Greek Evangelical Church

Greek Evangelical Church
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Evangelical/Presbyterian
Polity	Presbyterian with Congregational elements
Associations	World Communion of Reformed Churches, World Council of Churches
Region	Greece
Origin	1858 Athens, Greece
Congregations	30
Members	5,000-6,000
Official website	Gec.gr

The Greek Evangelical Church (GEC; Greek: Ελληνική Ευαγγελική Εκκλησία, Elliniki Evangeliki Ekklisia) is a Presbyterian denomination in Greece. It was the first Protestant church established in the country.

History

The Greek Evangelical Church dates back to 1858 when the first Greek Evangelical, Michail Kalapothakis started publishing the magazine Astir tis Anatolis (Star of the East) which is still published today. He gathered a group of followers thus forming the first Greek Evangelical community and organized Sunday School for children as well as issuing the Efimeris ton Paidon (Newspaper of the Children) in 1868. The first Greek Evangelical Church was built in 1871 in the center of Athens, which was demolished and rebuilt in 1956 due to the increasing number of followers. Greek Evangelicalism spread also through the Greeks in the Ottoman Empire, the first Greek Evangelical community in Asia Minor was founded in 1867. Today there are 30 Greek Evangelical Churches in Greece, 3 in Cyprus and 5 in the Greek diaspora.

Theology

The Greek Evangelical Church is theologically Calvinist. Core beliefs are typical of most traditional Protestant denominations: they consider the Bible the highest and only binding authority on matters of doctrine and practice (sola scriptura) and recognize two sacraments (baptism and holy communion). Their Confession of Faith closely follows the Puritan Westminster Confession and consists of 28 articles.

Affiliations

The Greek Evangelical Church is affiliated with the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the World Council of Churches.

See also

• Protestantism in Greece
• Religion in Greece

External links

• Greek Evangelical Church
• Greek Evangelical Church of Los Angeles
• Greek Evangelical Church of New York
• Greek Evangelical Church of Boston
• Greek Gospel Church of Toronto
• Greek Evangelicals in Australia
• Evangelical churches in Cyprus
• Greek Helsinki Monitor on the Greek Evangelical Church