Citizendia

Reformed Church in America
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationMainline
PolityPresbyterian
Origin1628 (first Dutch Reformed congregation organized in New Amsterdam); 1754 (American classis gains independence)
Branched fromDutch Reformed Church
SeparationsChristian Reformed Church (separated 1857; further congregations join the CRC in 1882)
AssociationsNational Council of Churches; World Council of Churches; Canadian Council of Churches; Christian Churches Together; World Alliance of Reformed Churches; Evangelical Fellowship of Canada; National Association of Evangelicals
Geographical AreaCanada, USA
Statistics
Congregations931 (2007)
Members270,858 (2007)

The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination that was formerly a part of the Dutch Reformed Church and known as the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of North America. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument for other uses see Mainline (disambiguation The mainline (also sometimes called Mainstream) or mainline Protestant denominations Ecclesiastical polity is the operational and governance structure of a Church or Christian denomination. Presbyterian polity is a method of Church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of Presbyters or elders New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that later became New York City. Year 1754 ( MDCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Dutch Reformed Church (in Dutch: Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk or NHK was one of many branches of churches coming out of the Protestant Reformation in Europe The 1857 Secession of the Classis Holland from Reformed Church in America occurred in January of that year Year 1882 ( MDCCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches, or NCC) is an association of 35 Christian The World Council of Churches ( WCC) is an international The Canadian Council of Churches/Le conseil canadien des églises is an ecumenical Christian forum of churches in Canada. Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT is a Christian Ecumenical group formed in 2006 to "broaden and expand fellowship unity and witness among the diverse The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC is a national Parachurch association of over 160 affiliated church denominations ministry organizations and educational institutions National Association of Evangelicals (NAE is an agency dedicated to coordinating cooperative ministry for evangelical denominations of Protestant Christians for other uses see Mainline (disambiguation The mainline (also sometimes called Mainstream) or mainline Protestant denominations The Reformed churches are a group of Christian Protestant Denominations formally characterized by a similar Calvinist system of doctrine historically Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Dutch Reformed Church (in Dutch: Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk or NHK was one of many branches of churches coming out of the Protestant Reformation in Europe The denomination has about 270,000 members and has congregations in both the U.S. and Canada. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The RCA is a founding member of the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches, Christian Churches Together, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and some parts of the denomination belong to the National Association of Evangelicals, the Canadian Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches, or NCC) is an association of 35 Christian The World Council of Churches ( WCC) is an international Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT is a Christian Ecumenical group formed in 2006 to "broaden and expand fellowship unity and witness among the diverse The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of National Association of Evangelicals (NAE is an agency dedicated to coordinating cooperative ministry for evangelical denominations of Protestant Christians

The Reformed Church confesses several statements of doctrine and faith. These include the historic Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed; the traditional Reformed Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort. The Nicene Creed (ˈnaɪsiːn is an ecumenical Christian statement of faith accepted in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of The Athanasian Creed ( Quicumque vult) is a statement of Christian Trinitarian doctrine and Christology which has been used in The Confession of Faith is popularly known as the Belgic Confession, following the seventeenth-century Latin designation Confessio Belgica. See also Catechism, Reformed Christian confessions of faith The Heidelberg Catechism is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the As of June 2007, the Belhar Confession was provisionally adopted for two years. The Belhar Confession is a Christian statement of belief originally written in Afrikaans and adopted by the synod of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in

John Ornee was elected President of the General Synod in 2007. The general secretary is Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, installed by the General Synod in 1994. The church is ordered by the Constitution of the Reformed Church in America, consisting of The Liturgy, The Government, and The Standards of Unity. The Government, along with The Formularies and The By-Laws of General Synod are published annually in a volume known as The Book of Church Order.

Contents

History

It is the oldest non-Anglican Protestant church with a continuous ministry and also the oldest corporation in North America. Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The early Dutch settlers in New Netherland held informal meetings for worship until Jonas Michaelius organized a congregation in New Amsterdam in 1628, called the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands New Netherland (Dutch Nieuw-Nederland, Latin Novum Belgium or Nova Belgica) 1614–1674 is the name of the former Dutch territory on the eastern coast New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that later became New York City. Marble Collegiate Church is a church of the Reformed Church in America located at Fifth Avenue and Twenty-Ninth Street in New York City.

