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A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state, usually in order to have a stricter control over the religious sphere of its people, but also other organizational reasons. As modern Christian
ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
progresses, unions between various Protestant traditions are becoming more and more common, resulting in a growing number of united and uniting churches. Examples include the United Church of Canada (1925), the Church of North India (1970), the Uniting Church in Australia (1977), the
Protestant Church in the Netherlands The Protestant Church in the Netherlands ( nl, de Protestantse Kerk in Nederland, abbreviated PKN) is the largest Protestant denomination in the Netherlands, being both Calvinist and Lutheran. It was founded on 1 May 2004 as the merger of the ...
(2004), and the United Protestant Church of France (2013). Since the mid-20th century, and the rise of secularism worldwide,
mainline Protestant The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and charis ...
ism has shrunk. Among others,
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 ...
(Calvinist), Anglican, and Lutheran churches have merged, often creating large nationwide denominations. In some countries, Methodist and/or Congregational denominations have also merged. The phenomenon is much less common among evangelical, nondenominational and charismatic churches as new ones arise and many of them remain independent of each other. Perhaps the oldest official united church is found in Germany, where the Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran, United ( Prussian Union) and Reformed churches, a union dating back to 1817. The first of the series of unions was at a synod in
Idstein Idstein () is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt (Old Town) it is part of the ''Deutsche Fachwerkstraße'' ...
to form the
Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (german: Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of it ...
in August 1817, commemorated in naming the church of Idstein Unionskirche one hundred years later. Around the world, each united or uniting church comprises a different mix of predecessor Protestant denominations. Trends are visible, however, as most united and uniting churches have one or more predecessors with heritage in the Reformed tradition and many are members of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.


Conciliar movement

In the 1950s and 1960s an ecumenical spirit emerged in many churches in the United States, leading to a conciliar movement known in some circles as Conciliarity. A product of this movement was the
Consultation on Church Union The Consultation on Church Union (COCU) was an effort towards church unity in the United States, that began in 1962 and in 2002 became the Churches Uniting in Christ. It was a significant part of the Christian movement towards ecumenism. This ef ...
(COCU). The COCU disbanded formally in 2002 but moved into the Churches Uniting in Christ movement.


