in 1950 to form the present day National Council of Churches.
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The Evangelical Church of the River Plate is a United, Protestant denomination with congregations in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It is named after the Río de la Plata Basin, where the majority of its congregations are located. The IERP was affiliated with the Evangelical Church in Germany from 1934–1965, when it became independent. The church ordains women as ministers and supported civil unions and same-sex marriage. It has approximately 27,500 members. The denomination is a member of the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation.
The Christian Church in Canada is a Reformed Restorationist denomination with 21 congregations across Canada. It functions both as a Canadian national church and as a region within the Christian Church in the United States and Canada. It is affiliated with the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council and the World Communion of Reformed Churches and has full communion agreements with the United Church of Canada and the United Church of Christ.
References
- ↑ Ans Joachim van der Bent, Historical Dictionary of Ecumenical Christianity, Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD, 1994, p. 76
- ↑ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, 2010, p. 891
- ↑ Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council, About the DECC, disciplesworldcommunion.org, USA, retrieved December 5, 2020
- ↑ "Disciples Ecumenical Advisory Council" . Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Evangelical Church of the Disciples of Christ in Argentina". World Council of Churches. January 1975. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Churches of Christ in Australia". World Council of Churches. January 1948. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada". January 1948. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ↑ "Church of Christ in Congo - Community of the Disciples of Christ". January 1965. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ↑ "Church of North India". January 1948. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ↑ "United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands". World Council of Churches. January 1967. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ↑ "A brief history of the Churches of Christ in Africa". November 1991. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Erik Tryggestad (January 1, 2011). "The face of Malawi: In a small African Nation, Churches of Christ Thrive" . Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Christian Churches New Zealand". World Council of Churches. January 1948. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Disciples of Christ Church in Paraguay" . Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Puerto Rico" . Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ "History of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa". Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
- ↑ "United Reformed Church Statistics" . Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ↑ "Statistics of the Fellowship of Churches of Christ in England" . Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Jeffrey Walton (September 15, 2023). "Review: Disciples of Christ suffer huge drop in membership after 2019" . Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ↑ World Communion of Reformed Churches, Members, wcrc.ch, Germany, retrieved December 5, 2020