Presbyterian Church vs Reformed Church — what is the difference?

By Vinay Koshy, Editor

Presbyterian and Reformed churches share Reformed theology and elder-led governance, but come from different historical streams. Presbyterians trace to 16th-century Scotland via John Knox and reached Australia in 1823. Reformed churches trace to 16th-century continental Europe and reached Australia through post-WW2 Dutch migration. The Presbyterian Church of Australia holds the Westminster Confession; the Christian Reformed Churches hold the Three Forms of Unity plus Westminster.

Last verified: 2026-07-04. Directory counts pulled live from the Australian Church Directory database. Census figures from the 2021 Australian Census.

Comparison at a glance

Aspect	Presbyterian	Reformed
Origin	16th-century Scotland — John Knox and the Scottish Reformation of 1560. English-language Reformed tradition rooted in the Church of Scotland.	16th-century continental Europe — Belgic Confession 1561 (Netherlands), Heidelberg Catechism 1563 (German Palatinate), Canons of Dort 1618-19 (Dutch Republic). Continental Reformed tradition.
Arrived in Australia	23 May 1823 — Rev John Dunmore Lang arrived in Sydney Cove as the first Presbyterian minister in NSW. Scots Church Sydney foundation stone 1 July 1824, opened 16 July 1826.	December 1951 — Dutch migrant congregations organised in Sydney, Penguin (TAS), and Melbourne. First Synod June 1952. Post-WW2 Dutch migration was the trigger.
Australian national body	Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) — federated 24 July 1901 from six state churches. Six constituent state churches: NSW (with ACT), Queensland (with NT), SA, Victoria, Tasmania, WA.	No single body. Two Dutch-migrant streams — Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (CRCA, 59 congregations) and Free Reformed Churches of Australia (FRCA, 18 congregations). Smaller Reformed bodies exist alongside.
Governance	Presbyterian — elders (teaching and ruling) govern the local church; presbyteries oversee groups of churches; the General Assembly of Australia meets every three years as the national court.	Presbyterian in the same sense — elders govern the local church; classes (regional groupings) oversee congregations; the Synod is the national court. Same three-tier structure, continental terminology.
Doctrinal standard	Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and its two catechisms, adopted as the subordinate standard under Scripture. Ministers and elders subscribe at ordination.	Three Forms of Unity — Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort. CRCA also subscribes to the Westminster Confession; FRCA holds the Three Forms only.
Infant baptism	Yes — infants of believing parents are baptised as covenant children. Adult baptism for new converts.	Yes — same practice, same covenant-continuity rationale.
Lord's Supper frequency	Monthly or quarterly in most congregations. Some inner-city Presbyterian churches celebrate weekly.	Monthly or quarterly in most CRCA and FRCA congregations. Same continental Reformed pattern as the Presbyterian majority.
Worship style historically	Historically psalm-singing without instruments (Scottish tradition), moved to hymnody and mixed music through the 19th and 20th centuries. Contemporary songs common in newer plants.	Historically psalm-singing accompanied by pipe organ in Dutch tradition. Same broad shift to hymnody and contemporary music, though FRCA congregations retain more of the older pattern.
Ordination of women	No — the PCA does not ordain women as teaching elders or ministers of Word and Sacrament. The 1991 General Assembly formally settled this position.	No — neither CRCA nor FRCA ordains women to teaching-elder office. All Reformed streams in Australia hold the complementarian position.
2021 Census members	414,882 combined (1.6% of Australians identifying as Presbyterian or Reformed). ABS reports the two as a single category. Down 36.9% from 2016.
Directory listings (this site)	541 Presbyterian churches (NSW 235, VIC 136, QLD 112, WA 26, TAS 16, SA 10, ACT 5, NT 1)	79 Reformed churches (NSW 20, VIC 20, WA 13, TAS 12, QLD 9, SA 3, ACT 2, NT 0)
Community services	PresCare Queensland, PresAgeCare NSW, Scots College schools, congregation-level welfare programs.	Congregation-level welfare, Reformed Theological College (Geelong VIC), Christian schools in association (Covenant Christian, Rehoboth Christian).

