| Alliance of Reformed Churches | |
| Abbreviation: | ARC (note that ARC can also refer to the Association of Related Churches) |
| Main Classification: | Protestant |
| Orientation: | Reformed |
| Theology: | Reformed |
| Governance: | Strategic Board with policy governance |
| Founded Date: | 2021 |
| Area: | United States |
| Congregations: | 130 |
| Separated From: | Reformed Church in America |
The Alliance of Reformed Churches (ARC) is a Reformed Christian denomination formed in 2021 by a group of churches that broke away from the Reformed Church in America.[1] [2]
In the 2010s, the Reformed Church in America (RCA) faced internal conflict to define its position on same-sex marriage and homosexuality.[3] [4]
In 2021, after failing to find an agreement among the internal groups, the denomination approved a restructuring of its classes (presbyteries), to regroup the churches according to their positions on marriage and sexuality. This generated the dissatisfaction of the more conservative members, who saw with it the implicit permission for churches to celebrate same-sex marriage when they form classes that support this conduct.[5]
In response, about 55 churches left the RCA in 2021 and formed the Alliance of Reformed Churches.[1] [2]
The ARC permits ordination of women and subscribes to the Apostles' Creed, Athanasian Creed and Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.
It also subscribes to the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, the Belhar Confession and the Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality.[6]