Religious denomination
This article is about the Reformed denomination. For the form of church organization in which each congregation governs itself, see
Congregationalist polity
.
Congregationalism
(also
Congregationalist churches
or
Congregational churches
) is a
Protestant
,
Reformed
(Calvinist) tradition in which churches practice
congregational government
; where each
congregation
independently and autonomously runs its own affairs.
Congregationalism, as defined by the
Pew Research Center
, is estimated to represent 0.5 percent of the worldwide Protestant population;
[1]
though its organizational customs and other ideas have influenced other Christian congregations. The report defines it very narrowly, encompassing mainly denominations in the United States and the United Kingdom, which can trace their history back to
nonconforming Protestants
,
Puritans
,
Separatists
,
Independents
,
English religious groups coming out of the English Civil War
, and other
English Dissenters
not satisfied with the degree to which the
Church of England
had been reformed.
The Congregationalist tradition has a presence in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and various island nations in the Pacific region. It has been introduced either by immigrant dissenting Protestants or by missionary organizations such as the
London Missionary Society
. A number of
evangelical
Congregational churches are members of the
World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship
.
In the United Kingdom, many Congregational churches claim their descent from Protestant denominations
formed on a theory of union
published by the theologian and English separatist
Robert Browne
in 1582.
[2]
Other accounts trace these origins further back to the
London Underground Church
of the 1560s. Ideas of
nonconforming Protestants
during the
Puritan Reformation
of the
Church of England
laid the foundation for these churches. In
England
, the early Congregationalists were called
Separatists
or
Independents
to distinguish them from the similarly
Calvinistic
Presbyterians
, whose churches embrace a
polity based on the governance of elders
. Congregationalists also differed with the Reformed churches using
episcopalian church governance
, which is usually led by a
bishop
.
Congregationalism in the United States
traces its origins to the Puritans of
New England
, who wrote the
Cambridge Platform
of 1648 to describe the autonomy of the church and its association with others. Within the United States, the model of Congregational churches was carried by migrating settlers from New England into
New York
, then into the
Old Northwest
, and further.
Beliefs
[
edit
]
Congregationalism is a
Protestant
movement within the
Calvinist
tradition that occupies a theological position between
Presbyterianism
on one end and the
Baptists
and
Quakers
on the other. Through the years, Congregationalists have adopted various
confessional statements
, including the
Savoy Declaration
, the
Cambridge Platform
and the
Kansas City Statement of Faith
.
Unlike Presbyterians, Congregationalists practice
congregational polity
(from which they derive their name), which holds that the members of a local church have the right to decide their church's forms of
worship
and confessional statements, choose their own officers and administer their own affairs without any outside interference.
Congregationalist polity is rooted in a foundational tenet of Congregationalism: the
priesthood of all believers
. According to Congregationalist minister
Charles Edward Jefferson
, this means that "Every believer is a priest and ... every seeking child of God is given directly wisdom, guidance, power".
Consequently, there is an absence of
godparents
, since the whole congregation is the godparent to all the children in the church.
[
citation needed
]
Congregationalists have two sacraments:
baptism
and the
Lord's Supper
. Unlike Baptists, Congregationalists practice
infant baptism
. The Lord's Supper is normally celebrated once or twice a month. Congregationalists do not use the
sign of the cross
or invoke the
intercession of saints
.
Origins
[
edit
]
The origins of Congregationalism are found in 16th-century
Puritanism
, a movement that sought to complete the
English Reformation
begun with the separation of the
Church of England
from the
Catholic Church
during the reign of
Henry VIII
(1509?47).
During the reign of
Elizabeth I
(1558?1603), the Church of England was considered a Reformed or Calvinist church, but it also preserved certain characteristics of medieval Catholicism, such as
cathedrals
,
church choirs
, a formal
liturgy
contained in the
Book of Common Prayer
, traditional clerical
vestments
and
episcopal polity
(government by
bishops
).
The Puritans were Calvinists who wanted to further reform the church by abolishing all remaining Catholic practices, such as clerical vestments, wedding rings,
organ
music in church, kneeling at
Holy Communion
, using the term
priest
for a minister, bowing at the name of Jesus, and making the sign of the cross in baptism and communion.
Many Puritans believed the Church of England should follow the example of Reformed churches in other parts of Europe and adopt
presbyterian polity
, in which an egalitarian network of local ministers cooperated through regional
synods
.
