Mercersburg Theology also called the Mercersburg Movement

 

As a reaction against the Second Great Awakening, the Mercersburg Movement was to reform the theology of the Reformed churches. Philip Schaff, John Nevin, and their followers believed the Reformed churches had lost touch with their roots in John Calvin by losing the high views of church and sacrament which had been held and defended by Calvin.

 

These proponents of the movement held that the mystical presence of Christ mediated by word and sacrament was the heart of the church. Liturgically, they restored the altar as the center of worship and reinstituted the use of vestments, litanies, chants, and recited prayers. They also argued for the return to the ancient ecumenical creeds of the church, e.g., the Apostles' Creed, the use of a catechism, especially the Heidelberg Catechism, and a reverence for liturgy would unify the church and end the threat of further division and sectarianism.