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186-472: Individual denominations vary widely in the degree to which they recognize one another. Several groups say they are the direct and sole authentic successor of the church founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD . Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject

372-506: A congregational polity , whereas the COGIC and other Southern groups remained largely episcopal and rejected a Finished Work understanding of Sanctification. Thus, the creation of the Assemblies of God marked an official end of Pentecostal doctrinal unity and racial integration. Among these Finished Work Pentecostals, the new Assemblies of God would soon face a "new issue" which first emerged at

558-482: A "dangerous cult" in another part of the world. Inclusion on this list does not indicate any judgment about the size, importance, or character of a group or its members. Early Christianity is often divided into three different branches that differ in theology and traditions, which all appeared in the 1st century AD / CE . They include Jewish Christianity , Pauline Christianity and Gnostic Christianity . All modern Christian denominations are said to have descended from

744-461: A 1913 camp meeting. During a baptism service, the speaker, R. E. McAlister, mentioned that the Apostles baptized converts once in the name of Jesus Christ, and the words "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" were never used in baptism. This inspired Frank Ewart who claimed to have received as a divine prophecy revealing a nontrinitarian conception of God. Ewart believed that there was only one personality in

930-543: A Spirit-filled and empowered life". This empowerment includes the use of spiritual gifts : such as speaking in tongues and divine healing . Because of their commitment to biblical authority , spiritual gifts, and the miraculous, Pentecostals see their movement as reflecting the same kind of spiritual power and teachings that were found in the Apostolic Age of the Early Church . For this reason, some Pentecostals also use

1116-478: A compromise position unique for the time. Simpson believed that Pentecostal tongues speaking was a legitimate manifestation of the Holy Spirit, but he did not believe it was a necessary evidence of Spirit baptism. This view on speaking in tongues ultimately led to what became known as the "Alliance position" articulated by A. W. Tozer as "seek not—forbid not". The first Pentecostal converts were mainly derived from

1302-447: A denomination and a denominational family is sometimes unclear to outsiders. Some denominational families can be considered major branches. Groups that are members of a branch, while sharing historical ties and similar doctrines, are not necessarily in communion with one another. There were some movements considered heresies by the early Church which do not exist today and are not generally referred to as denominations: examples include

1488-458: A denomination, that is, "an organized body of Christians." Historically, Catholics would label members of certain Christian churches (also certain non-Christian religions) by the names of their founders, either actual or purported. Such supposed founders were referred to as heresiarchs . This was done even when the party thus labeled viewed itself as belonging to the one true church. This allowed

1674-687: A founder of British Pentecostalism. Other important converts of Barratt were German minister Jonathan Paul who founded the first German Pentecostal denomination (the Mülheim Association ) and Lewi Pethrus , the Swedish Baptist minister who founded the Swedish Pentecostal movement. Through Durham's ministry, Italian immigrant Luigi Francescon received the Pentecostal experience in 1907 and established Italian Pentecostal congregations in

1860-597: A four-year revival tour throughout Kansas and Missouri. He taught that the baptism with the Holy Spirit was a third experience, subsequent to conversion and sanctification. Sanctification cleansed the believer, but Spirit baptism empowered for service. At about the same time that Parham was spreading his doctrine of initial evidence in the Midwestern United States, news of the Welsh Revival of 1904–1905 ignited intense speculation among radical evangelicals around

2046-476: A general rule, the larger a group becomes, the more acceptance and legitimacy it gains. Modern movements such as Christian fundamentalism , Radical Pietism , Evangelicalism , the Holiness movement and Charismatic Christianity sometimes cross denominational lines, or in some cases create new denominations out of two or more continuing groups (as is the case for many united and uniting churches , for example; e.g.

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2232-571: A great council is called, the patriarch sits as president of the council. He has no more power than any other bishop. Currently, the largest synod with the most members is the Russian Orthodox Church . Others include the ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople , Alexandria , Antioch and Jerusalem , the Georgian , Romanian , Serbian and Bulgarian Orthodox churches, and several smaller ones. The second largest Eastern Christian communion

2418-582: A group of 300 predominately white Pentecostal ministers and laymen from all regions of the United States gathered in Hot Springs, Arkansas , to create a new, national Pentecostal fellowship—the General Council of the Assemblies of God . By 1911, many of these white ministers were distancing themselves from an existing arrangement under an African-American leader. Many of these white ministers were licensed by

2604-613: A little over 1 billion Protestant Christians. Proto-Protestantism refers to movements similar to the Protestant Reformation, but before 1517, when Martin Luther (1483–1546) is reputed to have nailed the Ninety-Five-Theses to the church door. Major early Reformers were Peter Waldo (c. 1140–c. 1205), John Wycliffe (1320s–1384), and Jan Hus (c. 1369–1415). It is not completely correct to call these groups Protestant due to