Other Puritans experimented with congregational polity both within the Church of England and outside of it. Puritans who left the
established church
were known as
Separatists
.
Congregationalism may have first developed in the
London Underground Church
under Richard Fitz in the late 1560s and 1570s. The Congregational historian Albert Peel argued that it was accepted that the evidence for a fully thought out congregational
ecclesiology
is not overwhelming.
Robert Browne
(1550?1633) was the first person to set out explicit congregational principles and is considered the founder of Congregationalism.
[12]
While studying for
ordination
, Browne became convinced that the Church of England was a false church. He moved to Norwich and together with
Robert Harrison
formed an illegal Separatist congregation.
In 1581, Browne and his followers moved to
Holland
in order to worship freely. While in Holland, Browne wrote treatises that laid out the essential features of Congregationalism. Browne argued for a church only of genuine,
regenerate
believers and criticized the
Anglicans
for including all English people within their church. The congregation should choose its own leaders, and the ministers should be ordained by the congregation itself not by bishops or fellow ministers. Each congregation should be founded on a written
church covenant
,
and the congregation as a whole should govern the church: "The meetings together… of every whole church, and of the elders therein, is above the apostle, above the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor, the teacher, and every particular elder" and "The voice of the whole people, guided by the elders and the forwardest, is said [in Scripture] to be the voice of God".
[12]
While each church would be independent, separate churches would still come together to discuss matters of common concern.
Short lifespans were typical of Separatist churches (also known as
Brownist
congregations). These were small congregations who met in secret and faced persecution. They were often forced to go into exile in Holland and tended to disintegrate quickly.
Notable Separatists who faced exile or death included
Henry Barrow
(
c.
1550
?1593),
John Greenwood
(died 1593),
John Penry
(1559?1593),
Francis Johnson
(1563?1618), and
Henry Ainsworth
(1571?1622).
In the early 1600s, a Separatist congregation in Scrooby was founded through the efforts of
John Smyth
(who later rejected infant baptism and became a founder of the Baptist movement).
John Robinson
was the congregation's pastor and
William Brewster
was an
elder
.
In 1607, the congregation moved to Holland fleeing persecution. In 1620, the group (known in history as the
Pilgrims
) sailed to North America on the
Mayflower
, establishing the
Plymouth Colony
and bringing the Congregational tradition to America.
In 1639
William Wroth
, then
Rector
of the parish church at
Llanvaches
in
Monmouthshire
, established the first
Independent Church
in
Wales
"according to the New England pattern", i.e. Congregational. The Tabernacle
United Reformed Church
at Llanvaches survives to this day.
[20]
During the
English Civil War
, those who supported the Parliamentary cause were invited by Parliament to discuss religious matters. The
Westminster Confession of Faith
(1646) was officially claimed to be the statement of faith for both the Church of England (Anglican/Episcopal) and Church of Scotland (Presbyterian), which was politically expedient for those in the Presbyterian dominated English Parliament who approved of the
Solemn League and Covenant
(1643).
After the
Second Civil War
, the
New Model Army
which was dominated by Congregationalists (or
Independents
) seized control of the parliament with
Pride's purge
(1648), arranged for the
trial
and
execution of Charles I
in January 1649 and subsequently introduced a republican
Commonwealth
dominated by Independents such as
Oliver Cromwell
. This government lasted until 1660 when the
monarch was restored
and
Episcopalism
was re-established (see the
Penal Laws
and
Great Ejection
).
In 1662, two years after the Restoration, two thousand Independent, Presbyterian, and congregational ministers were evicted from their parishes as dissenters and not being in Holy Orders conferred by bishops.
In 1658 (during the
interregnum
) the Congregationalists created their own version of the Westminster Confession, called the
Savoy Declaration
, which remains the principal
subordinate standard
of Congregationalism.
A summary of Congregationalism in Scotland see the paper presented to a joint meeting of the ministers of the United Reformed Church (Scottish Synod) and the Congregational Federation in Scotland by Rev'd A. Paterson is available online.
