<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality . Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page . (September 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The church covenant is a declaration, which some churches draw up and call their members to sign, in which their duties as church members towards God and their fellow believers are outlined . It is a fraternal agreement, freely endorsed, that establishes what are, according to the Holy Scriptures, the duties of a Christian and the responsibilities which each church member pledges himself or herself to honour, in the best way possible . A church covenant is not generally considered indispensable for a church . As such, in fact, it is not mentioned in the Scriptures, but it outlines, in a summarised way, those duties which the New Testament requires as members of a church . </P> <P> The idea of a church covenant is an expression of the free - church ecclesiology and it issues from within the context of the English Puritanism, becoming afterwards one of the characteristic traits of the Baptist churches . </P> <P> In the 16th century, the Church in England, confronted with the teaching of the Bible under the impulse of continental Protestantism, engaged itself in a reformation which disconnected it from many persuasions, practices and traditions of Roman Catholicism . In particular, from the time of Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and subsequent marriage to Queen Anne Boleyn, it reflected on the meaning, structure and function of being a church and was involved in heated discussions on the measure according to which this reformation must occur . </P>

Where did the baptist church covenant come from