2790-454: A modified form of Wesleyan soteriology to accommodate their new understanding. Charles Fox Parham , an independent holiness evangelist who believed strongly in divine healing, was an important figure to the emergence of Pentecostalism as a distinct Christian movement. Parham, who was raised as a Methodist, started a spiritual school near Topeka, Kansas in 1900, which he named Bethel Bible School . There he taught that speaking in tongues

2976-592: A more effective prayer life, greater love for and insight into the Bible, and the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. Holiness Pentecostals, with their background in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement, historically teach that baptism with the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by glossolalia, is the third work of grace , which follows the new birth (first work of grace) and entire sanctification (second work of grace). While

3162-518: A part of the same family but have distinct doctrinal variations within each group— Lutherans see themselves not to be a part of the rest of what they call "Reformed Protestantism" due to radical differences in sacramental theology and historical approach to the Reformation itself (both Reformed and Lutherans see their reformation in the sixteenth century to be a 'reforming' of the Catholic Church, not

3348-504: A particular group with specialized needs, such as students or ethnic groups. A related concept is denominationalism , the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. (Conversely, "denominationalism" can also refer to "emphasizing of denominational differences to the point of being narrowly exclusive", similar to sectarianism .) The views of Protestant leaders differ greatly from those of

3534-448: A persistent faith in the knowledge that God will fulfill his promise. For Pentecostals, there is no prescribed manner in which a believer will be filled with the Spirit. It could be expected or unexpected, during public or private prayer. Pentecostals expect certain results following baptism with the Holy Spirit. Some of these are immediate while others are enduring or permanent. Most Pentecostal denominations teach that speaking in tongues

3720-504: A rejection of it entirely). From these come denominations, which in the West, have independence from the others in their doctrine. The Catholic Church , due to its hierarchical structures, is not said to be made up of denominations, rather, it is a single denomination that include kinds of regional councils and individual congregations and church bodies, which do not officially differ from one another in doctrine. The initial differences between

3906-647: A result, female participation was channeled into more supportive and traditionally accepted roles. Auxiliary women's organizations were created to focus women's talents on more traditional activities. Women also became much more likely to be evangelists and missionaries than pastors. When they were pastors, they often co-pastored with their husbands. The majority of early Pentecostal denominations taught Christian pacifism and adopted military service articles that advocated conscientious objection . Azusa participants returned to their homes carrying their new experience with them. In many cases, whole churches were converted to

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4092-701: A rift in Western Christianity . In England , Henry VIII of England declared himself to be supreme head of the Church of England with the Act of Supremacy in 1534, founding the Church of England, repressing both Lutheran reformers and those loyal to the pope. Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury introduced the Reformation, in a form compromising between the Calvinists and Lutherans. The Old Catholic Church split from

4278-410: A set of grievances to reform the pre-Reformation Western Church. Luther's writings , combined with the work of Swiss theologian Huldrych Zwingli and French theologian and politician John Calvin sought to reform existing problems in doctrine and practice. Due to the reactions of ecclesiastical office holders at the time of the reformers, these reformers separated from the Catholic Church, instigating

4464-463: A statement that the Chalcedonian Creed restored Nestorianism, however this is refuted by maintaining the following distinctions associated with the person of Christ: two hypostases, two natures ( Nestorian ); one hypostasis, one nature ( Monophysite ); one hypostasis, two natures (Eastern Orthodox/Roman Catholic). In Western Christianity, a handful of geographically isolated movements preceded

4650-520: A term they associate with membership of the Latin Church, and speak of themselves in relation to whichever Church they belong to: Maronites , Melkites , Ukrainian Catholics , Coptic Catholics , Chaldean Catholics , etc. And finally the smallest Eastern Christian group founded in early 20th century is Byzantine Rite Lutheranism where accept Byzantine Rite as Church's liturgy while retaining their Lutheran traditions like Ukrainian Lutheran Church . It

4836-459: A whole (e.g. Church of the East, Oriental Orthodox Churches, or Lutheranism). The largest denomination is the Catholic Church with more than 1.3 billion members. The smallest of these groups may have only a few dozen adherents or an unspecified number of participants in independent churches as described below. As such, specific numbers and a certain size may not define a group as a denomination. However, as

5022-541: Is Oriental Orthodoxy , which is organized in a similar manner, with six national autocephalous groups and two autonomous bodies, although there are greater internal differences than among the Eastern Orthodox (especially in the diversity of rites being used). The six autocephalous Oriental Orthodox churches are the Coptic (Egyptian), Syriac , Armenian , Malankara (Indian), Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox churches. In

5208-657: Is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit . The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost , an event that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks , as described in the Acts of

5394-463: Is a distinct religious body within Christianity , identified by traits such as a name, organization and doctrine . Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as church, convention, communion, assembly, house, union, network, or sometimes fellowship. Divisions between one denomination and another are primarily defined by authority and doctrine. Issues regarding

