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The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin. In the sixteenth century the movement spread to most of Europe, aligning with national governments in most cases, though several of these national or specific language based churches later expanded to worldwide denominations. There are now many different reformed churches: a 1999 survey found 746 Reformed denominations worldwide.
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The first Reformed churches were established in Europe after 1519, and were part of the Protestant Reformation.
Reformed doctrine is expressed in various confessions. A few confessions are shared by many denominations. Different denominations use different confessions, usually based on historical reasons.
The following is a chronological list of confession and theological doctrines of the Reformed churches:
In contrast to the episcopal polity of the Anglican and many Lutheran and Methodist churches, Reformed churches have two main forms of governance:
The Reformed Church in Hungary, its sister church in Romania, the Hungarian Reformed Church in America, the Polish Reformed Church, and the Reformed Episcopal Church are the only churches in the Reformed tradition to have retained the office of bishop.
| Protestantism |
Hussites • Lollards • Waldensians
Anabaptism • Anglicanism • Calvinism • Counter-Reformation • Dissenters and Nonconformism • Lutheranism • Polish Brethren • Remonstrants |
Around the world many churches of Reformed tradition emerged, both by migration and missionary work. Here is a List of Reformed churches.