United and uniting churches

Glass window in the town church of Wiesloch (Stadtkirche Wiesloch) with Martin Luther and John Calvin commemorating the 1821 union of Lutheran and Reformed churches in the Grand Duchy of Baden

A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denominational orientations or traditions. Multi-denominationalism, or a multi-denominational church or organization, is a congregation or organization that is affiliated with two or more Christian denominations, whether they be part of the same tradition or from separate and distinct traditions.

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 for other organizational reasons. As modern Christian ecumenism 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 South India (1947), the Evangelical Church in Germany (1948), the United Church of Christ (1957), the United Methodist Church (1968), the Church of North India (1970), the Church of Pakistan (1970), the Uniting Church in Australia (1977), the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (2004), and the United Protestant Church of France (2013).

In the developing world, this model has been attractive in countries where Protestants are a small minority of the population; by pooling resources and endorsing cross-attendance between denominations, churches can serve a wider geographical area. In the developed world, since the mid-20th century, and the rise of secularism worldwide, mainline Protestantism has shrunk, reducing the viability of many individual denominations maintaining parallel administrative structures. Among others, Reformed (Calvinist), Anglican, and Lutheran churches have merged, often creating large nationwide denominations. In some countries, Methodist and 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, although in some cases instances of evangelical church congregations joining multiple denominations in a phenomenon known as "multi-denominationalism" does occur; but in most cases Evangelicals cooperate with each other through interdenominationalism while still maintaining denominational distinctions.

Perhaps the oldest official united church is found in Germany, where the Protestant 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 to form the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau 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. In 2020, according to the World Christian Database, the online version of the World Christian Encyclopedia, published by Edinburgh University Press, the "Consult on Uniting and United Churches" reported 81,976,000 members of United and Uniting Churches globally. Ethiopia has an estimated 9 million members of United 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 (COCU). The COCU disbanded formally in 2002 but moved into the Churches Uniting in Christ movement.

