Compare
AnabaptismandReformed and Presbyterian Churches
At a glance
- Common groundIn full: Common ground
- Common inheritanceBoth stand in the Protestant tradition, which grew from the 16th-century Reformation of the Western church, either directly or through later revival and free-church movements.
Source
- Christianity: The First Three Thousand YearsIdentified, not independently read
Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.
- GodOne God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- Scripture and authorityScripture as the supreme authority for faith and life
- Common inheritanceBoth stand in the Protestant tradition, which grew from the 16th-century Reformation of the Western church, either directly or through later revival and free-church movements.
- What distinguishes themIn full: What distinguishes them
- Sacraments and ordinancesAnabaptismBaptism follows a personal confession of faithReformed and Presbyterian ChurchesInfants are baptised
- Scripture and authorityBothScripture as the supreme authority for faith and lifeAnabaptism alsoScripture interpreted together by the community of believers
Below: 1 difference of emphasis, 2 topics where teaching varies.
- How their histories connectIn full: How their histories connect
- Connected today?In full: their relationship today
Not yet researched
The Atlas has not yet researched their present relationship. This is a gap, not evidence either way.
Composed from each tradition’s sourced records. Where a topic is not yet recorded for one side, the Atlas says so rather than guess.
Structured comparison. Composed from each tradition’s sourced position records. No research has yet been written for this particular pair, so the Atlas shows only what those records establish.
Where they differ
Scripture and authority
Sources of authority
- Anabaptism
- Scripture as the supreme authority for faith and life; Scripture interpreted together by the community of believers
- Reformed and Presbyterian Churches
- Scripture as the supreme authority for faith and life
Sacraments and ordinances
Who is baptised
- Anabaptism
- Baptism follows a personal confession of faith
- Reformed and Presbyterian Churches
- Infants are baptised
Different emphases, not necessarily opposed (1)
Salvation and grace
Characteristic emphasis
- Anabaptism
- Faith lived out as discipleship and peacemaking
- Reformed and Presbyterian Churches
- Justification by grace, for Christ's sake, through faith and not by works; God's sovereign election (predestination)
Where teaching varies within a tradition (2)
Sacraments and ordinances
Christ's presence in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper
- Anabaptism
- Anabaptist understandings of the Lord's Supper are not uniform and are not recorded here.
- Reformed and Presbyterian Churches
- Christ received after a heavenly and spiritual manner, by faithWestminster Confession.
Church and ministry
Church government
- Anabaptism
- Government differs between Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite and Brethren churches.
- Reformed and Presbyterian Churches
- Elders and ministers in graded courts and synodsWestminster Confession. Congregational and some United churches are governed differently.
Not yet comparable (4)
No sourced position is recorded for one side, so the Atlas does not say whether they agree:
- Christ (christ's divinity): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Christ (how christ's divinity and humanity are expressed): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Creeds and councils (councils received): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Sacraments and ordinances (how the rites are understood and counted): not recorded for Anabaptism
How their histories relate
Reform · 1525
The Radical Reformation in Zurich
A movement to reform the Western church that, in the 16th century, produced churches independent of Rome.
Anabaptism began in Zurich among radical followers of Zwingli who baptised one another as believers in January 1525. They broke with Zwingli's state-supported reform as well as with Rome, and were persecuted by Catholic and Protestant authorities alike. It did not grow out of Lutheranism.Read in Anabaptism history3 sources
- 500 years ago, Anabaptists showed the meaning of true evangelical faithSource verified
- The Schleitheim Confession (Brotherly Union)Source verified
- Christianity: The First Three Thousand YearsIdentified, not independently read
Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.
Their relationship today
Not yet researched
The Atlas has no researched record of the present relationship between these two. That is a gap in the research, not evidence of any particular relationship.
Developments towards reconciliation
No documented agreement or formal dialogue between these traditions is recorded in the Atlas.
Explore further
Anabaptism
All citations link to the Atlas’s single source register.