Orthodox Christian Reformed Church

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The Orthodox Christian Reformed Church (OCRC) is a theologically conservative federation of churches in the Dutch Calvinist tradition. These churches confess the Bible to be the Word of God and believe it is faithfully summarized by the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort.

1 History
2 Beliefs
- 2.1 Confessions
- 2.2 Creeds
3 Congregations and External Link

[edit] History

The first Orthodox Christian Reformed Church congregation was organized in Listowel (now Wingham), Ontario Canada, in 1979 by families who had left the Christian Reformed Church for doctrinal reasons. The late Rev. Harry Van Dyken [1] was very instrumental in the formation of the federation and founding churches. Over the next few years, congregations were formed in Grand Valley, Michigan, Burlington, Washington, and Toronto, Canada.

Representatives of these churches began meeting in 1981 to discuss church order and federation. The Orthodox Christian Reformed Church was formally organized in March 1988 with seven congregations. Since then some new churches have joined and others have left. At present the federation numbers five churches. In Washington: Burlington. In British Columbia: Kelowna. In Ontario: Bowmanville, Cambridge, and Nobleton [2].

While the OCRC federation never grew to prominence in number, its size did remain stable for the first two decades of its existence. Its third decade has been one of reduction in the number of churches, and in turmoil. With the eruption of the Federal Vision controversy, sides have been taken and churches have been lost on both sides. This has accounted for its relatively small size at present.

[edit] Beliefs

The Orthodox Christian Reformed Church believes in the Bible as the only Word of God and that it is without error and is the final authority for all of life.