An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

gatherings which dealt with schismatic issues. The main ones were 325 at Nicea, 381 atConstantinople, 431 at Ephesus and 451 at Chalcedon (Schaff 2006). The Roman CatholicChurch drew from the tradition of empire a kind of primacy which received two majorhistorical challenges, from the schism with Orthodoxy in the eleventh century, and thesecession of Western Protestants in the sixteenth century, as well as numerous minorschisms.It is clear that cultural difference shapes the codification of the Christian religion; there hasnever been one blueprint ecclesiology that regulates all church practice. Rather, there hasalways been the interaction of theology and culture. Interpretation and hermeneuticalreflection always happen within a historic and social context, and this will shape doctrineand praxis, giving what Rosemary Radford Reuther (1983) calls a „hermeneutical cycle.‟The experience and interpretation of the congregations under study here have their roots inhistoric Protestantism, especially in its dissident, non-state versions, and both churcheshave a similar history of having a background in other faith groups.Jones (2002) describe the reformation of the Catholic Church and the introduction of theprotestant churches, as the early creation of post Reformation English culture, when ininstitutions such as education, people found themselves thinking and behaving a differentway from the pre Reformation culture. The URC was formed as a result of theamalgamation of the English, Welsh and Scottish Congregationalists, English Presbyterianand the Church of Christ although there were congregations from other denominations,which became part of the united body of Churches. The amalgamation occurred in 1972after many years of informal discussion amongst the ministers of the different churchesabout the intentions of the early church that everyone should be united and come under one103