Christian Reformed Church of Australia

Christian Reformed Churches Of Australia
Christian Reformed Churches Of Australia Logo
Classification	Protestant
Theology	Reformed
Polity	Presbyterian
Associations	World Communion of Reformed Churches
Region	Australia
Origin	1951 Sydney NSW
Congregations	53
Members	9,000
Official website	http://www.crca.org.au

The Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (CRCA), formerly known as the Reformed Churches of Australia (RCA) is a Christian denomination established in Australia belonging to the Reformed/Presbyterian tradition.

This denomination has its roots in the European Reformation of the 15th and 16th centuries, affirming the beliefs that God grants salvation by grace alone, in Christ alone and through faith alone.

The denomination is part of the worldwide family of reformed churches which came into being at the time of the Reformation, and declared themselves reformed from the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church at that time. Whereas Martin Luther was the champion of the Reformation in Germany, John Calvin was the champion of the Reformation in Switzerland, the Netherlands and northern Europe. It is John Calvin's understanding of the Bible, as spelled out in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, that forms the doctrinal basis of the various reformed churches.

This doctrinal basis is further summarized in the three Confessions to which the continental reformed churches adhere:

And by the Confession to which the Presbyterian churches adhere:

This denomination was established by post-World War II Dutch migrants in 1951. Many of the migrants had been members of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. They had no desire to start new congregations in their new home, and had been advised to seek the pastoral care of the Scottish Free Presbyterians (i.e. the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia) upon their arrival in Australia. The differences between the culture of the Australian-Scottish Presbyterians and the Reformed Netherlanders was a hindrance, but the real problem was the liturgical restrictions where no instrumental accompaniment was allowed and only psalms were sung. The Dutch migrants struggled to find churches in Australia which embraced and upheld Biblical and Reformed theology, with a national profile that could enfold these new settlers, and was governed according to reformed tradition. For these reasons, in December 1951, they organised a separate denomination, initially composed of Reformed Churches in Sydney, Penguin and Melbourne. The new denomination held their first Synod in June 1952 in premises owned by the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia at East St Kilda. By 1955, some dozen congregations were formed in all Australian states, and the denomination, then named the Reformed Churches of Australia, grew to around 10,500 by the early 1990s, when it was renamed the Christian Reformed Churches Of Australia.