Free church
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separated from any government (as opposed to a theocracy, or an "established" or state church). A free church does not define government policy, nor have governments define church policy or theology, nor seeks or receives government endorsement or funding for its general mission.
This is historically what the Christian church was before Emperor Constantine, and did not appear again until the Protestant Reformation, and only within some particular radical movements such as the Anabaptists and Calvinists.
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[edit] Presbyterianism
A number of churches in Scotland and Northern Ireland, mainly of the presbyterian tradition, have used the name 'Free Church'. The most important of these to persist at the present time is the Free Church of Scotland.
[edit] China
Within present-day China the largest free churches are the True Jesus Church, Church Assembly Hall and New Birth Movement. Possibly several millions of persons in China belong to isolated radio churches.
