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The termEastern Protestant Christianity (also calledEastern Reformed Christianity as well asOriental Protestant Christianity) encompasses a range of heterogeneousProtestantChristian denominations that developed outside of theWestern world, from the latter half of the nineteenth century, and retain certain elements ofEastern Christianity. Some of these denominations came into existence when active Protestant churches adoptedreformational variants ofEastern andOriental Orthodox liturgy and worship, while others originated from Orthodox groups who were inspired by the teachings of Western Protestant missionaries and adopted Protestant beliefs and practices.[1][2][3][4]
Some Eastern Protestant Churches are incommunion with similar Western Protestant churches.[1][5] However, there is nouniversal communion between the various Eastern Protestant churches. This is due to the diverse polities, practices, liturgies, and orientations of the denominations which fall under this category, as can be seen in Western Protestantism.
The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church has its origins in a reformation movement within theMalankara Church inSouth India, in the latter half of the 19th century. India was part of the British Empire at the time, while the Malankara Church is anOriental Orthodox church, in communion with theSyriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch. Concurrently,Anglican missionaries from England arrived in South India. They became teachers at the church's seminary and made the Bible available in theMalayalam language. Inspired by the teachings of the missionaries and imbibing the ideas of theProtestant Reformation from them, a few priests under the leadership ofAbraham Malpan initiated a reformation. Abraham Malpan also managed to get his nephew Deacon Mathew, ordained as bishop Mathews Mar Athanasius, by the Patriarch of Antioch. But many opposed the reforms. The groups for and against reforms engaged in court litigations for the church and its properties. These ended in 1889, through a verdict favoring the Patriarchal faction. Subsequently, the reformed faction became an independent church, known as the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. To date, there are 11 bishops, 1149 priests and over a million laity.[6][7] While retaining many of the Syriachigh church practices, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church isReformed in its theology and doctrines.[8] The church employs a reformed variant of theLiturgy of Saint James, with many parts in the local vernacular. TheMalankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church is in full communion with theAnglican Communion and maintains friendly relations with many other churches.[9][10][5]
Eastern Lutheranism refers toLutheran churches, such as those of Ukraine and Slovenia, that use a form of theByzantine Rite as their liturgy.[11] It is unique in that it is based on the Eastern Christian rite used by theEastern Orthodox Church, while incorporating theology from theDivine Service contained in theFormula Missae, the base texts for Lutheran liturgies in the West.[12]
In the far north of the Scandinavian peninsula are theSámi people, some of whom practice a form of Lutheranism called Apostolic Lutheranism, orLaestadianism due to the efforts ofLars Levi Laestadius. However, others areOrthodox in religion. Some Apostolic Lutherans consider their movement as part of anunbroken line down from the Apostles. In Russia, Laestadians of Lutheran background cooperate with theIngrian church, but since Laestadianism is an interdenominational movement, some are Eastern Orthodox. Eastern Orthodox Laestadians are known asUshkovayzet (article is in Russian).[13]
The Ukrainian Lutheran Church, formerly called the Ukrainian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, is aByzantine Rite Lutheran Church based inUkraine.[11][12][14] The Eastern Christian denomination consists of 25 congregations within Ukraine, serving over 2,500 members and runs Saint Sophia Ukrainian Lutheran Theological Seminary inTernopil in Western Ukraine. The ULC is a member of theConfessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), a worldwide organization of confessional Lutheran church bodies of the same beliefs.[15]
The Assyrian Evangelical Church is aMiddle Eastern Church which attained ecclesiastical independence from the Presbyterian mission inIran, in 1870.[16] Its membership is composed mostly ofEastern Aramaic speaking ethnicAssyrians who were originally part of theAssyrian Church of the East and its offshoots, or theSyriac Orthodox Church. They, like other Assyrian Christians, are sometimes targets of persecution by hostile governments and neighbors.[17][18]
The Armenian Evangelical Church is the product of a reform campaign from within theArmenian Apostolic Church.[19][20][21] The reformers were influenced by the missionaries of theAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, who arrived inTurkey in the early 19th century and published translated bibles forTurkish-speaking Armenians.[22][23]
