International Conference of Reformed Churches | |
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Type | Fellowship |
Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Confessionally Reformed |
Origin | 1981 |
Members | 751,125 |
Official website | www |
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 ICRC was founded in 1981 at Groningen in the Netherlands. [1]
The theology of the ICRC is more conservative than the larger World Communion of Reformed Churches and is similar to that of the World Reformed Fellowship. The participating churches endorse the four Reformed confessions: the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, Canons of Dort, and Westminster Confession of Faith.
In 2023, the moderator of the ICRC is Reverend Dr Dick Moes. [2]
Reformed Faith emerged in Europe, in the 16th Century. From then on, it spread through migration and missions throughout the world. Since the 19th century, Reformed Christians began to organize structures that allowed communion and the testimony of unity among Reformed people around the world.
In 1875, the Alliance of Reformed Churches that maintains the Presbyterian System (ARCPS) was organized in London. In 1891, the International Congregational Council (ICC) formed an umbrella of churches of the Reformed Tradition that adopted system of congregational government.
In 1946, conservative reformed churches organized the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC).
In 1970, ARCPS and ICC formed the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC). [3] [4]
In the following decades, several denominations participated simultaneously in both organizations, aligning the REC increasingly with WARC, This approach would culminate in the merger between the two organizations in 2010, to form the World Communion of Reformed Churches. [3]
As the REC became increasingly liberal and closer to WARC, a group of conservative Reformed churches saw the need to form a new international organization of Reformed denominations. Thus, in 1982, the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC) was formed. The first meeting of the conference was held in 1985. At the time, the founders of the conference were the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated), Free Reformed Churches of Australia, Canadian and American Reformed Churches, Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Ireland), Free Church of Scotland and Reformed Churches in Indonesia. [5] [6] [7]
In the following years, ICRC grew, bringing together conservative Reformed denominations from around the world. Even so, a large part of its members are simultaneously members of the World Reformed Fellowship and some are also members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
List of ICRC Members in 2023: [8] [9]
Country | denominational subfamily | Denomination | Number of congregations | Number of members | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia | 16 | 719 | 2016 [10] |
Australia | Continental reformed | Christian Reformed Churches of Australia | 55 | 7,611 | 2022 [10] |
Brazil | Continental reformed | Reformed Churches in Brazil | 18 | 1,061 | 2022 [11] |
Canada | Continental reformed | Canadian and American Reformed Churches | 76 | 19,866 | 2023 [11] |
Canada | Continental reformed | Heritage Reformed Congregations | 10 | 2,186 | 2022 [11] |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | Continental reformed | United Reformed Church in Congo | 181 | 14,657 | 2012 [12] |
India | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Free Church of Central India | 18 | 756 | 2021 [10] |
India | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church of India | 10 | 3,000 | 2004 [13] |
India | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church North East India | 105 | 11,376 | 2021 [10] |
India | Presbyterian | Anugraha Reformed Presbyterian Church of Bangalore | - | - | - |
India | Continental reformed | Evangelical Reformed Church of India | 84 | - | 2022 [14] |
Indonesia | Continental reformed | Calvinist Reformed Churches in Indonesia | 11 | - | - |
Indonesia | Continental reformed | Reformed Churches in Indonesia | 91 | 11,200 | 2004 [15] [16] [17] |
Ireland | Presbyterian | Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Ireland) | 10 | 396 | 2021 [10] |
Ireland | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland | 41 | 2,065 | 2022 [10] |
Kenya | Presbyterian | Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church | 100 | 22,000 | [18] |
Netherlands | Continental reformed | Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands | 181 | 67,629 | 2024 [19] |
Netherlands | Continental reformed | Reformed Churches (Netherlands) [20] | 31 | 3,500 | 2024 [21] [22] |
Romania, Ukraine and Hungary | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church of Central and Eastern Europe | 25 | 370 | 2022 [10] |
New Zealand | Continental reformed | Reformed Churches of New Zealand | 23 | 3,461 | 2022 [10] |
South Africa | Presbyterian | Free Church in Southern Africa | 63 | 4,000 | 2004 [23] |
South Africa | Continental reformed | Free Reformed Churches of South Africa | 13 | 1,888 | 2022 [10] |
South Africa, Nambia and Botswana | Continental reformed | Reformed Churches in South Africa | 382 | 76,812 | 2022 [10] |
South Korea | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin) | 2,128 | 385,186 | 2023 [24] |
South Korea | Presbyterian | Independent Reformed Church in Korea | 4 | 208 | 2022 [10] |
Spain | Continental reformed | Reformed Churches in Spain | 3 | - | - |
Sudan and South Sudan | Continental reformed | Sudanese Reformed Churches | 34 | 6,000 | 2023 [25] |
Uganda | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church in Uganda | 87 | 3,047 | 2019 [10] |
Uganda | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church in Africa (Uganda) | - | - | - |
United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland | Presbyterian | Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales | 24 | 1,001 | 2021 [10] |
United Kingdom | Presbyterian | Free Church of Scotland | 112 | 5,400 | 2016 [10] |
United Kingdom | Presbyterian | Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) | 40 | 1,691 | 2022 [11] |
United States of America | Presbyterian | Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church | 260 | 25,692 | 2023 [11] |
United States of America | Presbyterian | Orthodox Presbyterian Church | 332 | 33,520 | 2023 [26] |
United States of America | Continental reformed | United Reformed Churches in North America | 130 | 25,296 | 2021 [27] |
United States of America | Continental reformed | Reformed Church in the United States | 43 | 3,340 | 2022 [11] |
United States of America | Continental reformed | Free Reformed Churches of North America | 23 | 5,420 | 2021 [10] |
United States of America | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America | 107 | 7,581 | 2021 [10] |
World | Total | International Conference of Reformed Churches | 4,866 | 751,125 | 2004-2024 |
The Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin), alone, represents 50.37% of the individual members of the International Conference of Reformed Churches. Together, Presbyterians represent 66.73% of individual members. The continental Reformed represent 33.25%.
