What is Reformed churches?
The '''Reformed churches''' are a group of [[Christian]] [[Protestant]] [[Christian denomination|denominations]] that are historically related by a doctrine that is identical or similar to [[Calvinism]]. It developed in the Swiss [[Reformation]] led by [[Huldrych Zwingli]] and [[John Calvin]], but soon afterwards appeared in nations throughout [[Western Europe]]. Each nation in which the Reformed movement was originally established had its own church government. Several of these local churches have expanded to worldwide denominations and most have experienced [[Schism (religion)|schisms]] into multiple denominations. == History == The first Reformed Churches were established in Europe in the 1500s, in the wake of the [[Protestant Reformation]]. == Form of doctrine == Reformed doctrine is expressed in various texts]. Some of them are used by many denominations. Different denominations use different confessions, usually based on historical reasons. Some of the confessions still commonly in use are (with year of writing): * [[French Confession]] (1559), * [[Scots Confession]] (1560), * [[Three Forms of Unity]] ** [[Heidelberg Catechism]] (1563), ** [[Belgic Confession]] (1566), ** [[Canons of Dordrecht]] (1619), * [[Second Helvetic Confession]] (1566) * Westminster Standards ** [[Westminster Confession of Faith]] (1646) ** [[Westminster Shorter Catechism]] (1649) ** [[Westminster Larger Catechism]] (1649) * Baptist ** [[1689 Baptist Confession of Faith|London Baptist Confession of Faith]] (1689) == Form of governance == Reformed churches have two main forms of [[ecclesiastical polity]]: * [[Presbyterian]] polity or [[Synod|Synodal government]] - rule by assemblies of ordained officers. * Congregationalist polity, e.g. [[Congregational church]]es == Other websites == * [http://wcrc.ch World Communion of Reformed Churches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824072035/http://wcrc.ch/ |date=2016-08-24 }} ** * [http://wcrc.ch/members World list of Reformed Churches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.a