Swiss Reformed Church

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The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zurich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basle (Johannes Oecolampadius), Berne (Berchtold Haller and Niklaus Manuel), St. Gall (Joachim Vadian), to cities in Southern Germany and via Alsace (Martin Bucer) to France.

After the early death of Zwingli in 1531, his work was continued by Heinrich Bullinger, the author of the Second Helvetic Confession. The French-speaking cities Neuchatel, Geneva and Lausanne changed to the Reformation ten years later under William Farel and John Calvin coming from France. The Zwingli and Calvin branches had each their theological distinctions, but in 1549 under the lead of Bullinger and Calvin they came to a common agreement in the Consensus Tigurinus (Zurich Consent), and 1566 in the Second Helvetic Confession.

Organizationally, the Reformed Churches in Switzerland remained separate units until today, being cantonal. The German part more in the Zwingli tradition, in the French part more in the Calvin tradition. They are governed synodically and their relation to the respective canton (in Switzerland, there are no church-state regulations on country-level) ranges from independent to close collaboration, depending on historical developments.

A distinctive of the Swiss Reformed churches in Zwingli tradition is their historically almost symbiotic link to the state (cantons) which is only loosening gradually in the present.

After the 18th century pietism arouse internal movements that in same cases has generated free churches, like the Free Church of Geneva.

In 1920 was founded the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (Schweizerischer Evangelischer Kirchenbund, Fédération des Eglises protestantes de Suisse, Federazione delle Chiese evangeliche della Svizzera - SEK-FEPS), with 22 member churches — 20 cantonal churches and 2 free churches (Free Church of Geneva and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland), to serve as a legal umbrella before the federal government and represent the church in International relations.

[edit] Reformed Cantonal Churches of Switzerland

Chiesa Evangelica Riformata del Ticino - Reformed Evangelical Church of Ticino
Eglise Evangelique Reformee du Canton de Vaud - Reformed Evangelical Church of the Canton of Vaud
Eglise Protestante de Geneve - Protestant Church of Geneva
Eglise Reformee Evangelique du Canton de Neuchatel - Reformed Evangelical Church of the Canton of Neuchâtel
Eglise Reformee Evangelique du Valais - Reformed Evangelical Church of Valais
Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche des Kantons Basel-Landschaft - Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of Basel-Land
Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche des Kantons Basel-Stadt - Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of Basel-Stadt
Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche des Kantons Freiburg - Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of Fribourg
Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche des Kantons Luzern - Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of Lucerne
Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche des Kantons Schaffhausen - Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of Schaffhausen
Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche des Kantons St. Gallen - Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of St. Gallen
Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche des Kanton Solothurn - Evangelical-Reformed Church of Canton of Solothurn
Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirchen des Bern-Jura-Solothurn - Evangelical-Reformed Churches of Berne-Jura-Solothurn
Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirchengemeinde des Kantons Zug - Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of Zug
Evangelisch-Reformierte Landeskirche beider Appenzell - Evangelical-Reformed State Church of Appenzell
Evangelisch-Reformierte Landeskirche des Kantons Aargau - Evangelical-Reformed State Church of the Canton of Aargau
Evangelisch-Reformierte Landeskirche des Kantons Graubünden - Evangelical-Reformed State Church of the Canton of Graubünden
Evangelisch-Reformierte Landeskirche des Kantons Zürich - Evangelical-Reformed State Church of the Canton of Zürich
Evangelisch-Reformierter Kirchenverband der Zentralschweiz - Evangelical-Reformed Church Association of Central Switzerland
Evangelischer Kirchenrat des Kantons Glarus - Evangelical Synod of the Canton of Glarus
Evangelischer Kirchenrat des Kantons Thurgau - Evangelical Synod of Canton of Thurgau