The reformers were led by Krikor Peshdimaljian, one of the leading intellectuals of the time.[22][23] Peshdimaljian was the head of a training school for the Armenian Apostolic clergy.[22] The school was under the auspices of theArmenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.[22] Out of this school, emerged a society called the Pietisical Union, whose members focused more directly on the Bible and organized Bible study meetings.[22][23] They began to raise questions about what they saw as conflicts between biblical truths and the traditional practices of the Armenian Apostolic Church.[22] The Union also advocatedPietism, which they believed their church was devoid of.[23][24]
The leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church under Patriarch Matteos Chouhajian was against any reform, andexcommunicated the reformists from the church.[22][23][24] This separation led to the formation of the Armenian Evangelical Church, on July 1, 1846, inConstantinople.[19][25] By 1850, the new church received the official recognition of theOttoman government.[24][25] Later, however, Armenians were forced out ofOttoman Turkey, due to theArmenian genocide.[20][22][25] The Armenian Evangelical congregations in theMiddle East are currently organized as theUnion of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East.[20][22][23]
The Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) is the largest indigenous Pentecostal denomination in India.[26] It was founded in 1924, and the first united convention of these congregations was held in Ranni, Kerala, in April 1925.[27]
IPC was officially registered as a religious society on 9 December 1935 at Eluru, Andhra Pradesh.[28] Its administrative headquarters is located at Hebron, Kumbanad, Kerala.[27]
Today, IPC has over 12,000 congregations worldwide, with a strong presence across India and in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East.[28][29]
The St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India (STECI) is anEvangelical,Episcopal denomination based inKerala,India. It derives from aschism in theMalankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1961. STECI holds that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant and infallible Word of God. Adherents believe that all that is necessary for salvation and living in righteousness is given in the Bible. The church is engaged in active evangelism. The headquarters of this church is atTiruvalla, a town in the state ofKerala.[30]
The Assyrian Pentecostal Church is a Pentecostal Christian denomination which originated in the 1940s among theAssyrian people ofIran and spread among ethnic Assyrians inIraq,Turkey andSyria.[31][32] They are native speakers of theAssyrian Neo-Aramaic language, and also use it as theirliturgical language.[33] They use the Syriac Aramaic Bible.[34] Most of the members of this denomination were originally part of theAssyrian Church of the East and its offshoots, or theSyriac Orthodox Church.[17] The Assyrian Pentecostal Church is affiliated with theAssemblies of God Church.[35] There have been reported instances of persecution against them as well.[36]
The Believers Eastern Church (formerlyBelievers Church) is a Christian denomination with roots inPentecostalism, based inKerala,India. It exists as a part of theGospel for Asia.[37][38] In 2003, this church acquiredepiscopacy, by getting Indian Anglican bishops to ordain its founderK. P. Yohannan as a bishop. Henceforth this denomination adopted several elements ofEastern Christian worship and practices like the use of holy oils for anointing, while keeping the principle ofsola scriptura.[39] Its name was officially changed toBelievers Eastern Church in 2017, so as to "better express its roots in the ancient and orthodox faith".[40]
TheEvangelical Church of Romania (Romanian: Biserica Evanghelică Română) is one ofRomania's eighteen officially recognised religious denominations.[41][42] The church originated between 1920 and 1924, through the work of the youngRomanian Orthodox theologiansDumitru Cornilescu and Tudor Popescu.[43]
Deacon Cornilescu was motivated to translate the Bible into modern Romanian, by Princess Calimachi ofMoldavia. While translating theEpistle to the Romans, Cornilescu became interested in the concept of personal salvation. By the time he completed the translation, he had become staunchlyevangelical.[43] Afterwards, Cornilescu served as a deacon under Fr. Tudor Popescu, at theCuibul cu barză Church inBucharest. After some time, Popescu converted to evangelicalism, due to Cornilescu's influence. Both of them began to preach salvation by personal faith in Christ. Gradually, they gained a significant following, including priests from the Romanian Orthodox Church. Soon other evangelical traits, such as singing and congregational participation, began to manifest in this group.[43] They called into question many Orthodox practices, which they perceived to be unbiblical. Tudor Popescu has been called the Romanian Martin Luther, for his attempts to reform the Romanian Orthodox Church.[44][45]
