Reformed Churches

Reformed Churches, the name assumed by those Protestant bodies who adopted the tenets of Zwingli (and later of Calvin), as distinguished from those of the Lutheran or Evangelical divines. They are accordingly often spoken of as the Calvinistic Churches, Protestant being sometimes used as a synonym for Lutheran. The great difference is in the attitude towards the Lord's Supper, the Reformed or Calvinistic Churches repudiating not only transubstantiation but also the Lutheran consubstantiation. They also reject the use of crucifixes and other symbols and ceremonies retained by the Lutherans.

Full details of these divergences are given in M. Schneckenburger, Vergleichende Darstellung des lutherischen and reformierten Lehrbegriffs (Stuttgart, 1855); G. B. Winer, Comparative Darstellung (Berlin, 1866; Eng. tr., Edinburgh, 1873). See also Reformation; Presbyterianism; Cameronians.