Within Calvinist-oriented Protestantism, Congregationalist churches are characterized by the complete religious and juridical autonomy of the local churches or congregations, in which they see the Church fully realized.
Congregationalism flourished in England at the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth, within the general framework of the Puritan movement. After the death, in 1658, of Oliver Cromwell, which brought Puritan power to an end, the separation of the Congregationalist churches from official Anglicanism – for which reason they were called independent churches – led to their prohibition and caused many of their members to go into exile. In this way, Congregationalism took root in northern Europe and in all the British colonies, especially in the United States.
Although the Congregationalist churches, like other dissenting churches, were admitted again in England at the end of the seventeenth century, it would take them almost a century to recover their vigor. In 1832 the Congregational Union of England and Wales was created; it published a statement of faith and order that did not intend to “be an imposition on anyone”, but rather a service for formulating doctrinal points of view and facilitating the good governance of the churches. After the Second World War there was a general movement of union among the Reformed churches. Thus, in 1961 the United Church of Christ was created in the United States, including Evangelicals and Congregationalists, and in the United Kingdom these joined with the Presbyterian church to form, in 1972, the United Reformed Church.
In any case, Congregationalists maintain their emphasis on the “particularity” of each local church. Congregations choose their own ministers, elders, and deacons, and administer the Sunday sacraments, even though confederations with other local congregations are encouraged for mutual counsel or for charitable or missionary activities.
Source: Enciclopedia Hispánica