Due to deviations fromEastern Orthodox doctrines, the Romanian Orthodox Church defrocked Fr. Tudor Popescu. Dumitru Cornilescu was forced to leave the country. But Popescu and his followers (originally called Tudorists), established their own Church; the Evangelical Church of Romania.[46]
The Evangelical Orthodox Church is a Christian denomination which blendsEvangelical Protestantism with features ofEastern Orthodoxy. It started off in 1973 as a network ofhouse churches established byCampus Crusade for Christ missionaries in theUnited States. The foundersPeter E. Gillquist, Jack Sparks, Jon Braun, and J.R. Ballew wanted to restore Christianity to its primitive form based on the writings of the earlyChurch Fathers. So they stood in a circle and self-ordained each other, creating an entity called the New Covenant Apostolic Order (NCAO). Their own interpretations of Church history led to the adoption of a somewhat liturgical form of worship and induced a need forapostolic succession. In 1977 the first contact with the Eastern Orthodox Church was initiated through Orthodox seminarian Fr. John Bartke. In 1979 the Evangelical Orthodox Church (EOC) was organized. The EOC pursued various avenues to obtainepiscopacy, including a visit to thePatriarch of Constantinople, but to no avail. At last they met PatriarchIgnatius IV of Antioch, during his historic visit toLos Angeles, which proved successful. This meeting was arranged by Fr. John Bartke, who later served as the primary intermediary between the EOC and the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, and also hosted the initial set of chrismations and ordinations for the EOC at St. Michael's Church inVan Nuys, California. Unable to completely reconcile Evangelicalism and Orthodoxy, many EOC members formally joined theAntiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America in 1987. Some others joined theOrthodox Church in America. The rest remained independent and continue as the Evangelical Orthodox Church.[47][48][49][50]
P'ent'ay is anAmharic andTigrinya language term for evangelical Christians inEthiopia andEritrea. This movement has been influenced by the mainstreamOriental Orthodox Christianity of these countries as well asPentecostalism. As Protestantism is relatively new in Ethiopia, mostP'ent'ay are ex-Orthodox Christians.[51][52] Many of these groups describe their religious practices as culturally Orthodox, but Protestant by doctrine. They boast approximately 16,500,000 members.[53] The P'ent'ay denominations may constitute as much as 19% of the population ofEthiopia,[54] while being a small minority inEritrea.[55]
A Malpan (teacher) in the Kottayam college, Abraham, who was a priest (Katanar), took up Protestant ideas warmly. Dr. Richards says of him with just pride that he was "the Wyclif of the Syrian Church in Malabar."…The Reformers calls themselves the "Mar Thomas Christians". They are considerably Protestantized. They have no images, denounce the idea of the Eucharistic sacrifice, pray neither to the saints nor for the dead, and use the vernacular (Malayalam) for their services…If only we knew what the views of the Church of England in matters of faith are, it would be easier to estimate those of the Mar Thomas Christians.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Metropolitan Juhanon Mar Thoma called it "a Protestant Church in an oriental grab."...As a reformed Oriental Church, it agrees with the reformed doctrines of the Western Churches. Therefore, there is much in common in faith and doctrine between the MTC and the reformed Churches of the West. As the Church now sees it, just as the Anglican Church is a Western Reformed Church, the MTC is an Eastern Reformed Church. At the same time as it continues in the apostolic episcopal tradition and ancient oriental practices, it has much in common with the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Thus, it is regarded as a "bridging Church".
The Syrian Orthodox also became the target of Anglican missionary activity, as a result of which the Mar Thoma Church separated from the Orthodox in 1874, adopting the Anglican confession of faith and a reformed Syrian liturgy conforming to Protestant principles.
In the Byzantine world, however, this pattern of worship would not be informed by the liturgical history of the Latin church, as with the Reformation-era church orders, but by the liturgical history of the Byzantine church. (This was in fact what occurred with the Ukrainian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, which published in its 1933 Ukrainian Evangelical Service Book the first ever Lutheran liturgical order derived from the historic Eastern Rite.)
{{cite book}}:Check|isbn= value: checksum (help){{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)Cultural area ofChristian traditions that developed sinceEarly Christianity in theMiddle East,Eastern Europe,North andEast Africa,Asia Minor,South India, and parts of theFar East. | ||||||||
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