The International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC) is a federation of Reformed or Calvinist churches around the world. The ICRC convenes international meetings every four years.
The ICRC was founded in 1981 at Groningen in the Netherlands.
The theology of the ICRC is more conservative than the larger World Communion of Reformed Churches and is similar to that of the World Reformed Fellowship. The participating churches endorse the four Reformed confessions: the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, Canons of Dort, and Westminster Confession of Faith.
In 2023, the moderator of the ICRC is Reverend Dr Dick Moes.
History
Precedents
Reformed Faith emerged in Europe, in the 16th Century. From then on, it spread through migration and missions throughout the world. Since the 19th century, Reformed Christians began to organize structures that allowed communion and the testimony of unity among Reformed people around the world.
In 1875, the Alliance of Reformed Churches that maintains the Presbyterian System (ARCPS) was organized in London. In 1891, the International Congregational Council (ICC) formed an umbrella of churches of the Reformed Tradition that adopted system of congregational government.
In 1946, conservative reformed churches organized the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC).
In 1970, ARCPS and ICC formed the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC).
In the following decades, several denominations participated simultaneously in both organizations, aligning the REC increasingly with WARC, This approach would culminate in the merger between the two organizations in 2010, to form the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
Emergence
As the REC became increasingly liberal and closer to WARC, a group of conservative Reformed churches saw the need to form a new international organization of Reformed denominations. Thus, in 1982, the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC) was formed. The first meeting of the conference was held in 1985. At the time, the founders of the conference were the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated), Free Reformed Churches of Australia, Canadian and American Reformed Churches, Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Ireland), Free Church of Scotland and Reformed Churches in Indonesia.
In the following years, ICRC grew, bringing together conservative Reformed denominations from around the world. Even so, a large part of its members are simultaneously members of the World Reformed Fellowship and some are also members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
As of 2022, the ICRC is estimated to consist of 38 member denominations, which together have 784,905 individual members.
Members
List of ICRC Members in 2023:
Member Profile
The Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin), alone, represents 48.81% of the individual members of the International Conference of Reformed Churches. Together, Presbyterians represent 64.14% of individual members. The continental Reformed represent 35.86%.
Candidates
In 2020, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Peru expressed interest in joining the ICRC, requesting support from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to do so.
In 2023, a presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America requested that the denomination apply for ICRC membership; the General Assembly referred this overture to its permanent Interchurch Relations Committee.
Former members
The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) and Free Reformed Churches of Australia were founding denominations of the ICRC. However, none of them are currently part of the CIIR.
In 2017, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) began to allow women's ordination, which is completely rejected by the other members of the organization. Consequently, the ICRC suspended the denomination's membership rights, and urged it to reverse its decision.
However, the Liberated Reformed Churches did not respond to the ICRC's request and continued to ordain women. Consequently, in 2022, the ICRC approved the definitive expulsion of the organization's denomination.
References