Origin — Scotland and continental Europe, same era

Both streams are children of the 16th-century Reformation, but from different corners of it. The Presbyterian tradition traces to the Scottish Reformation of 1560 under John Knox, who had spent time with John Calvin in Geneva and brought that Reformed theology back to Scotland. The Church of Scotland adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1647, and wherever Scottish emigration went — England, Ireland, the American colonies, the British empire — Presbyterian churches went with it. The confessional identity is English-language and Anglo-Reformed.

The Reformed tradition on the continent has an earlier and different lineage. The Belgic Confession was written in 1561 by Guido de Brès in the southern Netherlands; the Heidelberg Catechism was commissioned in 1563 by Elector Frederick III of the German Palatinate; and the Canons of Dort came out of the Synod of Dort in 1618-19 in the Dutch Republic. Together these are the Three Forms of Unity, and they define Dutch and German Reformed identity to this day. The Anglo-Scottish Westminster Confession, by contrast, was drawn up 30-85 years later, in a very different political context — during the English Civil War, by 121 Puritan clergymen convened by the English Parliament in 1643.

Australian arrival — one in 1823, one in 1951

Presbyterian ministry reached Australia early. Rev John Dunmore Lang (1799-1878) arrived in Sydney Cove on 23 May 1823, four years before the first Congregational minister and only thirteen years after the first Anglican chaplaincy. He laid the Scots Church foundation stone on 1 July 1824 and the building opened on 16 July 1826. State Presbyterian churches organised through the 19th century, and on 24 July 1901 six state bodies federated as the Presbyterian Church of Australia. In 1977, roughly 70% of the PCA joined the new Uniting Church in Australia alongside the Methodist Church of Australasia and the Congregational Union. The 30% who did not agree with the merger continued as the Presbyterian Church of Australia, retaining the Westminster Confession and the presbyterian form of government. The "continuing" PCA has become progressively more conservative since 1977 and is the body Presbyterian visitors encounter today.

The Reformed presence came 128 years later, through a very different door. After World War II, tens of thousands of Dutch migrants arrived in Australia. Many were members of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and looked for pastoral care in their theological tradition rather than assimilating into the existing Scottish-heritage Presbyterian Church. Reformed congregations organised in Sydney, Penguin (Tasmania), and Melbourne in December 1951, and held their first Synod in June 1952 as the Reformed Churches of Australia — renamed the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia in 2000 to clarify the identity for non-Dutch Australians. A separate Dutch stream from the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Liberated), a more conservative body that had split from the parent Netherlands church in 1944, founded the Free Reformed Churches of Australia in Armadale WA in 1951. The two Reformed bodies remain distinct today.

Confessions — Westminster and the Three Forms of Unity

The clearest theological marker between the two streams is which confession the church subscribes to at ordination. Presbyterians subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and its two catechisms — the Larger and Shorter Catechisms — as their subordinate standard under Scripture. The Westminster documents are systematic, covenantal, and precisely worded, developed in the Puritan intellectual style. Reformed churches subscribe to the Three Forms of Unity — the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort. The Heidelberg Catechism in particular is warmly pastoral and is often read through annually in the CRCA and FRCA calendar as a weekly Sunday-evening series.

In substance the two confessional systems overlap heavily. Both teach the sovereignty of God in salvation, justification by grace through faith, the covenant framework of Scripture, infant baptism as a covenant sign, and the Lord's Supper as spiritual communion with Christ. The differences are of emphasis and idiom rather than doctrine. The Christian Reformed Churches of Australia actually subscribe to both the Three Forms and the Westminster Confession, holding them as complementary Reformed statements. The Free Reformed Churches of Australia hold the Three Forms only, staying within the strict Dutch subscriptional tradition.

