OUR HISTORY
The history of the Reformed Church of Perugia began towards the end of 2014. A local church in the area was left without a pastor due to their relocation. While most people decided to join the existing evangelical churches in Perugia, a minority who sympathized with the reformed doctrines of grace chose a different path, investigating the possibility to organize a church with a Reformed and Presbyterian confessional basis. So, this little group began a study on the Heidelberg Catechism.
In those first few months, the correspondence between Andrea Suraci and Andrea Ferrari over telephone and videoconferences was very rich and fruitful. Among the various topics addressed, they concentrated on Reformed ecclesiology and on the importance of recovering the sense and appreciation for the signs of the true church and the ordinary means of grace, that is, the faithful exposition of Scripture, the administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, in a context characterized by orderly care and pastoral formation.
In May 2015, Pastor Ferrari met the group in Perugia for the first time in person. Thus, through the consolation of the Word and the Spirit, the core group of the Reformed Church of Perugia begin to take their first steps. In the summer of 2015, the group of Perugians - in a letter of thanks to the Consistory of the Filadelfia Church of Milan - asked to be spiritually cared for and this request led to the shared decision that the group can participate in the divine services of the Philadelphia church via videoconference. In September the group began collecting donations and thinking about a visit to the church in Milan. On December 5-7 of 2015, some members of the Perugia core group spent a weekend with the Filadelfia Church in Milan.
Following the visit and the core group’s desire to become members of the Filadelfia Church of Milan in order to participate in the sacraments, we began to think together about the possibility of organizing a conference in Perugia in April 2016 so that all Perugians could be all present to make a public profession of faith. Consequently, Pastor Ferrari continued to visit the Perugia group every three months and - as Andrea Suraci wrote on March 19, 2016 - "with each visit, personal affection grows more and more." During the conference in Perugia, we were encouraged by a visit from the United Reformed Churches of North America (URCNA) Foreign Mission Coordinator, Rev. Richard Bout. In addition to rejoicing in the ministry of the Word and the communion of saints, we were encouraged by the profession of faith of the core group members from Perugia, who became - pro tempore – members of the Filadelfia Church of Milan.
In order to care for the saints in Perugia in person, Pastor Ferrari spent ten weeks laboring in Perugia during the summer of 2017. At the same time, Pastor Michael Brown of Christ United Reformed Church in San Diego, California took care of the saints in Milan. For both of them, the aim was to get acquainted with the saints in these two fields. Eventually, with the advice from the URCNA, it was decided that Pastor Ferrari should pastor and establish the core group in Perugia as Minister of Word and Sacrament while Pastor Brown should pastor the Filadelfia Church of Milan.
On May 13, 2018, Pastor Ferrari and his wife, Cristina, began their preparations to take up this new call. On June 6, 2018, they arrived in the small village of Mugnano, which is halfway between Lake Trasimeno and the City of Perugia. Since then, the Reformed Church of Perugia has been steadily growing in an area where the gospel is needed so badly.