5580-471: Is administratively grouped into several autocephalous jurisdictions (also commonly referred to as "churches", despite being parts of one Church). They do not recognize any single bishop as universal church leader, but rather each bishop governs only his own diocese . The Patriarch of Constantinople is known as the Ecumenical Patriarch, and holds the title " first among equals ", meaning only that if

5766-466: Is an immediate or initial physical evidence that one has received the experience. Some teach that any of the gifts of the Spirit can be evidence of having received Spirit baptism. Other immediate evidences include giving God praise, having joy, and desiring to testify about Jesus. Enduring or permanent results in the believer's life include Christ glorified and revealed in a greater way, a "deeper passion for souls", greater power to witness to nonbelievers,

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5952-481: Is caused by personal sin). Regarding healing and prayer Purdy states: On the other hand, it appears from Scripture that when we are sick we should be prayed for, and as we shall see later in this chapter, it appears that God's normal will is to heal. Instead of expecting that it is not God's will to heal us, we should pray with faith, trusting that God cares for us and that the provision He has made in Christ for our healing

6138-480: Is composed of 24 autonomous sui iuris particular churches : the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches . It considers itself the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church that Christ founded, and which Saint Peter initiated along with the missionary work of Saint Paul and others. As such, the Catholic Church does not consider itself a denomination, but rather considers itself pre-denominational,

6324-687: Is considered part of Eastern Protestant denominational movement. Denominational associations Regional associations Churches Together in England Oriental Orthodox African-American Baptist Oriental Orthodox Eastern Protestant Finished Work Pentecostal Oneness Pentecostal The Latin portion of the Catholic Church , along with Protestantism , comprise the three major divisions of Christianity in

6510-470: Is known as ecumenism . Many denominations participate in the World Council of Churches . Christianity has not been a monolithic faith since the first century or Apostolic Age , though Christians were largely in communion with each other. Today there exist a large variety of groups that share a common history and tradition within and without mainstream Christianity. Christianity is the largest religion in

6696-423: Is necessary. Verses 14–16 supply the framework for congregational healing prayer. The sick person expresses their faith by calling for the elders of the church who pray over and anoint the sick with olive oil. The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Besides prayer, there are other ways in which Pentecostals believe healing can be received. One way is based on Mark 16:17–18 and involves believers laying hands on

6882-451: Is sufficient. If He does not heal us, we will continue to trust Him. The victory many times will be procured in faith (see Heb. 10:35–36; 1 John 5:4–5). Pentecostals believe that prayer and faith are central in receiving healing. Pentecostals look to scriptures such as James 5:13–16 for direction regarding healing prayer. One can pray for one's own healing (verse 13) and for the healing of others (verse 16); no special gift or clerical status

7068-470: Is that through the death , burial , and resurrection of Jesus Christ , sins can be forgiven and humanity reconciled with God. This is the Gospel or "good news". The fundamental requirement of Pentecostalism is that one be born again . The new birth is received by the grace of God through faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. In being born again, the believer is regenerated , justified , adopted into

7254-816: Is the largest and most widely known of the 24 sui iuris churches that together make up the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Bishop of Rome—the Pope —with headquarters in Vatican City , enclaved within Rome , Italy . As of 2015 , the Latin Church comprised 1.255 billion members. All of the following are particular churches of the Catholic Church. They are all in communion with the Pope as Bishop of Rome and acknowledge his claim of universal jurisdiction and authority. They have some minor distinct theological emphases and expressions (for instance, in

7440-402: Is the second-largest Christian body in the world and also considers itself the original pre-denominational Church. Orthodox Christians, 80% of whom are Eastern Orthodox and 20% Oriental Orthodox, make up about 11.9% of the global Christian population. The Eastern Orthodox Church is itself a communion of fully independent autocephalous churches (or "jurisdictions") that recognize each other, for

7626-528: Is ultimately the restoration of the fallen world. In the words of Pentecostal scholar Vernon L. Purdy, "Because sin leads to human suffering, it was only natural for the Early Church to understand the ministry of Christ as the alleviation of human suffering, since he was God's answer to sin ... The restoration of fellowship with God is the most important thing, but this restoration not only results in spiritual healing but many times in physical healing as well." In

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7812-722: Is what since 1976 is officially called the Assyrian Church of the East and which from 1933 to 2015 was headquartered first in Cyprus and then in the United States , but whose present Catholicos-Patriarch, Gewargis III , elected in 2015, lives in Erbil , Iraq . The third is the Ancient Church of the East , distinct since 1964 and headed by Addai II Giwargis , resident in Baghdad. There are also

7998-461: The via media between Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity, as well as between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The majority of Anglicans consider themselves part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church within the Anglican Communion. Anglicans or Episcopalians also self-identify as both Catholic and Reformed . Although the use of the term "Protestant" to refer to Anglicans