Governance — presbytery on both sides

The word "presbyterian" describes a form of church government — rule by elders (Greek presbyteros) — rather than a specific denomination. Both traditions are presbyterian in this sense. Each local congregation is governed by a session (Presbyterian) or consistory (Reformed) of elders. Regional courts — presbyteries in Scotland-Australia, classes in the continental tradition — oversee groups of churches, examine ministerial candidates, and hear appeals. National courts — the General Assembly of Australia for the PCA, the Synod for CRCA and FRCA — set doctrine and discipline for the whole body.

The structural similarity is why the two streams recognise each other as sister churches even when they do not enter formal ecclesiastical communion. Ministers can and do move between the two streams. Reformed and Presbyterian churches often cooperate through the Reformed Theological College in Geelong (Victoria), which trains ministers for both traditions and for smaller Reformed bodies as well.

The Reformed family in Australia today

Because "Reformed" in the Australian directory covers more than one body, the 79-listing bucket includes distinct denominations that visitors should not confuse:

Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (CRCA) — 59 congregations nationally, about 7,800 members. Founded 1951 as the Reformed Churches of Australia, renamed 2000. Confessional basis: Three Forms of Unity plus Westminster Confession. Most culturally integrated of the Dutch-heritage Reformed bodies.
Free Reformed Churches of Australia (FRCA) — 18 congregations, approximately 4,700 members. Founded 1951 in Armadale WA. Traces to the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Liberated), a more conservative 1944 split. Heavily concentrated in WA (16 congregations) and Tasmania. Confessional basis: Three Forms of Unity only. Retains more traditional Dutch worship patterns.
Smaller Reformed bodies— including the Presbyterian Reformed Church of Australia, Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia, and independent Reformed congregations. These sit in the "Reformed" label without a separate directory bucket.

Frequently asked questions

Are Presbyterian and Reformed churches the same?

No, but they are close relatives. Both are Reformed in theology, both are elder-led (presbyterian) in governance, both practise infant baptism, and both hold the Bible as their final authority. The two streams differ mainly in national heritage and confessional standard. Presbyterians trace to 16th-century Scotland under John Knox and use the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) as their subordinate standard. Reformed churches trace to 16th-century continental Europe (Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland) and use the Three Forms of Unity — the Belgic Confession (1561), Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and Canons of Dort (1618-19). Many Australian Reformed churches also accept the Westminster Confession alongside the Three Forms.

Which is bigger in Australia, Presbyterian or Reformed?

Presbyterian, by a wide margin. This directory lists 541 Presbyterian churches (mostly under the Presbyterian Church of Australia) versus 79 Reformed churches. The 2021 Australian Census recorded 414,882 people identifying as Presbyterian or Reformed combined (1.6% of the population), a 36.9% decline from 2016 as older generations passed. The Presbyterian Church of Australia is the largest single body; the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia has 59 congregations and about 7,800 members; the Free Reformed Churches of Australia has 18 congregations and about 4,700 members.

What is the Westminster Confession?

The Westminster Confession of Faith is the doctrinal standard drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly, a body of 121 Puritan clergymen convened by the English Parliament in 1643. It was adopted by the Church of Scotland in 1647 and became the subordinate standard for the worldwide Presbyterian tradition. Ministers and elders in the Presbyterian Church of Australia agree to the Confession as their doctrinal framework subordinate to Scripture. It covers Scripture, God, providence, covenant, Christ, salvation, church, sacraments, and the last things across 33 chapters.

What are the Three Forms of Unity?

The Three Forms of Unity are the confessional documents that define Continental Reformed identity: the Belgic Confession (1561, by Guido de Brès), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563, commissioned by Elector Frederick III of the Palatinate), and the Canons of Dort (1618-19, from the Synod of Dort in the Netherlands). All three predate the Westminster Confession by decades and represent the Dutch and German Reformed tradition. Australian Christian Reformed and Free Reformed churches carried these confessions with them from the Netherlands after World War II.