The Reformed Church was the established church of New Netherland. Although the British captured the colony in 1664, all RCA ministers were still trained in the Netherlands under the auspices of the denominational classis of Amsterdam, and services in the Reformed Church remained in the Dutch language until 1764. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname (Dutch language use faded thereafter until the new wave of Dutch immigration in the mid-19th century, which prompted a temporary revival of it. ) In 1747 the denomination gave permission to form an assembly in America, which in 1754 declared itself independent of the classis of Amsterdam. Year 1747 ( MDCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1754 ( MDCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west This American classis secured a charter in 1766 for Queens College (now Rutgers University) in New Jersey. Year 1766 ( MDCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Rutgers The State University of New Jersey (also known as Rutgers University) is the largest institution for higher education in the state of New Jersey New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. The appointment in 1784 of John Henry Livingston as professor of theology marked the beginning of the New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The Reverend John Henry Livingston ( May 30, 1746 &ndash 25 January 1825) was the fourth President of Queen's College New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a professional and Graduate school founded in 1784 in New York City, to educate ministers for In 1792, a formal constitution was adopted; in 1794 the Reformed Church held its first general synod; and in 1867 formally adopted the name "Reformed Church in America". Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1867 ( MDCCCLXVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting

In the nineteenth century, in New York and New Jersey, the descendents of the original Dutch settlers struggled to preserve their European standards and traditions, while developing a taste for revivalism and an American identity.

The church embraced many of the historic colonial churches of New York and New Jersey, the denominational stronghold; fresh immigration from the Netherlands in the mid-19th century led to the development of the church in the Midwest. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Hope College and Western Theological Seminary were founded in Holland, Michigan, Central College at Pella, Iowa, and Northwestern College at Orange City, Iowa. Hope College is a medium-sized (3200 undergraduates private residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland Michigan, a few miles from Western Theological Seminary (WTS is a professional and Graduate school in Holland Michigan affiliated with the Reformed Church in America Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U Central College is a private Liberal arts college located in Pella Iowa. Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9832 at the 2000 census Northwestern College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Orange City Iowa. Orange City is a city in Sioux County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5582 at the 2000 census In the 1857 Secession, a group of Dutch settlers in Michigan led by Gijsbert Haan separated from the Reformed Church and organized the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and other churches followed. The 1857 Secession of the Classis Holland from Reformed Church in America occurred in January of that year Gijsbert Haan or alternate spelling Gysbert Haan ( January 3, 1801 - July 27, 1874) was the leader in the 1857 Secession The Christian Reformed Church in North America ( CRCNA or CRC) is a Protestant Christian denomination which follows Reformed Calvinist In 1882 another group of churches left for the CRCNA, mirroring developments in the church in the Netherlands. In the post-World War II years the church expanded in Canada, which was the destination of a large group of Dutch emigrants. Between 1949 and 1958 the church opened 120 churches among non-Dutch suburban communities. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Ecumenical relations

The RCA maintains a relationship of full communion with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ through a document known as the Formula of Agreement. Full communion is a term used in Christian Ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential The Presbyterian Church (USA or PC (USA is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago Illinois. The United Church of Christ ( UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination principally in the United States, The relationship between the United Church of Christ and the RCA has been the subject of a certain amount of controversy within the RCA, particularly surrounding positions that members of the UCC leadership have taken regarding homosexuality. The United Church of Christ ( UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination principally in the United States, The two denominations undertook a dialogue and in 1999 produced a document discussing their differences (PDF). The RCA's 2006 General Synod voted to allow the exchange of ministers with the Christian Reformed Church in North America. The Christian Reformed Church in North America ( CRCNA or CRC) is a Protestant Christian denomination which follows Reformed Calvinist This action must be submitted to the RCA's classes for their approval before it can become effective.

Noteworthy members

RCA colleges and seminaries

Colleges

Seminaries [1]

Certification Agencies [2]

See also

Sources

  1. ^ RCA - About Us: Educational Institutions
  2. ^ RCA - MFCA: Ministerial Formation Certification Agency

External links

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