Denominations by country

Country Denomination Founding Year United branches Doctrine Sources
Australia Uniting Church in Australia 1977 Congregational Union of Australia, Methodist Church of Australasia, and Presbyterian Church of Australia churches Reformed (Congregationalist and Presbyterian) and Methodist churches
Austria Protestant Church in Austria [de] 1861 Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria and Reformed Church in Austria Lutheran and Reformed churches
Free Churches of Austria [de] 2013 Baptists in Austria, Federation of Evangelical Churches in Austria, Free Christian Community - Pentecostal Community, Elaia Congregations and Mennonite Free Church of Austria Baptist, Evangelical, Pentecostal and Mennonite churches
Bangladesh Church of Bangladesh 1974 Anglican and Presbyterian churches
Belgium United Protestant Church in Belgium 1979 Reformed, Methodist and Lutheran churches
Canada United Church of Canada 1925 Congregationalist, Methodist Church (Canada), and a majority of the Presbyterian Church in Canada (including Bermuda) Congregationalist, Methodist and Reformed (Presbyterian) churches
China The Protestant Church in China 1954
Czech Republic Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren 1918 Lutheran and Reformed (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).
Democratic Republic of Congo Church of Christ in the Congo 1924 100 denominations Anglican, Baptist, Mennonite, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Salvation Army and Seventh-day Adventist denominations
France United Protestant Church of France 2013 Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France Lutheran and Reformed (Huguenot) churches
Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine 2006 The Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine and the Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine Lutheran and Reformed churches
Germany Protestant Church in Germany 1922 Lutheran and Protestant church bodies (sees are also organised in the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany Union of Evangelical Churches), of these ten are united: Lutheran and Reformed
Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia
Evangelical Church in the Rhineland
Evangelical Church of Westphalia		 1817 successors of the Prussian Union of Churches
Evangelical Church of Anhalt 1880
Protestant Church in Baden 1821
Evangelical Church of Bremen 1873
Evangelical Church in Central Germany 2009 Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony (branch of the Prussian Union) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia
Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau 1933 Evangelical Church of Hesse (uniate since 1822), Evangelical Church of Nassau (uniate since 1817) and Evangelical Church of Frankfurt (unitate since 1899)
Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck 1934 Evangelical Church of Hesse-Kassel (uniate since 1818) and Evangelical State Church of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Waldeck part; uniate since 1821)
Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (Protestant State Church) 1818
India Church of North India 1970 Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, Congregational, and the Church of the Brethren churches
Church of South India 1947 Anglican, Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches
Indonesia Indonesia Christian Church or Gereja Kristen Indonesia 1988 GKI East Java, GKI West Java and GKI Central Java
Italy Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches 1975 Waldensian Evangelical Church and the Methodist Evangelical Church in Italy Waldensian and Methodist churches
Jamaica United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands 1965 Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Disciples of Christ churches
Japan United Church of Christ in Japan 1941 union of thirty-three Protestant denominations all Protestant denominations in Japan, including Anglican, Baptist, Holiness, Lutheran, Pentecostal, and Salvation Army churches.
Kiribati Kiribati Uniting Church 2014 several Protestant denominations in Kiribati, including Congregationalists, Evangelicals, Anglicans, and Presbyterians.
Melanesia United Church in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands Methodist and the Reformed tradition
Netherlands Protestant Church in the Netherlands 2004 Dutch Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (GKN), and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands Continental Reformed and Lutheran churches; the Reformed GKN was itself a union of Doleantie and Seceder churches.
Pakistan Church of Pakistan 1970 Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians (Church of Scotland), Methodists, and Lutherans
Puerto Rico United Evangelical Church in Puerto Rico 1931, 2006 Congregational Church, the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Christian Church indigenous Brethren, Christian, and Congregationalist denominations
Philippines Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo 1932 indigenous Presbyterian and Methodist denominations
United Church of Christ in the Philippines Evangelical Church of the Philippines, the Philippine Methodist Church, the Disciples of Christ, the United Evangelical Church and several independent congregations.
Union Church of Manila 1914 Presbyterian and Methodist churches
South Africa Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa 1994 Dutch Reformed Church in Africa and Dutch Reformed Mission Church Historically Black and Coloured Continental Reformed churches
Sweden Evangelical Free Church in Sweden 2002 Örebro Mission, the Free Baptist Union and the Holiness Union
Uniting Church in Sweden 2011 Baptist Union of Sweden, the Swedish branch of the United Methodist Church, and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden
Thailand Church of Christ in Thailand 1934 Baptist, Churches of Christ and Presbyterian congregations
United Kingdom United Reformed Church 1972 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 Reformed (Congregationalist and Presbyterian) and Churches of Christ denominations.
United Free Church of Scotland 1900 United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP; itself a merger of the Relief Church and United Secession Church) and the majority of the 19th-century Free Church of Scotland Reformed (Presbyterian) churches
United States United Church of Christ 1957 two previously united churches: Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church; and the Convention of the South; the United Evangelical Church in Puerto Rico became independent again in 2006 Continental Reformed, German United (Reformed and Lutheran), Congregationalist and Black churches
United Methodist Church 1968 Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church
Wesleyan Church 1968 Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Pilgrim Holiness Church Methodist and Holiness churches
Unitarian Universalist Association 1961 American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America; the Canadian Unitarian Council became independent again in 2002 Historically Unitarian and Universalist denominations
Zambia United Church in Zambia 1965 Church of Central Africa, Rhodesia (Presbyterian); the Union Church of Copperbelt; the Copperbelt Free Church Council; the Church of Barotseland and the Methodist church