8184-721: The Apostolic Faith Church —a Holiness Pentecostal denomination—by 1908. After 1907, Azusa participant William Howard Durham , pastor of the North Avenue Mission in Chicago, returned to the Midwest to lay the groundwork for the movement in that region. It was from Durham's church that future leaders of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada would hear the Pentecostal message. One of the most well known Pentecostal pioneers

8370-599: The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa and the Zion Christian Church . As a result of this missionary zeal, practically all Pentecostal denominations today trace their historical roots to the Azusa Street Revival. Eventually, the first missionaries realized that they definitely needed to learn the local language and culture, needed to raise financial support, and develop long-term strategies for

8556-740: The Calvary Holiness Association , Congregational Holiness Church , Church of God (Cleveland) , Church of God in Christ , Free Gospel Church and the Pentecostal Holiness Church ; these bodies are classed as Holiness Pentecostal denominations. The Finished Work, however, would ultimately gain ascendancy among Pentecostals, in denominations such as the Assemblies of God , which was the first Finished Work Pentecostal denomination. After 1911, most new Pentecostal denominations would adhere to Finished Work sanctification. In 1914,

8742-807: The Catholic Church in the 1870s because of the promulgation of the dogma of papal infallibility as promoted by the First Vatican Council of 1869–1870. The term 'Old Catholic' was first used in 1853 to describe the members of the See of Utrecht that were not under Papal authority. The Old Catholic movement grew in America but has not maintained ties with Utrecht, although talks are under way between independent Old Catholic bishops and Utrecht. The Liberal Catholic Church started in 1916 via an Old Catholic bishop in London, bishop Matthew, who consecrated bishop James Wedgwood to

8928-747: The Church of the East , Oriental Orthodoxy , Eastern Orthodoxy , Roman Catholicism , Protestantism , and Restorationism . Within these six main traditions are various Christian denominations (for example, the Coptic Orthodox Church is an Oriental Orthodox denomination). Protestantism includes many groups which do not share any ecclesiastical governance and have widely diverging beliefs and practices. Major Protestant branches include Adventism , Anabaptism , Anglicanism , Baptists , Lutheranism , Methodism , Moravianism , Quakerism , Pentecostalism , Plymouth Brethren , Reformed Christianity , and Waldensianism . Reformed Christianity itself includes

9114-485: The Church of the East . However Roman Catholicism is to be seen as a distinct denomination within Western Christianity. Protestantism includes diverse groups such as Adventists , Anabaptists , Anglicans , Baptists , Congregationalists , Methodists (inclusive of the Holiness movement ), Moravians , Pentecostals , Presbyterians , Reformed , and Unitarians (depending on one's classification scheme) are all

9300-823: The Continental Reformed , Presbyterian , Evangelical Anglican , Congregationalist , and Reformed Baptist traditions. Anabaptist Christianity itself includes the Amish , Apostolic , Bruderhof , Hutterite , Mennonite , River Brethren , and Schwarzenau Brethren traditions. Within the Restorationist branch of Christianity, denominations include the Irvingians , Swedenborgians , Christadelphians , Latter Day Saints , Jehovah's Witnesses , La Luz del Mundo , and Iglesia ni Cristo . Among those listed, some bodies included do not consider themselves denominations, though for

9486-642: The Continental Reformed , Presbyterian , Evangelical Anglican , Congregationalist , and Reformed Baptist traditions. Anabaptist Christianity itself includes the Amish , Apostolic , Bruderhof , Hutterite , Mennonite , River Brethren , and Schwarzenau Brethren traditions. Within the Restorationist branch of Christianity, denominations include the Irvingians , Swedenborgians , Christadelphians , Latter Day Saints , Jehovah's Witnesses , La Luz del Mundo , and Iglesia ni Cristo . Christianity has denominational families (or movements) and also has individual denominations (or communions). The difference between

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9672-601: The Eastern Catholic Churches , most of which are counterparts of those listed above, sharing with them the same theological and liturgical traditions, but differing from them in that they recognize the Bishop of Rome as the universal head of the Church . They are fully part of the Catholic communion , on the same level juridically as the Latin Church . Most of their members do not describe themselves as " Roman Catholics ",

9858-647: The First Council of Nicaea , the East-West Schism and proto-Protestantism . Among these late ancient and Medieval Christian denominations, the most prominent and continuously operating have been the Church of the East and its successors in Assyrian Christianity; and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Both the Church of the East and Oriental Orthodox separated from the imperial Roman church during

10044-833: The Gnostics (who had believed in an esoteric dualism called gnosis ), the Ebionites (who denied the divinity of Jesus), and the Arians (who subordinated the Son to the Father by denying the pre-existence of Christ , thus placing Jesus as a created being), Bogumilism and the Bosnian Church . The greatest divisions in Christianity today, however, are between the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Catholics, and

