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"Reformed" in this category is understood in the narrower sense that it designates a denomination or family of churches which followed John Calvin's teachings in such areas as theology, liturgy and church government. The term "reformed" in this context came to be used of almost all Calvinist churches on the continent- "Eglise Reformed" in France, "Reformierte Kirche" in Germany and the German -speaking part of Switzerland (Often preceded by the word "Evangelische") "Hervormde" or "Gereformeerde Kerken" in the Netherlands.

The creeds used in these Reformed churches are typically the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dort

Eastern European

This category attempts to give some of the history of the Reformed Church in eastern Europe.

Reformed Christianity in eastern Europe had great strength among Hungarians. By 1576 the government of the Hungarian Reformed Church emerged with bishops chosen by church councils of pastors and elders. In 1606 Stephan Bocskay , prince of Transylvania, secured recognition of the rights of Hungarian Reformed churches in territories under both Habsburg and Turkish rule, and Reformed faith was identified with Hungarian nationalism. The Transylvanian town of Debrecen became known as the Calvinist Rome. Transylvania, a sovereign state at the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War in 1648, fell under Habsburg domination later in the century. This resulted in a Counter-Reformation against Protestants, which was lightened by toleration in 1781 and equality under the law in 1881. Partitioning of Hungary in 1919 and 1945 left a significant number of continuing Hungarian Reformed churches in Romania, Czechoslovakia , the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia as well as in the present state of Hungary.

The Thirty Years' War was devastating to the Hussite Unity of Brethren in Bohemia, who had identified with the Reformed tradition during the Reformation. Protestantism survived underground until limited toleration came in 1781. Two Czech Brethren denominations exist in present-day Czechoslovakia. A Christian Peace Movement, which has gained international significance, developed from these churches in Prague during the 1950s.

Though Poland produced an influential Reformed theologian in Jan Laski (d. 1560), the Counter-Reformation reduced Reformed churches to the status of a small sect in Poland by the 17th century. In 1648 there were still more than 200 Reformed congregations, but by the late 20th century there were only eight congregations in Poland, five in Lithuania, and one in Latvia.

Congregational churches in Bulgaria and Evangelical churches in Greece are members of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches

French Reformed

This category attempts to give a history of the Reformed Church in France.

French Calvinists, or Huguenots , set the pattern for presbyterian organization on a national level at a synod of the Reformed Church of France in 1559. During the religious wars of the next decades they developed a theory of resistance to the unjust state, but the end of effective resistance came with the fall of La Rochelle in 1628. Huguenots remained as a weakened, tolerated minority in France. On Oct. 18, 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had granted Huguenots limited toleration. At least 250,000 French Protestants emigrated to Prussia, Holland, England, and America. After the suppression of the Camisard (French Protestant peasant) revolt in 1715, Louis XIV announced the end of the practice of Protestantism in France. Yet that very year a group met in Ns to plan restoration of the Reformed Church. With the 1789 French Revolution equality under the law came to Protestants. Napoleon placed Reformed congregations under state control, with pastors on state salary.

A national synod did not meet again until 1848. At that time a free Evangelical Synod was organized, separating from the state-recognized church over the issue of state support. In 1905 state support of the old synod was withdrawn, and the two synods were united in 1938.

When Alsace was annexed to France in 1648, a number of Reformed Christians were brought into the French nation. But the Reformed Church in Alsace-Lorraine , whose history has been different from that of the Reformed Church of France, remained a separate organization. Outside of French-speaking Switzerland, French Reformed churches are the largest Protestant group in the Latin countries of Europe, each having a Reformed Church. French Reformed Christians have played a role in the World Council of Churches, in liturgical and theological renewal, in relating the church to technology and urbanization, and in Catholic-Christian dialogue.

German Reformed

The Evangelical Church in Germany (German Evangelische Kirche in Deutchland, abbreviated by EKD) is a federation of 24 Lutheran, Reformed and United churches in their respective regions.

The German term "evangelisch" corresponds more to the English term "Protestant" than to the narrower direct translation "Evangelical" since it is a federation of different churches, rather than one evangelical church.

Historically, In 1648 the Peace of Westphalia established the legality of Reformed churches in German states, according to the pleasure of the ruling prince. At the end of the 17th century Reformed Christians in the Palatinate faced an attempt at their destruction. Many fled to the Netherlands , America, and Prussia, where Reformed churches were established. The Hohenzollern Elector of Brandenburg was converted to Calvinism in 1609. Hohenzollern rulers permitted the establishment of Reformed churches among refugees and also continued Reformed churches in territories that came later under Prussian rule.

Frederick William III of Prussia in 1817 proposed a union of Reformed and Lutheran churches. Reformed theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher led ministers in support of this union but shared with them a concern for the loss of Reformed systems of self-government to monarchial absolutism. The union became a pattern for a majority of Protestants in Germany. Distinctively Reformed territorial churches are still to be found in northwestern Germany. The Reformed Church of Anhalt joined in the union Evangelical Church in 1981.

A Reformed Alliance was organized in Germany in 1884 to preserve the Reformed heritage. A synod held in Altona in January 1934 drew up a confession in opposition to Nazi corruption of the Gospel. This led to the Barmen Synod of May 1934, in which Christians of Lutheran, Union, and Reformed background joined in the Barmen Confession of Faith. This confession was the basis for resistance to Hitler by the Confessing Church . After World War II the Confessing Church ceased, but its work continued to be an inspiration to churches in both West and East Germany. The Reformed Alliance remains active in unified Germany.

Swiss Reformed

This category gives information on the Reformed Church in Switzerland.

Nineteenth-century evangelical secession and 20th-century reunion occurred in Swiss Reformed churches, which continue to be organized along cantonal lines. A Christian Socialist movement was developed in the early 20th century. Karl Barth and Emil Brunner, whose theological influence went far beyond Switzerland and the Reformed tradition, emerged from that movement with less utopian political realism.

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