The Evangelical Reformed Church in Angola 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 ...

denomination in the country of

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

established by the missionaries of the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Reformed church.

History

The Evangelical Reformed Church in Angola (Igreja Evangelica Reformada de Angola in Portuguese) was established in 1925 in Kikaya, Uige Province in the North by

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

missionaries, especially Archibald Patterson from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and Ernest Nickleus of the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

. The Mission of Northern Angola covered the Northern part of

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, included the cities of Kikuya, Kinkuni, and Kimbela. During the Portuguese rule, catechists and evangelist were often arrested. During the war the church suffered persecution, and properties were destroyed. Later the mission was divided into 3 parts, one part fled to

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

during the war, the other in the woods to the guerillas, the third remained the towns and cities. After war parishes were reconstructed. A fifth of the members could not be destroyed. The church reopened in 1973. Headquarters were removed from Uige to

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

. It is primarily strong in the Eastern part of the country though it is present in 11 Provinces out of the 18 in Angola. In 1978 adopted the current name. The

Presbyterian Church of Angola The Presbyterian Church in Angola (In Portuguese the Igreja Presbiteriana de Angola or IPA) is a federation of theologically orthodox Reformed churches, that was founded in the mid-1980s, adopting the Westminster Confession of Faith as the offic ...

separated from the denomination in 1986 under the leadership of Neves Massaqui.

Doctrine

The church affirms the historic confessions of: *

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, ...

Second Helvetic Confession The Helvetic Confessions are two documents expressing the common belief of the Calvinist churches of Switzerland. History The First Helvetic Confession ( la, Confessio Helvetica prior), known also as the Second Confession of Basel, was drawn up in ...

Apostles Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...

. 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 ...

Statistics

The church has 300,000 members in 450 congregations served by 370 pastors.{{Cite web, url=http://ierasg.blogspot.hu/p/nossa-historia.html, title=NOSSA HISTÓRIA, website=ierasg.blogspot.hu, access-date=2017-07-10

References

External links

*Blo

Reformed denominations in Africa Protestantism in Angola Members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches Christian organizations established in 1925 1925 establishments in the Portuguese Empire