10230-543: The Godhead —Jesus Christ. The terms "Father" and "Holy Ghost" were titles designating different aspects of Christ. Those who had been baptized in the Trinitarian fashion needed to submit to rebaptism in Jesus' name. Furthermore, Ewart believed that Jesus' name baptism and the gift of tongues were essential for salvation. Ewart and those who adopted his belief, which is known as Oneness Pentecostalism , called themselves "oneness" or "Jesus' Name" Pentecostals, but their opponents called them "Jesus Only". Amid great controversy,

10416-479: The Holy Trinity . As a result, the Pentecostal movement is divided between Holiness Pentecostals who affirm three definite works of grace, and Finished Work Pentecostals who are partitioned into trinitarian and non-trinitarian branches, the latter giving rise to Oneness Pentecostalism . Comprising over 700 denominations and many independent churches, Pentecostalism is highly decentralized. No central authority exists, but many denominations are affiliated with

10602-431: The Hussites defied Catholic dogma , creating the still-extant Moravian Church , a major Protestant denomination. Although the church as a whole did not experience any major divisions for centuries afterward, the Eastern and Western groups drifted until the point where patriarchs from both families excommunicated one another in about 1054 in what is known as the Great Schism . The political and theological reasons for

10788-418: The Middle East , Northeast Africa , and India . Christians have various doctrines about the Church (the body of the faithful that they believe Jesus Christ established) and about how the divine church corresponds to Christian denominations. The Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East and Lutheran denominations, each hold that only their own specific organization faithfully represents

10974-512: The Pentecostal World Fellowship . With over 279 million classical Pentecostals worldwide, the movement is growing in many parts of the world, especially the Global South and Third World countries. Since the 1960s, Pentecostalism has increasingly gained acceptance from other Christian traditions, and Pentecostal beliefs concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts have been embraced by non-Pentecostal Christians in Protestant and Catholic churches through their adherence to

11160-685: The Pilgrim Mennonite Conference , Beachy Amish and Dunkard Brethren Church ), and mainline/assimilated Anabaptism. Baptists emerged in 1609 under the teachings of John Smyth , and along with Methodism, grew in size and influence after they sailed to the New World (the remaining Puritans who traveled to the New World were Congregationalists). Some Baptists fit strongly with the Reformed tradition theologically but not denominationally. Some Baptists also adopt presbyterian and episcopal forms of governance. In 2018, there were about 75-105 million Baptists. Pentecostalism Christianity • Protestantism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism

11346-437: The Pope of Rome ), and the Assyrian Church of the East. Other minor, modern related splinter groups include the Ancient Church of the East (split 1968 due to rejecting some changes made by Patriarch Shimun XXI Eshai ) and the Chaldean Syrian Church. In 1995 the Chaldean Syrian Church reunified with the Assyrian Church of the East as an archbishopric . The Chaldean Syrian Church is headquartered in Thrissur , India . Together,

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11532-415: The Second Diet of Speyer mandated the burning of Luther's works and the end of the Protestant Reformation . Anglicanism is generally classified as Protestant, being originally seen as a via media , or middle way between Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity, and since the Oxford Movement of the 19th century, some Anglican writers of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship emphasize a more catholic understanding of

11718-430: The Second Great Awakening and collectively affirms belief in a Great Apostasy , thus promoting a belief in restoring what they see as primitive Christianity. It includes Mormons , Irvingians , Christadelphians , Swedenborgians , Jehovah's Witnesses , among others, although beliefs between these religions differ greatly. Generally, members of the various denominations acknowledge each other as Christians, at least to

11904-569: The Syriac and Coptic churches dividing themselves, with some churches becoming today's Oriental Orthodox . The Armenian Apostolic Church , whose representatives were not able to attend the council did not accept new dogmas and now is also seen as an Oriental Orthodox church. In modern times, there have also been moves towards healing this split, with common Christological statements being made between Pope John Paul II and Syriac Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas , as well as between representatives of both Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy. There has been

12090-444: The United Church of Christ ). Such subtleties and complexities are not clearly depicted here. Between denominations, theologians, and comparative religionists there are considerable disagreements about which groups can be properly called Christian or a Christian denomination as disagreements arise primarily from doctrinal differences between each other. As an example, this list contains groups also known as "rites" which many, such as

12276-458: The Waldensian Evangelical Church is a well known existing body in that tradition. The Hussites are presently represented in the Moravian Church , Unity of the Brethren and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church . Bible Translators Theologians Lutherans are a major branch of Protestantism, identifying with the theology of Martin Luther, a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer, and theologian . Lutheranism initially began as an attempt to reform

12462-461: The World Council of Churches , though only five form the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches. Throughout Oriental Orthodoxy, non-mainstream or non-canonical churches have passed in and out of recognition with the mainstream churches (e.g., British Orthodox Church ). Eastern Orthodoxy is one of the main Chalcedonian Christian branches, alongside Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Each Eastern Orthodox church considers itself part of

