Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches
The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), formerly the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches,[1] was founded in 1998 as a body of churches that hold to Reformed (Calvinistic) theology.[2] Member churches include those from Presbyterian, Reformed, and Reformed Baptist backgrounds. The CREC has over a hundred member churches in the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Belarus, Poland, Brazil, and the Czech Republic.[3] These are organised into seven presbyteries, named after figures in church history: Anselm, Athanasius, Augustine, Hus, Knox, Tyndale, and Wycliffe.
| Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | CREC |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Reformed |
| Theology | Evangelical |
| Polity | Presbyterian |
| Presiding minister | Virgil Hurt |
| Region | |
| Origin | 1998 |
| Congregations | 100+ (2020) |
| Other name(s) | Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches |
| Official website | crechurches |
Doctrine
The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches holds to classic Calvinism (as promulgated in the Westminster Standards, Three Forms of Unity, and 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith), but on some doctrines in which Calvinists differ, (e.g., the Federal Vision, paedocommunion, and paedobaptism) the CREC allows each church to decide its own stance. The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches allows member churches to hold to any of the following historic confessions:
- Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)
- American Westminster Confession of Faith (1789)
- The Three Forms of Unity:
- Belgic Confession (1561)
- Heidelberg Catechism (1563)
- Canons of Dort (1619)
- The London Baptist Confession (1689)
- The Savoy Declaration (1658)
- Second Helvetic Confession
- 39 Articles
- The Reformed Evangelical Confession[4]
The CREC rejects both modernism and fundamentalism.[5]
Worship
Churches in CREC generally practise covenant renewal worship.[6]
Notable members
References
- Wilson, Douglas (6 October 2011). "The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches". Retrieved 6 October 2011.
- History, Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches.
- Churches, Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches (see linked presbytery pages
- The Reformed Evangelical Confession
- Schuman, Samuel (2010). Seeing the Light: Religious Colleges in Twenty-First-Century America. JHU Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780801896088. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- What to expect in our CREC church (PDF). Canon Press. p. 2. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
