Protestantism In Portugal
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Protestantism in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
has long been a
minority religion A minority religion is a religion held by a minority of the population of a country, state, or region. Minority religions may be subject to stigma or discrimination. An example of a stigma is using the term cult with its extremely negative conn ...
. After the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
and the Portuguese government's religious intolerance outlawed the practice of non-
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
faiths in the country, and those who followed them could not practice it openly. However, when the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
began settling in Portugal in the 19th century they brought other
Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
s with them. Most belonged to the Anglican
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, but others were Protestant Methodists,
Congregationalists 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 ...
,
Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
, and
Presbyterians 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 ...
The establishment of a constitutional monarchy in 1834 granted limited religious toleration to, and consequently led to the opening of an Anglican chapel in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. A second chapel was opened in 1868. The Anglican mission coincided with the growing influence of the
Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...
movement in Portugal. Congregations were created from Roman Catholic priests and laypeople who refused to accept the dogmas of the
infallibility Infallibility refers to an inability to be wrong. It can be applied within a specific domain, or it can be used as a more general adjective. The term has significance in both epistemology and theology, and its meaning and significance in both fi ...
and universal ordinary jurisdiction of the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, as defined by the
First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...
in 1870. The
Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church ( pt, Igreja Lusitana Católica Apostólica Evangélica) in Portugal is a member church of the Anglican Communion. Membership The church has around 5,000 members. Structure As an Episcopal den ...
was formed as a result in 1880, however laws still restricted the activities of non-Roman Catholics. By the early 1990s, only some 50,000 to 60,000
Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...
and
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
lived in Portugal, less than 1 percent of the total population. The 1950s and 1960s saw the arrival of
Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
who increased in numbers more rapidly than the earlier arrivals did. All groups, however, were hampered by prohibitions and restrictions against the free exercise of their religions, especially missionary activities. These restrictions were lifted after the Revolution of 1974. The constitution of 1976 guarantees all religions the right to practice their faith. Non-Roman Catholic groups came to be recognized as legal entities with the right to assemble. Portuguese who were both not Roman Catholics and were
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
s had the right to apply for alternative
military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...
.


Denominations


Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church

The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church is the oldest protestant denomination in Portugal, and is a member church of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
.


Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Portugal

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Portugal is the oldest non-Catholic, non-Anglican church in Portugal.


Christian Presbyterian Church of Portugal

The Christian Presbyterian Church in Portugal (Igreja Cristã Presbiteriana de Portugal or ICPP in
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
) is a small
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 with relationships with
Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presb ...
, the
Presbyterian Church of Brazil The Presbyterian Church of Brazil (Portuguese: ''Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil'', or ''IPB'') is an Evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in Brazil. Oldest of the Reformed family of Protestantism in Brazil. It is the largest Presbyter ...
, the
Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...
and the Conservative Presbyterian Church in Brazil. The denomination accepts the
five points of Calvinism 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 ...
, the
Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the " subordinate standard" ...
and its shorter and larger catechisms. The denomination was officially formed in 1992, but includes older churches such as the Independent Church in
Barreiro Barreiro may refer to: People * Bruno Barreiro (born 1965), American politician * Gustavo Barreiro (1959–2019), American politician * Manu Barreiro (born 1986), Spanish footballer Places * Barreiro, Portugal ** Barreiro Municipality, a mu ...
(founded in 1955) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Christ (founded in 1970) as well as an independent Presbyterian church in
Campo de Ourique Campo de Ourique () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in the historic center of Lisbon, Campo de Ourique is east of Alcântara, north of Estrela, west of Santo António, and south of Camp ...
in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, and by a church in northeast
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
planted by a
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian missionary. In 2014 the ICPP celebrated its 30th anniversary.https://presbiteriana.com.sapo.pt/30aniversario.jpg


See also

*
Religion in Portugal Christianity is the predominant religion in Portugal, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. Portugal has no official religion, though in the past, the Catholic Church in Portugal was the state religion. According to the 2021 Census, 8 ...
*
Conference of Protestant Churches in Latin Countries of Europe The Conference of Protestant Churches in Latin Countries of Europe (french: Conférence des Églises protestantes des pays latins d'Europe) is a Christian ecumenical organization founded in 1950. It is a member of the World Council of Churches. It ...


References

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