A New Home for the Historic Faith

The Evangelical & Reformed Synod was constituted on September 14, 2024, with a singular mission: to unite faithful Christians around the essentials of the Gospel. We believe that robust, full-throated evangelicalism can and must be preserved in our generation.

We are a "United" church, bringing together the three great streams of the Magisterial Reformation—Lutheran, Reformed, and Anglican—into one body.

Evangelical & Reformed

Our name defines our identity:

• Evangelical: We are people of the Evangel (the Gospel). We preach Christ crucified, risen, and reigning. We hold to the inerrancy of Scripture and the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

• Reformed: We stand on the shoulders of the Reformers. We are not inventing something new; we are returning to ancient paths. We affirm the distinctives and historic Confessions of the Reformation.

Our Roots

This name also points to our organic beginning:

• The Evangelical Synod of North America was a denomination of German speaking immigrants of Union background, especially the Prussian Union of Churches. These churches variously held to the Augsburg Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, Luther's Large & Small Catechisms, and their own Evangelical Catechism.

• The Reformed Church in the US is a denomination of German Reformed immigrants who cherished the simple Heidelberg Catechism alone.

The majority of these churches merged in 1934 to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church. In 1957, the E&R merged into the United Church of Christ, America's most progressive mainline denomination. Many conservative churches have since left the UCC.

A Modern Restoration

In the 2010s, small number of E&R churches in the American Southeast joined the United Episcopal Church of North America. This season in our history solidified a cooperation between three historic streams: Lutheran (traced via the Evangelical Synod), Anglican (via the UECNA), and Reformed (via the Reformed Church in the US). 

Following an amicable, practical split from the UECNA, the Evangelical & Reformed Synod was formed as a spiritual successor to the original Evangelical and Reformed Church (1934-1957). We carry forward the banner that was dropped when that body merged into the United Church of Christ, preserving the union of German Reformed and Lutheran heritage for a new generation.

While we honor these roots, a member church need not have been part of these particular denominations; however, they must affirm an historic confession.