The Calvinist Church

• Church Government:The Pope is at best merely the vicar of Rome- at worst the Anti-Christ.The Church is governed by a General Synod consisting of members drawn from synods (church councils) elected by local congregations.
• The Clergy:Ministers are preachers not miracle-workers.Ministers may marry.
• Doctrine:Two sacrements- baptism and the EucharistThe Eucharist is a commemorative act in which the believer is fed with a real but spiritual substance. The bread and wine are not physically transformed.Salvation can only be achieved through faith- the doctrine known as 'Justification by Faith'.Predestination- God already knows which people will be saved known as the Elect
• Religious Practices:The Bible is in English.The Liturgy is in English.Services are simple built around the preaching of a sermon.Churches are plain to focus attention on the sermon.Ministers are plainly dressed.The altar is replaced with a communion table which is placed near the centre of the church among the congregation.The minsiter conducts the service facing the congregation. He delivers the sermon from the pulpit.Catholic rituals such as making the sign of the cross and bowing at the name of Jesus are banned.No veneration of saints and relics.