[21]
By country
[
edit
]
Argentina
[
edit
]
The mission to Argentina was the second foreign field tended by German Congregationalists. The work in South America began in 1921 when four Argentine churches urgently requested that denominational recognition be given to George Geier, serving them. The Illinois Conference licensed Geier, who worked among Germans from Russia who were very similar to their kin in the United States and in Canada. The South American Germans from Russia had learned about Congregationalism in letters from relatives in the United States.
In 1924 general missionary John Hoelzer, while in Argentina for a brief visit, organised six churches.
In the province of Entre Rios, congregations began to join the Evangelical Congregational Church in Crespo. Information indicates that since 1923 there were activities in private homes and in 1928 the first pastoral house was inaugurated, in San Salvador from 1928, in Concordia, from 1929?1930, in Federal from 1934, in Parana since the 1940's. In Concepcion del Uruguay since 1942. Basavilbaso from 1944. Gualeguaychu from 1950. And then many more followed.
In the province of Chaco, immigrants from Germany, Russia and neighbouring areas settled in Colonia Palmar, between Charata and General Pinedo. When they heard about the existence of the Evangelical Congregational Church, they contacted and invited the North American missionary Guillermo Strauch to visit them. This took place on August 25, 1928, when the first service was held and as a result of the meeting they decided to join the I. E. C. The following year, their first church was inaugurated. Due to a great drought, in 1945 this church had to close its doors, and the families emigrated to Villa Angela, Coronel Du Graty or Santa Sylvina, in the province of Chaco, or to El Colorado, in Formosa. In each of these places, new faith communities emerged from the relocation of members of Colonia Palmar. In Villa Angela, the first church was actually established in Colonia Juan Jose Paso in 1947, and two years later the first church was inaugurated. In Coronel Du Graty, it originated from prayer meetings in 1947 (with those who came from Colonia Palmar) in "Campo Ugarte" and "Campo Nandubay". Later they joined together to build their own place for worship, which happened in 1954.
In the province of Misiones, in Leandro N. Alem and the surrounding area, immigrants from Poland, Germany and Brazil began to arrive between 1929 and 1938. Although their economic condition was precarious, they were rich in their desire to work, to progress and in their spirituality. They began to hold prayer meetings, and faith communities were formed in Alem Sud, Picada Almafuerte and Picada Flor (Colonia El Chaton).
In 1932 a group of these believers adopted the name of "Congregation of Evangelical Brothers" and when they began the process of registration in the National Register of Cults, they became aware of the Evangelical Congregational Church, decided to join it, and in 1935 the North American missionary, Pastor Federico Gross visited them for an Extraordinary Assembly, where they approved their statutes with the name of "Evangelical Lutheran Congregational Church". This consolidated their union with the IEC of Argentina. In other cities of Misiones the Congregational work began in Obera in the 1930s, in San Francisco de Asis a work began with believers from Brazil in 1935, in Dos de Mayo since 1945, in Valle Hermoso a group of Lutheran origin joined the Evangelical Congregational Church in 1949, in El Soberbio since 1950, in San Vicente since 1966, in Posadas since 1970 and later many more congregations.
In Buenos Aires, as a result of the migration of congregational members from the interior of the country, it was started in Rivadavia 6001 in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, in 1937 by the missionary Federico Gross. From that moment on they received pastoral care from Entre Rios. In 1946 the missionary Otto Tiede organised the first board of directors in the Colegiales neighbourhood, when the congregation met in the church "El Buen Pastor", which was lent to them by the Disciples of Christ. In 1947, Pastor Ludwig Serfas became the first local pastor, with residence in Olivos, and it was decided to build the first church in Villa Ballester, which was inaugurated in 1950.
The Evangelical Congregational Church spread to Cordoba in 1972, with itinerant missionary work from Basavilbaso (Entre Rios). In the province of Santa Fe from 1980, from Parana (Entre Rios). In Corrientes (capital) from 1982 and in CABA a missionary work started in 1995. In the first 100 years, it has spread from Entre Rios to several provinces: Misiones, Corrientes, Chaco, Formosa, Cordoba, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires and CABA. It has spread to southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It is currently present in more than 150 towns and cities in Argentina.
It has a social commitment, working among the most vulnerable, deprived and marginalised. It serves in the containment of families in the most varied contexts. With specific programmes for children, adolescents, young people, married couples and the elderly. With presence in formal and informal education, training and instructing people of all ages, in arts and crafts, in values and principles that make solidarity, human rights, and a better quality of life for all, according to the possibilities and opportunities. With canteens and picnic areas, with an integral pastoral care, which includes accompaniment in hospitals and prisons. It has a Higher Biblical Institute that offers an official degree: "Profesorado en Ciencias Sagradas".