What happened in 1977 with the Uniting Church?

Approximately 70% of the Presbyterian Church of Australia merged with the Methodist Church of Australasia and the Congregational Union of Australia to form the Uniting Church in Australia. The 30% who did not agree with the merger — mostly on theological grounds — continued as the Presbyterian Church of Australia, retaining the name, the Westminster Confession, and the presbyterian form of government. The continuing body has become increasingly conservative in the decades since, with a resurgence of traditional Reformed theology, especially in Sydney where Moore Theological College-adjacent networks influence the culture.

Who was John Dunmore Lang?

Rev John Dunmore Lang (1799-1878) was the first Presbyterian minister in Australia. He arrived in Sydney Cove on 23 May 1823 after being ordained by the Presbytery of Irvine in Scotland on 30 September 1822. He laid the foundation stone for Scots Church, Sydney on 1 July 1824, and the building opened on 16 July 1826 under a trust deed that tied it to the Church of Scotland. Lang was also an educator, immigration promoter, journalist, and NSW parliamentarian — a founding figure in colonial Presbyterian identity.

Is the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia the same as the Reformed Church of Australia?

Yes — same body, renamed. The denomination was founded as the Reformed Churches of Australia in December 1951 by post-WW2 Dutch migrants who were members of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, and held its first Synod in June 1952. The name was chosen at the time to signal integration into the Australian community and to move past the "foreign" Dutch tag. In 2000 the denomination added "Christian" to the name to clarify the identity for non-members, becoming the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (CRCA).

What is the Free Reformed Churches of Australia?

The Free Reformed Churches of Australia (FRCA) is a separate Dutch-migrant Reformed body, distinct from the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia. It was founded in 1951 with its first congregation in Armadale, Western Australia. Members trace to the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Liberated) — a more conservative Dutch stream that separated from the parent Netherlands body in 1944 over theological and church-order questions. The FRCA today has 18 congregations, approximately 4,700 members, and is heavily concentrated in Western Australia (16 congregations) plus Tasmania. It uses the Three Forms of Unity only, without adding the Westminster Confession.

Do both Presbyterian and Reformed churches baptise infants?

Yes. Both traditions practise infant baptism (paedobaptism) alongside adult baptism of new converts. The theological ground is covenant continuity — children of believing parents are included in the covenant community and receive the sign of that covenant, just as circumcision applied to Old Testament Israelite children. This is one of the strongest points of unity between Presbyterian and Reformed churches, and one of the clearest differences from Baptist, Pentecostal, and Churches of Christ traditions which practise believer's baptism only.

How do I find a local Presbyterian or Reformed church?

The Australian Church Directory lists 541 Presbyterian churches (mostly Presbyterian Church of Australia) and 79 Reformed churches (Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Free Reformed Churches of Australia, and smaller Reformed bodies) across every state and territory. Presbyterians are concentrated in NSW (235), Victoria (136), and Queensland (112). Reformed churches are more evenly spread but with a distinctive Western Australia + Tasmania concentration reflecting the Free Reformed footprint. You can browse by denomination or by suburb.

Find a local congregation

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Sources

Australian Bureau of Statistics — 2021 Census, Religious affiliation. Presbyterian / Reformed: 414,882 (1.6% of Australians).
Presbyterian Church of Australia — official site (presbyterian.org.au) for 1901 federation, state-church structure, and General Assembly of Australia.
Christian Reformed Churches of Australia — official site (crca.org.au) for 1951 founding, 2000 rename, congregation and membership figures.
Free Reformed Churches of Australia — official site (frca.org.au) for 1951 founding, Netherlands (Liberated) heritage, and 18-congregation figure.
Wikipedia — Presbyterian Church of Australia, Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Free Reformed Churches of Australia, Westminster Confession of Faith, John Dunmore Lang.
Australian Dictionary of Biography — Lang, John Dunmore (1799-1878).