Reformed Church in America

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The Reformed Church in America ( RCA ) is a Calvinist reformed church that was formerly known in the United States as the Dutch Reformed Church . The Church has approximately 200,000 members in the United States and Canada .

The Reformed Church in America should not be confused with the Reformed Church in the United States .

The RCA is a founding member of the US National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches . Full communion was agreed with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Church of Christ (UCC) in the Formula of Agreement . Corresponding agreements have also been made with the Union of Evangelical Churches (UEK) in Germany and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as part of the ecumenical partnership. The ordination of women is allowed in the RCA.

Church history

The RCA is the oldest Protestant church in North America with an expanding line of pastors and theologians. The first Dutch settlers in New Netherlands initially held meetings for church services until Jonas Michaelius, the first pastor, organized a congregation in Nieuw Amsterdam (now New York ) in 1628 , the so-called Reformed Protestant Dutch Church . This nucleus of the RCA, which was founded in 1693 by King Wilhelm III. received a charter and is thus the oldest corporation in the USA, has survived to this day. Under the name Collegiate Church , it now includes four congregations in the city of New York: Fort Washington Collegiate Church, Middle Collegiate Church, Marble Collegiate Church and West End Collegiate Church.

This church was the established church of the Dutch settlers in the Dutch colony of New Netherlands. Although the British conquered the Dutch colony in 1664, all pastors of the church in Amsterdam continued to be trained in the Netherlands , and church services were performed in the Dutch language until 1764.

In 1747 the church decided to hold a meeting in America, which in 1754 declared itself independent from the Dutch church in Amsterdam. The appointment of John Henry Livingston as professor of theology in 1784 marked the beginning of the New Brunswick Theological Seminary . A formal church constitution was passed in 1792 and the first general synod of the Reformed Church met in 1794. Finally, in 1867, the name Reformed Church in America was adopted for the church .

Well-known members of the Reformed Church in America

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  1. ^ Church Statistical Data Reformed Church in America

Web links

Commons : Reformed churches in the United States  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files