The National Union of Protestant Reformed Evangelical Churches of France (French: ''Union nationale des Églises protestantes réformées évangéliques de France'', abbr. UNEPREF), better known as the Evangelical Reformed Churches of France, is a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

denomination in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It has currently around 10,600 members spread over 68 churches, predominant in the Paris area, the southwest, and the southeast of France.

History

The Evangelical Reformed Churches of France was founded in 1938 as the continuation of the Evangelical Reformed Church of France. Led by pastor

Marc Boegner Marc Boegner, commonly known as ''pasteur'' Boegner (; 21 February 1881 – 18 December 1970), was a theologian, pastor, essayist, notable member of the French Resistance and a notable voice in the ecumenical movement. Biography Marc Boegner w ...

, parts of four Protestant denominations of France merged into the

Reformed Church of France The Reformed Church of France (french: Église réformée de France, ERF) was the main Protestant denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangel ...

in 1938: the Evangelical Reformed Church of France (a majority); the Union of Reformed Churches (completely); the Free Evangelical Churches (a minority); and the Methodist Church of France (a majority). A minority of more conservative churches in the Evangelical Reformed Church of France were opposed to theological liberalism, and therefore, continued their current denomination under the name ''National Union of Independent Reformed Evangelical Churches of France'' (EREI or UNEREI) with the emphasis on 'independent'. In March 2009, the denomination changed its name to ''National Union of Protestant Reformed Evangelical Churches of France'' (UNEPREF). Local churches, however, are still referred to as 'evangelical Calvinist churches'.

Beliefs

The Evangelical Reformed Churches of France adhere the

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 Ga ...

and the

Nicene Creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...

. In addition, they adhere to the Calvinist French Confession of Faith of La Rochelle (1559) and the Confession of Faith of the French Reformed Church (version 1872).

Organization and structure

The denomination is organised according to the

presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

model. Each church sends representatives to the national synod, held annually. Once every three years, the general national synod convenes and elects its president (currently pastor Jean-Raymond Stauffacher). The church has strong links with the theological seminary Faculté Jean Calvin (formerly: Faculté Libre de Théologie Réformée) in Aix-en-Provence. The majority of its pastors is educated here. Within France, UNEPREF participates in the

Protestant Federation of France The Protestant Federation of France (''Fédération protestante de France'') is a religious organisation created on 25 October 1905, which united the main Protestant Christians, Christian groupings in France. The current president is Christian K ...

, the Protestant Missionary Service, the Protestant Lutheran-reformed communion (affiliation only), and the French national council of evangelicals. Internationally, 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 ...

and the Community of Churches with a Mission. In addition, it maintains many relations with Presbyterian churches in the US and elsewhere in Europe.

References

External links

*
Evangelical Reformed Church in Gironde

Evangelical Reformed Church in Paris

{{Authority control Reformed denominations in France Members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches Christian denominations founded in France

History

Beliefs

Organization and structure

See also

References

External links