12648-413: The divine and human natures of Jesus , and addresses Mary as Christotokos instead of Theotokos ; the Church of the East also largely practiced aniconism . Adhered to by groups such as the Keraites and Naimans (see Christianity among the Mongols ), the Church of the East had a prominent presence in Inner Asia between the 11th and 14th centuries, but by the 15th century was largely confined to

12834-568: The nature of Jesus , Trinitarianism , salvation , the authority of apostolic succession , eschatology , conciliarity , papal supremacy and papal primacy among others may separate one denomination from another. Groups of denominations, often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—can be known as "branches of Christianity" or "denominational families" (e.g. Eastern or Western Christianity and their sub-branches). These "denominational families" are often imprecisely also called denominations. Christian denominations since

13020-476: The one holy catholic and apostolic Church , to the exclusion of all others. Certain denominational traditions teach that they were divinely instituted to propagate a certain doctrine or spiritual experience, for example the raising up of Methodism by God to propagate entire sanctification (the "second blessing"), or the launch of Pentecostalism to bestow a supernatural empowerment evidenced by speaking in tongues on humanity. Restorationism emerged after

13206-475: The one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church that Jesus founded . Some Christian denominations have recently considered the body of Oriental Orthodoxy to be a part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church—a view which is gaining increasing acceptance in the wake of ecumenical dialogues between groups such as Eastern Orthodoxy , Roman and Eastern Catholicism, and Protestant Christianity . All canonical or mainstream Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of

13392-496: The prohibition of dancing , abstinence from alcohol and other drugs such as tobacco, as well as restrictions on dress and appearance following the doctrine of outward holiness , initiated an identity crisis for classical Pentecostals, who were forced to reexamine long held assumptions about what it meant to be Spirit filled. The liberalizing influence of the Charismatic Movement on classical Pentecostalism can be seen in

13578-564: The restoration of spiritual gifts and the evangelization of the world. In 1900, Charles Parham , an American evangelist and faith healer , began teaching that speaking in tongues was the Biblical evidence of Spirit baptism. Along with William J. Seymour , a Wesleyan-Holiness preacher, he taught that this was the third work of grace . The three-year-long Azusa Street Revival , founded and led by Seymour in Los Angeles , California , resulted in

13764-455: The "main trunk of the historical Christian Tree" founded by Christ and the Apostles, holding that during the Reformation , the Church of Rome fell away. Certain denominational traditions teach that they were divinely instituted to propagate a certain doctrine or spiritual experience, for example the raising up of Methodism by God to propagate entire sanctification (the "second blessing"), or

13950-784: The "two lungs" concept to relate Catholicism with Eastern Orthodoxy. World Christianity by tradition in 2024 as per World Christian Database Worldwide Christians by denomination as of 2011 Christianity can be taxonomically divided into six main groups: the Church of the East , Oriental Orthodoxy , Eastern Orthodoxy , Catholicism , Protestantism , and Restorationism . Protestantism includes many groups which do not share any ecclesiastical governance and have widely diverging beliefs and practices. Major Protestant branches include Adventism , Anabaptism , Anglicanism , Baptists , Lutheranism , Methodism , Moravianism , Quakerism , Pentecostalism , Plymouth Brethren , Reformed Christianity , and Waldensianism . Reformed Christianity itself includes

14136-466: The 1529 Protestation at Speyer , but originated in 1517 when Martin Luther began his dispute with the Roman Catholic Church. This period of time, known as the Reformation , began a series of events resulting over the next 500 years in several newly denominated churches (listed below). Some denominations were started by intentionally dividing themselves from the Roman Catholic Church, such as in

14322-574: The 1920s. These groups, especially in the Jim Crow South were under great pressure to conform to segregation. Ultimately, North American Pentecostalism would divide into white and African-American branches. Though it never entirely disappeared, interracial worship within Pentecostalism would not reemerge as a widespread practice until after the civil rights movement . Women were vital to the early Pentecostal movement. Believing that whoever received

14508-559: The 1940s, the previous decade was widely viewed as a time of spiritual dryness, when healings and other miraculous phenomena were perceived as being less prevalent than in earlier decades of the movement. It was in this environment that the Latter Rain Movement , the most important controversy to affect Pentecostalism since World War II , began in North America and spread around the world in the late 1940s. Latter Rain leaders taught

14694-800: The 1942 National Association of Evangelicals . Pentecostal denominations also began to interact with each other both on national levels and international levels through the Pentecostal World Fellowship , which was founded in 1947. Some Pentecostal churches in Europe, especially in Italy and Germany, during the war were also victims of the Holocaust. Because of their tongues speaking their members were considered mentally ill, and many pastors were sent either to confinement or to concentration camps. Though Pentecostals began to find acceptance among evangelicals in