United and uniting churches around the world

* Australia: Uniting Church in Australia, the 1977 union of the Congregational Union of Australia, Methodist Church of Australasia, and
Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...
churches. * Bangladesh: Church of Bangladesh, established in 1974 as a union of Anglican and Presbyterian churches. * Canada: United Church of Canada, the 1925 union of Congregationalist,
Methodist Church (Canada) The Methodist Church was the major Methodist denomination in Canada from its founding in 1884 until it merged with two other denominations to form the United Church of Canada in 1925. The Methodist Church was itself formed from the merger of f ...
, and a majority of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada The Presbyterian Church in Canada (french: Église presbytérienne du Canada) is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to ...
(including Bermuda). * Czech Republic: Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, formed in 1918 in Czechoslovakia through the unification of the Protestant churches of the Lutheran and
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 ...
(Calvinist) confessions. However, the ECCB has deeper roots in the Czech Reformation: in the Utraquist Hussite Church (1431–1620) and in the Unity of Brethren aka Moravian Church (1457–1620). * France: United Protestant Church of France, formed in 2013 through the unification of the Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France. * Germany: Ten united church bodies within the Evangelical Church in Germany from unions of Lutheran and Reformed churches: Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia, the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, the
Evangelical Church of Westphalia The Protestant Church of Westphalia (german: Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen, EKvW) is a United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia. The seat of the praeses (german: Präses, the head of the church) is Bielefeld. The EKvW emerged o ...
(all of them are successors of the
Prussian Union of Churches The Prussian Union of Churches (known under Prussian Union of churches#Status and official names, multiple other names) was a major Protestant Landeskirche, church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of P ...
), the Evangelical Church of Anhalt, the
Protestant Church in Baden The Protestant Church in Baden (german: link=no, Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden; i.e. Evangelical Regional Church in Baden) is a United Protestant member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and member of the Conference of Church ...
, the Evangelical Church of Bremen, the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, the
Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (german: Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of it ...
, the Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck and the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (Protestant State Church). * India: Church of North India, the 1970 union of Anglican, Methodist,
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...
,
Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
, Presbyterian, Congregational, and the
Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren (german: link=no, Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Ger ...
churches. * India: Church of South India, the 1947 union of Anglican, Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches. * Indonesia:
Indonesia Christian Church The Indonesian Christian Church (''GKI'', originally: Gereja Kristen Indonesia) is an Indonesian church of Presbyterian denomination. It adheres to Calvinist theology. :id:Gereja Kristen Indonesia#Pengakuan Iman History GKI was established in ...
or ''Gereja Kristen Indonesia'', union of GKI East Java, GKI West Java and GKI Central Java in 1988, and the Indonesian Gospel Tabernacle Church. * Italy: Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches, the 1975 union of Waldensian Evangelical Church and the Methodist Evangelical Church in Italy. * Jamaica: United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, the 1965 union of Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Disciples of Christ churches. * Japan: United Church of Christ in Japan, the 1941 union of thirty-three Protestant denominations. * Kiribati: Kiribati Uniting Church, a union of several Protestant denominations in Kiribati, including Congregationalists, Evangelicals, Anglicans, and Presbyterians. * Melanesia: United Church in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, a United church in the Methodist and the Reformed tradition * Netherlands:
Protestant Church in the Netherlands The Protestant Church in the Netherlands ( nl, de Protestantse Kerk in Nederland, abbreviated PKN) is the largest Protestant denomination in the Netherlands, being both Calvinist and Lutheran. It was founded on 1 May 2004 as the merger of the ...
, the 2004 union of the Dutch Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. * Pakistan: Church of Pakistan, the 1970 union of Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians (
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
), Methodists, and Lutherans. * Philippines: United Church of Christ in the Philippines, a merger of the Evangelical Church of the Philippines, the Philippine Methodist Church, the Disciples of Christ, the United Evangelical Church and several independent congregations. * Sweden:
Evangelical Free Church in Sweden The Evangelical Free Church in Sweden ( sv, Evangeliska frikyrkan is a Baptist Christian denomination in Sweden. The headquarters is in Örebro. History Evangeliska Frikyrkan was founded in 1997 as a merge of the Örebro Mission (''Örebromis ...
, the 2002 union of the Örebro Mission, the Free Baptist Union and the
Holiness Union Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
. * Sweden: Uniting Church in Sweden, the 2011 union of the
Baptist Union of Sweden The Baptist Union of Sweden ( sv, Svenska Baptistsamfundet) is the oldest of several Baptist bodies in Sweden. The first-known Baptist church in Sweden was organized on September 21, 1848, in Vallersvik, where a group of people committed the firs ...
, the Swedish branch of the United Methodist Church, and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden. * Thailand: Church of Christ in Thailand * United Kingdom: United Reformed Church, the 1972 union of the Congregational Union of England and Wales and the Presbyterian Church of England, later joined by the Churches of Christ (Europe) and the
Congregational Union of Scotland The Congregational Union of Scotland was a Protestant church in the Reformed tradition. The union was established in 1812, by 53 churches in Scotland. Its aim was to conduct missions in Scotland, and to support the existing Congregational churc ...
. * United Kingdom: United Free Church of Scotland, formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and the majority of the 19th-century Free Church of Scotland. * United States: United Church of Christ, the 1957 union of the two previously united churches: Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. * United States: United Methodist Church, the 1968 union of the
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. * United States:
Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, both P ...
, the 1961 consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America.


See also

*
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...
* Congregationalist polity * Continuing church * English Covenant *
List of Christian denominations A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organization and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as church, convention, ...


References

{{Reflist Church organization