Australia
[
edit
]
In 1977, most congregations of the
Congregational Union of Australia
merged with all Churches of the
Methodist Church of Australasia
and a majority of Churches of the
Presbyterian Church of Australia
to form the
Uniting Church in Australia
.
Those congregations that did not join the Uniting Church formed the
Fellowship of Congregational Churches
or continued as Presbyterians. Some more
ecumenically
minded Congregationalists left the Fellowship of Congregational Churches in 1995 and formed the
Congregational Federation of Australia
.
Bulgaria
[
edit
]
Congregationalists (called "Evangelicals" in
Bulgaria
; the word "Protestant" is not used
) were among the first Protestant missionaries to the
Ottoman Empire
and to the Northwestern part of the European Ottoman Empire which is now Bulgaria, where their work to convert these Orthodox Christians was unhampered by the death penalty imposed by the Ottomans on Muslim converts to Christianity.
These missionaries were significant contributors to the
Bulgarian National Revival
movement. Today,
Protestantism in Bulgaria
represents the third largest religious group, behind Orthodox and Muslim. Missionaries from the United States first arrived in 1857?58, sent to
Istanbul
by the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
(ABCFM). The ABCFM was proposed in 1810 by the Congregationalist graduates of Williams College, MA, and was chartered in 1812 to support missions by Congregationalists, Presbyterian (1812?1870), Dutch-Reformed (1819?1857) and other denominational members.
[24]
The ABCFM focused its efforts on southern Bulgaria and the Methodist Church on the region north of the
Balkan Mountains
(Stara Planina, or "Old Mountains").
In 1857, Cyrus Hamlin and Charles Morse established three missionary centres in southern Bulgaria ? in Odrin (
Edirne
, former capital city of the Ottoman Empire, in Turkey),
Plovdiv
and
Stara Zagora
. They were joined in 1859 by Russian-born naturalized America Frederic Flocken in 1859.
[24]
American Presbyterian minister
Elias Riggs
commissioned, supported and edited the work of Bulgarian monk
Neofit Rilski
to create a
Bible translations into Bulgarian
which was then distributed widely in Bulgaria in 1871 and thereafter. This effort was supported by Congregationalist missionary Albert Long,
Konstantin Fotinov
, Hristodul Sechan-Nikolov and
Petko Slaveikov
.
[24]
Reportedly, 2,000 copies of the newly translated Bulgarian language New Testament were sold within the first two weeks.
Congregational churches were established in
Bansko
,
Veliko Turnovo
, and
Svishtov
between 1840 and 1878, followed by
Sofia
in 1899. By 1909, there were 19 Congregational churches, with a total congregation of 1,456 in southern Bulgaria offering normal Sunday services, Sunday schools for children, biblical instruction for adults; as well as women's groups and youth groups. Summer Bible schools were held annually from 1896 to 1948.
[24]
Congregationalists led by James F. Clarke opened Bulgaria's first Protestant primary school for boys in
Plovdiv
in 1860, followed three years later by a primary school for girls in
Stara Zagora
. In 1871 the two schools were moved to
Samokov
and merged as the American College, now considered the oldest American educational institution outside the US. In 1928, new facilities were constructed in Sofia, and the Samokov operation transferred to the
American College of Sofia
(ACS), now operated at a very high level by the Sofia American Schools, Inc.
[25]
In 1874, a Bible College was opened in
Ruse, Bulgaria
for people wanting to become pastors. At the 1876 annual conference of missionaries, the beginning of organizational activity in the country was established. The evangelical churches of Bulgaria formed a united association in 1909.
[24]
The missionaries played a significant role in assisting the Bulgarians throw off "the Turkish Yoke", which included publishing the magazine Zornitsa (Зорница, "Dawn"), founded in 1864 by the initiative of Riggs and Long.
[26]
Zornitsa became the most powerful and most widespread newspaper of the Bulgarian Renaissance.
[24]
A small roadside marker on Bulgarian Highway 19 in the
Rila
Mountains, close to
Gradevo
commemorates the support given the Bulgarian Resistance by these early Congregationalist missionaries.
