Reformed churches definition of Reformed churches in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Reformed churches, in a general sense, all Protestant churches that claim a beginning in the Reformation. In more restricted and more usual historical usage, Reformed churches are those Protestant churches that had their ecclesiastical origin in the doctrines of John Calvin, as distinct from those that are Lutheran or Evangelical. Swiss and Dutch churches and many in Germany came to be denominated Reformed. The Reformed churches as a rule follow the polity of Presbyterianism Presbyterianism, form of Christian church organization based on administration by a hierarchy of courts composed of clerical and lay presbyters. Holding a position between episcopacy (government by bishops) and Congregationalism (government by local congregation),
..... Click the link for more information. . They tend toward a simple form of worship rather than elaborate ritual. In the United States, churches bearing the Reformed title include the Reformed Church in America Reformed Church in America, Protestant denomination founded in colonial times by settlers from the Netherlands and formerly known as the Dutch Reformed Church. The Reformed Church in Holland emerged in the 16th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , generally known as the Dutch Reformed Church, the Christian Reformed Church Christian Reformed Church, denomination formed after the secession of a group from the Reformed Church in America in 1857. Colonists from Holland who began settling in Michigan in 1846 generally became members of the Reformed (Dutch) church there.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Evangelical and Reformed Church Evangelical and Reformed Church, Protestant denomination formed by the merger (1934) of the Reformed Church in the United States and the Evangelical Synod of North America. Both of these bodies had originated in the Reformation in Europe.
..... Click the link for more information. , and the Free Magyar Reformed Church in America. The first two trace their origin to Holland, the third to Germany and Switzerland, and the fourth to Hungary. See Calvinism Calvinism, term used in several different senses. It may indicate the teachings expressed by John Calvin himself; it may be extended to include all that developed from his doctrine and practice in Protestant countries in social, political, and ethical, as well as
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