{{Short description|Christian denomination}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}} {{infobox Christian denomination | name = Alliance of Reformed Churches | abbreviation = ARC (note that ARC can also refer to the Association of Related Churches) | image = Alliance of Reformed Churches logo.jpeg | main_classification = Protestant | orientation = Reformed | theology = Reformed | governance = Strategic Board with policy governance | founded_date = 2021 | associations = | area = United States | congregations = 181<ref>https://arc21.org/churches</ref> | separated_from = Reformed Church in America | website = {{URL|https://arc21.org/}} }} {{Portal|Reformed Christianity}}
The '''Alliance of Reformed Churches''' ('''ARC''') is a Reformed Christian denomination formed in 2021 by a group of churches that had grown frustrated with, and broke away from, the Reformed Church in America.<ref name=CRIS>{{Cite web | url= https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/january/reformed-church-in-america-rca-alliance-of-reformed-churche.html| title = Reformed Church in America Splits as Conservatives Form New Denomination | website = Christianity Today| date = January 7, 2022| access-date = January 12, 2022}}</ref><ref name=HERE>{{ cite web |url=https://theaquilareport.com/a-new-organization-alliance-of-reformed-churches-arc/ | title =A New Organization: Alliance of Reformed Churches (ARC)|website=The Aquila Report| date = August 19, 2021| access-date = January 12, 2022}}</ref> The separation occurred amid ongoing internal disputes within the RCA over theology, governance, the role of women, and human sexuality.
==History== In the 2010s, the Reformed Church in America (RCA) faced pressure to clarify its position on same-sex marriage and homosexuality.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 31, 2021 |title=As RCA churches talk about splitting, they do so with grace |url=https://calvinchimes.org/2021/10/31/as-rca-churches-talk-about-splitting-they-do-so-with-grace/ |access-date=January 7, 2022 |website=Calvin University Chimes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=November 11, 2021 |title=Division of the Reformed Church in America over LGBT issues |url=https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/some-reformed-churches-explain-why-they-dont-want-to-leave-the-denomination |access-date=January 7, 2022 |website=Fox 17}}</ref> Specifically, there were disputes over what ramifications should exist over clergy conducting same sex weddings, which were being permitted by individual local classes [presbyteries] even while it was against a broader denominational doctrine and policy.
In 2021, after failing to find an agreement amongst the RCA's diverse membership, there emerged a growing dissatisfaction from the more conservative members, who saw with the RCA's inability to deal with enforcement as implicit permission for churches to celebrate same-sex marriage when they form classes that support this conduct.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 11, 2022 |title=Reformed Church in America splits a conservative churches from new denomination |url=https://wordandway.org/2022/01/11/reformed-church-in-america-splits-as-conservative-churches-form-new-denomination/ |access-date=January 27, 2022 |website=Word and Way}}</ref>
In response, 55 dissatisfied churches left the RCA in 2021 and formed the Alliance of Reformed Churches.<ref name=CRIS/><ref name=HERE/> The ARC was initially co-led by Dan Ackerman and Tim Vink though after a short tenure they were replaced by Greg Alderman. Leadership transitions in its early period were relatively rapid compared to longer-established denominations. It has continued as a denomination, primarily drawing in other dissatisfied conservative churches looking to disaffiliate from the RCA.
==Doctrine== The ARC affirms the Apostles' Creed, Athanasian Creed and Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. It considers the ordination of women as a matter for the individual church. However, the majority of local churches do not ordain female clergy.
It subscribes to the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Belhar Confession. It also subscribes to the Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://arc21.org/organizational-convictions| title = Doctrine of the Covenants of the Reformed Churches| access-date = January 12, 2022| archive-date = January 12, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220112202315/https://arc21.org/organizational-convictions| url-status = dead}}</ref> a non-historic statement drafted in concurrence with the establishment of the ARC a that serves as clarification for a stronger conservative stance on human sexuality that the denomination built its foundation on.
==References== {{Reflist|3}}
{{Presbyterian and Reformed denominations in the United States}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alliance of Reformed Churches}} Category:Reformed denominations in North America Category:Calvinist denominations established in the 21st century Category:Christian organizations established in 2021 Category:Christian denominations founded in the United States