14880-567: The 1950s. International visitors and Pentecostal missionaries would eventually export the revival to other nations. The first foreign Pentecostal missionaries were Alfred G. Garr and his wife, who were Spirit baptized at Azusa and traveled to India and later Hong Kong. On being Spirit baptized, Garr spoke in Bengali, a language he did not know, and becoming convinced of his call to serve in India came to Calcutta with his wife Lilian and began ministering at

15066-573: The 1st century A.D., but has not been in communion with them since before the Council of Ephesus of 431. Largely aniconic , the Church of the East represents a third Eastern Christian tradition in its own right. In recent centuries, it has split into three Churches. The largest (since the early 20th century) is the Baghdad -based Chaldean Catholic Church formed from groups that entered communion with Rome at different times, beginning in 1552. The second-largest

15252-483: The 20th century have often involved themselves in ecumenism . Ecumenism refers to efforts among Christian bodies to develop better understandings and closer relationships. It also refers to efforts toward visible unity in the Christian Church , though the terms of visible unity vary for each denomination of Christianity, as certain groups teach they are the one true church , or that they were divinely instituted for

15438-644: The 5th century. The Church of the East split from the Roman-recognized state church of Rome during the Sasanian Period . It is also called the Nestorian Church or the Church of Persia. Declaring itself separate from the state church in 424–427, liturgically, it adhered to the East Syriac Rite . Theologically, it adopted the dyophysite doctrine of Nestorianism, which emphasizes the separateness of

15624-477: The African-American, C. H. Mason under the auspices of the Church of God in Christ, one of the few legally chartered Pentecostal organizations at the time credentialing and licensing ordained Pentecostal clergy. To further such distance, Bishop Mason and other African-American Pentecostal leaders were not invited to the initial 1914 fellowship of Pentecostal ministers. These predominately white ministers adopted

15810-580: The Anglican Communion. The Anabaptists trace their origins to the Radical Reformation . Alternative to other early Protestants, Anabaptists were seen as an early offshoot of Protestantism, although the view has been challenged by some Anabaptists. There were approximately 2.1 million Anabaptists as of 2015. Anabaptists are categorized into Old Order Anabaptism (such as the Old Brethren German Baptist ), Conservative Anabaptism (such as

15996-506: The Apostles ( Acts 2 :1–31). Like other forms of evangelical Protestantism , Pentecostalism adheres to the inerrancy of the Bible and the necessity of the New Birth : an individual repenting of their sin and "accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior". It is distinguished by belief in both the "baptism in the Holy Spirit" and baptism by water, that enables a Christian to "live

16182-576: The Aramaic-speaking areas of the Middle East , the Syriac Orthodox Church has long been dominant. Although the region of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea has had a strong body of believers since the infancy of Christianity, these regions only gained autocephaly in 1963 and 1994 respectively. The Oriental Orthodox are distinguished from the Eastern Orthodox by doctrinal differences concerning

16368-527: The Assemblies of God rejected the Oneness teaching, and many of its churches and pastors were forced to withdraw from the denomination in 1916. They organized their own Oneness groups. Most of these joined Garfield T. Haywood , an African-American preacher from Indianapolis, to form the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World . This church maintained an interracial identity until 1924 when the white ministers withdrew to form

16554-583: The Assyrian, Ancient, Chaldean Syrian and Chaldean Catholic Church comprised over 1.6 million in 2018. Assyrian Christianity comprises those Eastern churches who kept the traditional Nestorian christology and ecclesiology of the historical Church of the East after the original church reunited with the Catholic Church in Rome, forming the Chaldean Catholic Church in 1552. Assyrian Christianity forms part of

16740-519: The Book of Acts where believers were Spirit baptized before they were baptized with water, most Pentecostals believe a Christian need not have been baptized in water to receive Spirit baptism. However, Pentecostals do believe that the biblical pattern is "repentance, regeneration, water baptism, and then the baptism with the Holy Ghost". There are Pentecostal believers who have claimed to receive their baptism with

16926-646: The Bow Bazar Baptist Church. The Norwegian Methodist pastor T. B. Barratt was influenced by Seymour during a tour of the United States. By December 1906, he had returned to Europe, and he is credited with beginning the Pentecostal movement in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France and England. A notable convert of Barratt was Alexander Boddy , the Anglican vicar of All Saints' in Sunderland, England , who became

17112-783: The Catholic Church as a result of the Reformation , a movement against doctrines and practices which the Reformers perceived to be in violation of the Bible. Together, Catholicism and Protestantism (with major traditions including Adventism , Anabaptism , Anglicanism , Baptists , Lutheranism , Methodism , Moravianism , Pentecostalism , Plymouth Brethren , Quakerism , Reformed , and Waldensianism ) compose Western Christianity . Western Christian denominations prevail in Sub-Saharan Africa , Europe (excluding Eastern Europe), North America , Oceania and South America . The Eastern Orthodox Church , with an estimated 230 million adherents,