On 3 September 1901 Congregationalist missionaries came to world attention in the
Miss Stone Affair
when missionary Ellen Maria Stone,
[27]
of Roxbury, Massachusetts, and her pregnant fellow missionary friend Macedonian-Bulgarian Katerina Stefanova?Tsilka, wife of an Albanian Protestant minister, were kidnapped while traveling between
Bansko
and Gorna Dzhumaya (now
Blagoevgrad
), by an
Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization
detachment led by the
voivoda
Yane Sandanski
and the sub-voivodas
Hristo Chernopeev
and
Kr?styo Asenov
and ransomed to provide funds for revolutionary activities. Eventually, a heavy ransom (14,000
Ottoman lira
(about US$62,000 at 1902 gold prices or $5 million at 2012 gold prices) raised by public subscription in the USA was paid on 18 January 1902 in
Bansko
and the hostages (now including a newborn baby) were released on 2 February near
Strumica
?a full five months after being kidnapped. Widely covered by the media at the time, the event has been often dubbed "America's first modern hostage crisis".
The Bulgarian royal house, of Catholic German extraction, was unsympathetic to the American inspired Protestants, and this mood became worse when Bulgaria sided with Germany in WWI and WWII.
Matters became much worse when the
Bulgarian Communist Party
took power in 1944. Like the royal family, it too saw Protestantism closely linked to the West and hence more politically dangerous than traditional Orthodox Christianity. This prompted repressive legislation in the form of "Regulations for the Organization and Administration of the Evangelical Churches in the People's Republic of Bulgaria" and resulted in the harshest government repression, possibly the worst in the entire
Eastern Bloc
, intended to extinguish Protestantism altogether. Mass arrests of pastors (and often their families), torture, long prison sentences (including four life sentences) and even disappearance were common. Similar tactics were used on parishioners.
In fifteen highly publicized mock show-trials between 8 February and 8 March 1949, all the accused pastors confessed to a range of charges against them, including treason, spying (for both the US and Yugoslavia), black marketing, and various immoral acts. State appointed pastors were foist on surviving congregations. As late as the 1980s, imprisonment and exile were still employed to destroy the remaining Protestant churches. The Congregationalist magazine "Zornitsa" was banned; Bibles became unobtainable.
As a result, the number of Congregationalists is small and estimated by
Paul Mojzes
in 1982 to number about 5,000, in 20 churches. (Total Protestants in Bulgaria were estimated in 1965 to have been between 10,000 and 20,000.)
More recent estimates indicate enrollment in Protestant ("Evangelical" or "Gospel") churches of between 100,000 and 200,000,
[31]
presumably reflecting the success of more recent missionary efforts of evangelical groups.
Canada
[
edit
]
In Canada, the first foreign field, thirty-one churches that had been affiliated with the General Conference became part of the
United Church of Canada
when that denomination was founded in 1925 by the merger of the Canadian Congregationalist and
Methodist
churches, and two-thirds of the congregations of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada
. In 1988, a number of UCC congregations separated from the national church, which they felt was moving away theologically and in practice from Biblical Christianity. Many of the former UCC congregations banded together as the new
Congregational Christian Churches in Canada
.
The Congregational Christian Churches in Canada (or 4Cs) is an evangelical, Protestant, Christian denomination, headquartered in Brantford, Ontario, and a member of the
World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship
. The name "congregational" generally describes its preferred organizational style, which promotes local church autonomy and ownership, while fostering fellowship and accountability between churches at the National level.
Ireland
[
edit
]
The
Congregational Union of Ireland
was founded in 1829 and currently has around 26 member churches. In 1899 it absorbed the Irish Evangelical Society.
[32]
Samoa
[
edit
]
The
Congregational Christian Church of Samoa
is one of the largest group of churches throughout the Pacific Region. It was founded in 1830 by the
London Missionary Society
missionary
John Williams
on the island of
Savai'i
in the village of Sapapali'i. As the church grew it established and continues to support theological colleges in Samoa and Fiji. There are over 100,000 members attending over 2,000 congregations throughout the world, most of which are located in Samoa, American Samoa, New Zealand, Australia and America. The
Christian Congregational Church of Jamaica
falls under the constitution of the Samoan Church.
South Africa
[
edit
]
Congregational churches were brought to the
Cape Colony
by British settlers.
