The Evangelical Congregational Church in Argentina ( es, Iglesia Evangélica Congregacional Argentina) is a
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
and
Congregational
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
denomination in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, established by European immigrants in the early 1900s.
History
The Evangelical Congregational Church in Argentina was founded in 1922 in
Concordia and San Antonio village in the Province of Entre Rios. After the Russian revolution in 1917,
German people
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, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
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from
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
region immigrated to
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. The Germans begun to gather in the school hall in San Antonio village, under the leadership of Jorge Geier. These families' religious background was mostly pietistic
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
, therefore they wanted to establish a new denomination. The first name of this nascent congregation was Evangelical Free Congregation in San Antonio, later it was renamed the German Evangelical Religious Society. They couldn't adjust themselves to the government of the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
churches, they asked the
Congregationalist churches in the USA to help them. First ordained pastor was Carlos Holzer was sent by the congregational church in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. On June 24, 1924 the congregation adopted the name Evangelical Congregational Church in Argentina. This church expanded and congregations in
Irazusta
Irazusta is a village and municipality in Entre Ríos Province in north-eastern Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina ...
,
Urdinarrain
Urdinarrain is a city in the center-south of the province of Entre Ríos, Argentina, 240 km southeast from the provincial capital Paraná and 40 km west from Gualeguaychú, on Provincial Route 20. It has 8,986 inhabitants as per the .
...
,
,
Almada
Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population in 2011 was 174,030, in a ...
and
Costa San Antonio
Costa may refer to:
Biology
* Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy
* Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus
* Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral
* Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...
was launched.
There are the following provinces that the congregational church are present: Entre Rios, Misiones, Chaco, Formosa, Cordoba, Buenos Aires, and Santa Fe. The Evangelical Congregational Church is rich in history and is quickly growing.
Statistics
In 2004, the denomination had 20,000 members in 130 congregations and 30 house fellowships, and adheres to the
Heidelberg Catechism
The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Calvinist Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, ...
along with Luthers Small Catechism. It is a member of the
World Communion of Reformed Churches
The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...
.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
Members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches
Congregational denominations in Latin America
Calvinist and Reformed denominations