The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW) is a

reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

and conservative evangelical

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

denomination based in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

with churches in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Founded in 1996, denominational growth has been steady but the denomination remains small with around 20 congregations.

History

In 1986, a Presbyterian conference was held in a Free Church of Scotland chapel in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where a vision of a new

denomination in England was proposed, which was to be faithful to

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

and adhere to the

Westminster Confession The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it beca ...

. As a consequence, the Presbyterian Association in England was formed in 1987 from several small Christian groups and existing congregations with efforts at church planting following. In 1991, an interim Presbytery was formed with congregations in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, Durham and Hull to work towards the establishment of the new denomination. This came to fruition in 1996, taking the name, ''Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales''. Several EPCEW ministers were instrumental in the 2020 founding of Westminster Presbyterian Theological Seminary in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, England.

Church planting

In 2000, two congregations in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Immanuel and Bethel, were accepted into communion. The EPCEW has grown significantly since its founding with a number of congregations joining the EPCEW and others being planted by existing churches. The denomination is working to establish church plants in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, Lincoln,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. They are actively looking to plant churches throughout England and Wales. Denominational growth has been steady:

Congregations

As of 2020, the denomination has twenty-three congregations and church plants at:

England

Wales

Sweden

Tranås Tranås () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Tranås Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 14,197 inhabitants in 2010. Overview It is close to the lake Sommen in the north of Småland. Its main commercial center is locat ...

Germany

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Switzerland

* Zurich, Switzerland

Publications

The denomination publishes ''The Presbyterian Network'' in Spring and Autumn with theological and pastoral articles and news from its congregations.

International organisations

Along with the Free Church of Scotland and the

Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (abbreviation: FC(C), Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Leantainneach) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which was formed in January 2000. It claims to be the true continuation of the Free Church of ...

, the denomination is one of the three members of the

International Conference of Reformed Churches 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 ...

from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, and one of seven European Christian denominations who founded the European Conference of Reformed Churches. The denomination has a co-operative agreement with the

Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...

and maintains relations with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland.

References

External links

*
Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales - Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evangelical Presbyterian Church In England and Wales Christian organizations established in 1996 Religious organisations based in England Religious organisations based in Wales Presbyterian denominations in Europe Presbyterian denominations established in the 20th century Presbyterianism in the United Kingdom Presbyterianism in England Presbyterianism in Wales Reformed denominations in the United Kingdom