United Kingdom
[
edit
]
The
Congregational Union of England and Wales
was established in 1831.
[33]
It had no authority over the affiliated churches, but instead aimed to advise and support them.
[34]
In 1972, about three-quarters of English Congregational churches merged with the
Presbyterian Church of England
to form the
United Reformed Church
(URC). However, about 600 Congregational churches have continued in their historic independent tradition. Under the
United Reformed Church Act 1972
(c. xviii), which dealt with the financial and property issues arising from the merger between what had become by then the
Congregational Church of England and Wales
and the
Presbyterian Church of England
, certain assets were divided between the various parties.
In England, there are three main groups of continuing Congregationalists. These are the
Congregational Federation
, which has offices in Nottingham and Manchester, the
Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches
, which has offices in Beverley, and about 100 Congregational churches that are loosely federated with other congregations in the
Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches
, or are unaffiliated. The unaffiliated churches' share of the assets of the Congregational Union/Church of England and Wales is administered by a
registered charity
, the Unaffiliated Congregational Churches Charities,
[35]
which supports the unaffiliated churches and their retired ministers.
In 1981, the United Reformed Church merged with the re-formed Association of Churches of Christ and, in 2000, just over half of the churches in the
Congregational Union of Scotland
also joined the United Reformed Church (via the United Reformed Church Act 2000
[36]
). The remainder of Congregational churches in Scotland joined the Congregational Federation.
Wales
traditionally is the part which has the largest share of Congregationalists among the population, most Congregationalists being members of
Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg
(the
Union of Welsh Independents
), which is particularly important in
Carmarthenshire
and
Brecknockshire
.
The
London Missionary Society
was effectively the world mission arm of British Congregationalists, sponsoring missionaries including
Eric Liddell
and
David Livingstone
. After mergers and changes of name, the Society was succeeded in 1977 by the worldwide
Council for World Mission
.
United States
[
edit
]
In the United States, the Congregational tradition traces its origins mainly to
Puritan
settlers of
colonial New England
. Congregational churches have had an important role in the political, religious and cultural history of the United States. Their practices concerning church governance influenced the early development of democratic institutions in New England,
and some of the nation's oldest educational institutions, such as
Harvard
and
Yale University
, were founded to train Congregational clergy.
In the 21st century, the Congregational tradition is represented by the
United Church of Christ
, the
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches
,
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
, the
Evangelical Association
and many unaffiliated local churches. Some congregations and denominations are
conservative
on social issues, (e.g.
CCCC
) while others are
liberal
(e.g.
UCC
).
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
"Pewforum: Christianity (2010)"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2013-08-05
. Retrieved
2014-05-14
.
- ^
Browne, Robert,
A booke which sheweth the life and manners of all true Christians and how unlike they are unto Turkes and Papistes, and heathen folke.
1582
- ^
a
b
Tomkins, Stephen (2020).
The Journey of the Mayflower
. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 98.
- ^
"Llavanches United"
. CEFN Pennar. Archived from
the original
on 2008-07-25
. Retrieved
2008-10-19
.
- ^
Paterson, Alan.
"Scottish Congregationalism, Congregational History"
. Hamilton United Reformed Church
. Retrieved
2017-05-24
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Vassileva, Anastasia (August 8, 2008).
"A history of protestantism in Bulgaria"
.
The Sofia Echo
. Retrieved
27 December
2012
.
- ^
American College of Sofia (2010).
"History of American College of Sofia"
. American College of Sofia. Archived from
the original
on 14 June 2018
. Retrieved
27 December
2012
.
- ^
The Evangelical Churches in Bulgaria (2012).
"History"
. Archived from
the original
on 14 April 2013
. Retrieved
28 December
2012
.
- ^
Chelsey, Historical Society.
"Ellen Maria Stone"
. Retrieved
29 December
2012
.
- ^
Altanov, Velislav (c. 2012).
Religious Revitalization Among Bulgarians During and After the Communist Time
. Sent in private email communication from Dr. Paul Mojzes.
- ^
Boyle, Tom.
"The Congregational Union Of Ireland"
. Archived from
the original
on 2013-05-17
. Retrieved
2013-06-05
.
- ^
"Congregational Union/Church Archives"
.
Congregational Library
. Retrieved
1 July
2020
.