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Not an actual united church, but a union of churches, even if the differences are quite faint in the field.
  2. ↑ Represented by the China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the Lianghui lit. 'two organisations'.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "United and Uniting churches — World Council of Churches". Oikoumene.org. Archived from the original on 2019-08-20. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  2. 1 2 "What it means to be multidenominational – The Refuge Place". therefuge.place. Archived from the original on 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  3. 1 2 "Multi-Denomination Congregations in the U.S. and Canada". Paulist Fathers. Archived from the original on 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  4. ↑ Haire, James (2017-03-06). Wainwright, Geoffrey; McPartlan, Paul (eds.). "United and Uniting Churches". The Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies. pp. 431–440. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199600847.013.30. ISBN 978-0-19-960084-7. Archived from the original on 2021-06-26. Retrieved 2020-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  5. 1 2 France, Eglise protestante unie de. "La création de l'Église protestante unie de France". Eglise protestante unie de France (in French). Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  6. ↑ "United Protestant Church of France — World Council of Churches". Oikoumene.org. Archived from the original on 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  7. ↑ "Three-way PKN union drastically changes Dutch denominational landscape » The Windmill news articles » goDutch". Godutch.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  8. 1 2 "Protestant Church in the Netherlands — World Council of Churches". Oikoumene.org. Archived from the original on 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  9. ↑ "Mainline Protestants make up shrinking number of U.S. adults". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  10. ↑ "American Religion Statistics: Trends in U.S. Religious Affiliations". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2015-05-12. Archived from the original on 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  11. ↑ "Amid Evangelical decline, growing split between young Christians and church elders". The Christian Science Monitor. 2017-10-10. ISSN 0882-7729. Archived from the original on 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  12. ↑ Burge, Ryan P. "Evangelicals Show No Decline, Despite Trump and Nones". News & Reporting. Archived from the original on 2020-08-30. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  13. ↑ "Staatlicher Dirigismus und neue Gläubigkeit (Die Kirche im Herzogtum Nassau)" (in German). Nassau-info.de. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
  14. ↑ Block, Mathew (2017-10-05). "Remembering the 200th anniversary of the forced union of Lutheran and Reformed churches in Prussia". International Lutheran Council. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  15. ↑ "World Christian Database | Brill". worldchristiandatabase.com. Retrieved 2026-04-21.
  16. ↑ Zurlo, G. (2022). Global Christianity: A Guide to the World’s Largest Religion from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Zondervan Academic. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-310-11363-8. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  17. ↑ Lahutsky, Nadia (Winter 2003). "The Union of Christians and Disciples in 1832 and COCU/CUIC". Discipliana. 63 (4): 120. ISSN 0732-9881.
  18. ↑ "UCA - Our History". nswact.uca.org.au. Archived from the original on 2020-07-25. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  19. ↑ "Our History". Church of Bangladesh. 2012-01-29. Archived from the original on 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  20. ↑ "United Protestant Church of Belgium". Archived from the original on 2023-03-02. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  21. ↑ "A Brief History | The United Church of Canada". United-church.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-05-11. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  22. ↑ Archa, Tomáš Pilát. "Českobratrská církev evangelická". E-cirkev.cz. Archived from the original on 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  23. ↑ "Protestant Church in Germany". Ekd.de. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  24. ↑ CNI. "History – CNI". Archived from the original on 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  25. ↑ "CSI SYNOD". Csisynod.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
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  27. ↑ "United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands — World Council of Churches". Oikoumene.org. Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  28. ↑ "A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE KYODAN - The United Church of Christ in Japan" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  29. ↑ "Kiribati Uniting Church — World Council of Churches". Oikoumene.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  30. ↑ "United Church in Papua New Guinea — World Council of Churches". Oikoumene.org. Archived from the original on 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  31. ↑ Office, Anglican Communion. "Anglican Communion: Member Church". Anglican Communion Website. Archived from the original on 2021-04-06. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  32. ↑ "A RESOLUTION ON ECUMENICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 2 THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST AND 3 THE IGLESIA EVANGELICA UNIDA DE PUERTO RICO 4 A Prudential Resolution 5 Submitted by the United Church of Christ Board" (PDF). Uccresolutions.org. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
  33. ↑ Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo, Manwal ng Manggagawang Unida. 2007
  34. ↑ "Our Story". Archived from the original on 2020-04-21. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  35. ↑ Norwood B. Tye, Journeying with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines: A History (Quezon City: United Church of Christ in the Philippines, 1994), 246-247
  36. ↑ Guillermo Manuel, "A Study of the Movement for Union and Closer Cooperation Among the Protestant Churches of the Philippines", p. 54.
  37. ↑ "Intro till EFK - Evangeliska Frikyrkan (EFK)". Efk.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  38. ↑ "Uniting Church in Sweden — World Council of Churches". Oikoumene.org. Archived from the original on 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  39. ↑ "ประวัติศาสตร์ – The Church of Christ in Thailand" (in Thai). Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  40. ↑ "About us". The United Reformed Church. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  41. ↑ "Our History – United Free Church of Scotland". Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  42. ↑ "About Us". United Church of Christ. Archived from the original on 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  43. ↑ "History". The United Methodist Church. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  44. ↑ Satterfield, Ray; Cope, Daniel (2018). A Heritage of Holiness: The Story of Allegheny Wesleyan Methodism. Salem: Allegheny Press. p. 149.
  45. ↑ "History of Unitarian Universalism". Uua.org. Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  46. ↑ "The CUC: From Colony To Nation, 1961–2002". Cuc.ca. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  47. ↑ "United Church of Zambia — World Council of Churches". oikoumene.org. Retrieved September 6, 2017.