In 2020, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Peru expressed interest in joining the ICRC, requesting support from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to do so. [28]
In 2023, a presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America requested that the denomination apply for ICRC membership; the General Assembly referred this overture to its permanent Interchurch Relations Committee. [29]
The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) and Free Reformed Churches of Australia were founding denominations of the ICRC. However, none of them are currently part of the CIIR. [6] [30] [8]
In 2017, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) began to allow women's ordination, which is completely rejected by the other members of the organization. Consequently, the ICRC suspended the denomination's membership rights, and urged it to reverse its decision. [31]
However, the Liberated Reformed Churches did not respond to the ICRC's request and continued to ordain women. Consequently, in 2022, the ICRC approved the definitive expulsion of the organization's denomination. [32]
The Free Reformed Churches of Australia (FRCA) are a federation of 18 congregations, 16 in Western Australia, two in Tasmania and a home-congregation in Cairns. At the start of 2016 the total membership was 4,663. Their historical roots are in the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Liberated) as a result of post-World War II immigration, and their doctrinal roots are in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation and the Bible. The first congregation was in Armadale, Western Australia, founded in 1951.
The Christian Conference of Asia is a regional ecumenical organisation representing 15 National Councils and over 100 denominations (churches) in New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 86 million people, thus being the third-largest Christian communion in the world after the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. This ecumenical Christian body was formed in June 2010 by the union of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC).
The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical, Christian fellowship that advances partnerships among confessional Reformed churches around the world.
The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) (Dutch: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt)) was an orthodox Calvinist federation of churches. This church body arose in 1944 out of the so-called Liberation (Vrijmaking) from the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, when many pastors and members refused to go along with the General Synod's demand to hold to "presumed regeneration of infants" at their baptism. Klaas Schilder played an important role in the Liberation. There were 270 affiliated local congregations with a total of about 120,000 members in 2016.
Protestantism is one of the six approved religions in Indonesia, the others being Islam, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It constitutes the bulk of Christianity in Indonesia, which is the second largest religion in the country after Islam.
The Indonesian Christian Church Synod abbreviated as Sinode GKI, is an Indonesian church of Presbyterian denomination. It adheres to Calvinist theology, with head office located in Jakarta.
The World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship (WECF) is a global association of evangelical Christian Congregational Churches, from various national associations around the world, which is united by a common belief in the lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Bible, as well as by its common desire for evangelism.
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 Gereja-Gereja Reformasi di Indonesia or the Indonesian Reformed Churches is a confessional Reformed church in the country of Indonesia established by orthodox Calvinist Dutch missionaries.
Gereja Jemaat Protestan di Indonesia is a Reformed church in the Province of Papua in Indonesia. It was created on 25 June 1984 by the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands. It began pioneer mission work in the Yali territory. Historically this was known as Irian Jaya and was part of the Dutch East Indies. In Papua there are 250 different languages.
The Gereja-Gereja Reformasi Calvinis di Indonesia (GGRCI) is a Reformed denomination in Indonesia. This denomination is a member of International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC). GGRCI has churches and mission works all around Indonesia, including in: Rote island, Sabu island, Timor island Java island, Sumba island, and Celebes island. GGRCI holds the Reformed confessions (Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and Canons of Dort.
The Protestant Church in Indonesia is a Reformed church; it is a member of World Communion of Reformed Churches.
The Toraja Mamasa Church was established on 7 June 1947, and based in West Sulawesi. It is a Protestant church, and a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. It was a fruit of the Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, a conservative Reformed denomination. Evangelism was started in 1931. These churches were grouped together in 1948 to form an independent denomination. This is the largest church in the Mamasa Valley.
The Pasundan Christian Church was officially established in Indonesia on 14 November 1934. It has 51 congregations and 33,000 members. It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).
The Independent Reformed Church in Korea (IRCK) is a Conservative Christian denomination in South Korea. It was established in 1964, and was the only church to use Reformed in its name. It confess the Westminster Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dort and the ecumenical creeds.
The Reformed and Presbyterian Churches Fellowship in Myanmar (RPCFM) is a national ecumenical organization, bringing together Presbyterian and continental reformed Protestants incorporated in Myanmar.