- ^
Cross, F. L. (2015).
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 403.
ISBN
978-0192802903
.
- ^
"
Charities Administered in connection with the Unaffiliated Congregational Churches, registered charity no. 273854
"
.
Charity Commission for England and Wales
.
- ^
2000 c.ii
at legislation.gov.uk
Sources
[
edit
]
- Mojzes, Paul
; Shenk, Gerald (1992).
Protestantism in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia Since 1945
. Duke University Press.
ISBN
0822312417
.
- Coffey, John; Lim, Paul C. H., eds. (2008).
The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism
. Cambridge Companions to Religion. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-0-521-67800-1
.
- Cooper, James F. Jr. (1999).
Tenacious of Their Liberties: The Congregationalists in Colonial Massachusetts
. Religion in America. New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN
0195152875
.
- Craig, John (2008), "The Growth of English Puritanism", in Coffey, John; Lim, Paul C. H. (eds.),
The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism
, Cambridge Companions to Religion, Cambridge University Press, pp. 34?47,
ISBN
978-0-521-67800-1
- Jefferson, Charles Edward
(1910).
Congregationalism
. Boston: The Pilgrim Press.
- Jenkins, Daniel T. (March 26, 2019).
"Congregationalism"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
- Peel, Albert (1920).
The First Congregational Churches: New Light on Separatist Congregations in London 1567?81
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
9781316633427
.
- Von Rohr, John (1992).
The Shaping of American Congregationalism, 1620-1957
. Pilgrim Press.
ISBN
9780829820775
.
- Youngs, J. William T. (1998).
The Congregationalists
. Denominations in America. Vol. 4 (Student ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.
ISBN
9780275964412
.
Further reading
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edit
]
United States
[
edit
]
- McConnell, Michael W. "Establishment and Disestablishment at the Founding, Part I: Establishment of Religion"
William and Mary Law Review
, Vol. 44, 2003, pp. 2105
- Swift, David Everett. "Conservative versus Progressive Orthodoxy in Latter Nineteenth Century Congregationalism."
Church History
16#1 (March, 1947): 22?31.
- Walker, Williston. "Changes in Theology Among American Congregationalists."
American Journal of Theology
10#2 (April 1906): 204?218.
- Walker, Williston.
The Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism.
3rd ed. Boston, MA: Pilgrim Press, 1960.
- Walker, Williston. "Recent Tendencies in the Congregational Churches."
The American Journal of Theology
24#1 (January, 1920): 1?18.
United Kingdom
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]
- Argent, Alan.
The Transformation of Congregationalism 1900?2000
(Nottingham: Congregational Federation, 2013)
- Duffy, Eamon
.
The Stripping of the Altars
: Traditional Religion in England, c.1400 to c.1580
(Cambridge, 1992)
- Dale, Robert William
,
History of English Congregationalism
(London: Hodder & Stoughton / New York: A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1907)
- Hooper, Thomas.
The Story of English Congregationalism
(1907)
- Larsen, Timothy; Barkley, Stephen (6 May 2007).
"The Congregationalists"
.
The Victorian Web (www.victorianweb.org)
. Retrieved
27 June
2018
.
- Ottewill, Roger Martin. "
Faith and good works: congregationalism in Edwardian Hampshire 1901?1914
" (PhD. Diss. University of Birmingham, 2015) Bibliography pp 389?417.
- Rimmington, Gerald. "Congregationalism in Rural Leicestershire and Rutland 1863?1914."
Midland History
30, no.1 (2006): 91?104.
- Rimmington, Gerald. "Congregationalism and Society in Leicester 1872?1914."
Local Historian
37#1 (2007): 29?44.
- Thompson, David.
Nonconformity in the Nineteenth Century
(1972).
- Thompson, David M.
The Decline of Congregationalism in the Twentieth-Century.
(London: The Congregational Memorial Hall Trust, 2002).
- Congregational Martyrs
. London, 1861, intended to form part of a series of 'Historical Papers,' which, however, were not continued; 2nd ed. 1861
- Congregational Church History from the Reformation to 1662
, London, 1862, awarded the bicentenary prize offered by the Congregational Union
- Surrey Congregational History
, London, 1866, in which he dealt more particularly with the records of his own congregation.
- Congregational History
, 5 vols., London, 1869?1880
External links
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