Church of the Brethren ( cs, Církev bratrská) is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

free church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. It was formed in 1882 as the Free Reformed Church by merging the Czech Free Evangelical Church based in Bystré near

Náchod Náchod (; german: Nachod) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It is known both as a tourist destination and centre of industry. The town centre with the castle complex is well preserved ...

, and the Free Reformed Church, which was formed by American Congregationalist missionaries in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. In the Czech Republic, the church reports having over 11,000 in almost 80 congregations. In Slovakia, it is organized in 22 congregations. The church is member of

International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC) is a worldwide federation of evangelical free churches that trace their roots to the Radical Pietist movement (which split off/diverged from Pietistic Lutheranism). The member federa ...

and the ecumenical councils of churches in their respective countries.

History

The ''Free Reformed Church'' (later: Church of the Brethren) was formed in 1882 by a merger of the ''Czech Free Evangelical Church'' (established in 1868 near

) and the ''Free Reformed Church'', which was founded in 1880 from the operation of Boston Mission Board missionaries in Prague. From the beginning, it was formed under strong

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 ...

and

influences. After 1918, the church rejected the merger with the newly created

Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren The Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB) ( cs, Českobratrská církev evangelická; ČCE) is the largest Czech Protestant church and the second-largest church in the Czech Republic after the Catholic Church. It was formed in 1918 in C ...

and named itself the ''Unity of the Czech Brethren'', to manifest the spiritual heritage of the original Unity of the Brethren. In 1951, after the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, the Slovak ''Association of the Blue Cross'' and the ''Society of awakened Christians'' in Těšín with predominantly Polish members merged with the church. In 1967, the church adopted the new name ''Brethren Church'' to express the inclusion of non-Czech members. In 1993, following the

Velvet Divorce The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries o ...

the church legally separated into two independent churches, which closely cooperate on international level. The two churches organize an annual ''General Conference of the Church of the Brethren''.

Organization

The church is based upon semi-independent congregations, made up of members, who elect their own representatives into the ''council of elders ("staršovstvo").'' Each congregation is also administered by an ordained pastor, and is subject to all the binding documents of the whole church. Individual congregations are regionally grouped into ''seniorates'' ( Presbyteries), led by a ''senior'' ''pastor,'' who is also an ordinary pastor of a congregation. Officially, the church includes features of both Congregationalist and

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 ...

polities.

References

External links

Církev bratrská official page

Cirkev bratská official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cirkev bratrska Unity of the Brethren Protestantism in the Czech Republic Evangelical denominations established in the 19th century