About the Order of Corpus Christi:
A
Very Brief History
[John]
Nevin, [Phillip] Schaff and their followers sought
to return to the ancient ecumenical creeds and
argued that the mystical presence of Christ,
mediated by word and sacrament, was the essence of
the church. Reverence for creeds, catechism and
liturgy, they believed, would unify the church and
ward off the danger of sectarianism which already
had split Protestantism in the United States into
hundreds of competing denominations. In liturgy, the
Mercersburg
reformers restored the altar as the center of
worship along with litanies, chants, prayers and
vestments, while the Old Reformed pastors preferred
a central pulpit towering over a small holy table,
extemporaneous prayer and informal worship.
From the United Church of Christ:
Short
Course: German Reformed Church
The Order
of Corpus Christi was
founded by pastors and laity who held a shared understanding of the
church, who had common concerns regarding the church, and an agreed
vision. That vision grew out of their study of
Mercersburg theology
and was developed over meetings that were held in the Spring, 1986.
In
September 1986, clergy gathered at Zion's Reformed United Church of
Christ in Ephrata, Pennsylvania to discuss and approve the
organization of the Order of Corpus Christi. At that meeting, they
elected the leaders for the Order. In September 1987, they held their
first retreat. All clergy, laity and congregations who sought
fellowship with those whose "faith is defined by the historic Creeds
of the Church, who hold in their hearts the Church:
catholic,
apostolic,
evangelical, and
reformed; and who love the United Church
of Christ." The Order of Corpus Christi was officially formed at that retreat.
By
2003, the Order had grown both geographically and in membership.
Originally based in Pennsylvania, membership and chapters now are
present in various parts of the United States and Great Britain.