17298-782: The Catholic Church before the excommunication of its members. Lutherans are divided among High Church , Confessional , Pietist and Liberal churchmanships, though these can overlap, e.g. the Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses is High Church and Confessional. The whole of Lutheranism had about 70-90 million members in 2018. The largest non-United Lutheran denomination was the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus , an Eastern Protestant Christian group. Those who separated from established Lutheran churches to form their own denominations are known as Radical Pietists (as opposed to Pietistic Lutherans , who remain in

17484-458: The Catholic party to say that the other church was founded by the founder, while the Catholic church was founded by Christ. This was done intentionally in order to "produce the appearance of the fragmentation within Christianity" – a problem which the Catholic side would then attempt to remedy on its own terms. Although Catholics reject branch theory , Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II used

17670-492: The Charismatic movement. Together, worldwide Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity numbers over 644 million adherents. While the movement originally attracted mostly lower classes in the global South, there is a new appeal to middle classes. Middle-class congregations tend to have fewer members. Pentecostalism is believed to be the fastest-growing religious movement in the world. Early Pentecostals have considered

17856-542: The East and West traditions stem from socio-cultural and ethno-linguistic divisions in and between the Western Roman and Byzantine empires . Since the West (that is, Western Europe) spoke Latin as its lingua franca and the East (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and northern Africa) largely used Aramaic and Koine Greek to transmit writings, theological developments were difficult to translate from one branch to

18042-570: The Eastern Aramaic -speaking Assyrian communities of northern Mesopotamia, in and around the rough triangle formed by Mosul and Lakes Van and Urmia —the same general region where the Church of the East had first emerged between the 1st and 3rd centuries. Its patriarchal lines divided in a tumultuous period from the 16th-19th century, finally consolidated into the Eastern Catholic Chaldean Church (in full communion with

18228-618: The Episcopacy. This stream has in its relatively short existence known many splits, which operate worldwide under several names. In the Eastern world, the largest body of believers in modern times is the Eastern Orthodox Church , sometimes imprecisely called "Greek Orthodox" because from the time of Christ through the Byzantine empire, Greek was its common language. However, the term " Greek Orthodox " actually refers to only one portion of

18414-532: The Holiness movement and adhered to a Wesleyan understanding of entire sanctification as a definite, instantaneous experience and second work of grace . Problems with this view arose when large numbers of converts entered the movement from non-Wesleyan backgrounds, especially from Baptist churches. In 1910, William Durham of Chicago first articulated the Finished Work , a doctrine which located sanctification at

18600-533: The Holy Spirit through these ministries. The Latter Rain and the Healing Revival influenced many leaders of the charismatic movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Before the 1960s, most non-Pentecostal Christians who experienced the Pentecostal baptism in the Holy Spirit typically kept their experience a private matter or joined a Pentecostal church afterward. The 1960s saw a new pattern develop where large numbers of Spirit baptized Christians from mainline churches in

18786-465: The Holy Spirit while being water baptized. It is received by having faith in God's promise to fill the believer and in yielding the entire being to Christ. Certain conditions, if present in a believer's life, could cause delay in receiving Spirit baptism, such as "weak faith, unholy living, imperfect consecration, and egocentric motives". In the absence of these, Pentecostals teach that seekers should maintain

18972-498: The Holy Spirit. While the Spirit dwells in every Christian, Pentecostals believe that all Christians should seek to be filled with him. The Spirit's "filling", "falling upon", "coming upon", or being "poured out upon" believers is called the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals define it as a definite experience occurring after salvation whereby the Holy Spirit comes upon the believer to anoint and empower them for special service. It has also been described as "a baptism into

19158-536: The Jewish and Pauline Christianities, with Gnostic Christianity dying, or being hunted out of existence after the early Christian era and being largely forgotten until discoveries made in the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. There are also other theories on the origin of Christianity. The following Christian groups appeared between the beginning of the Christian religion and the First Council of Nicaea in 325. The following are groups of Christians appearing between

19344-487: The Latin Church in 1724 through the consecrations of bishops for the present-day Old Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht without papal approval. Largely distinguished by their rejection of papal infallibility and supremacy, most Independent Catholic churches are unrecognized by the Vatican, although their sacraments have been recognized as valid but illicit . Protestantism is a movement within Christianity which owes its name to

19530-635: The Lutheran churches (such as the Church of the Lutheran Brethren ) and combine its emphasis on Biblical doctrine with the importance of individual piety and living a holy Christian life. Although the Radical Pietists broke with Lutheranism, its influence on Anglicanism, in particular John Wesley , led to the spawning of the Methodist movement . Christianity • Protestantism Calvinism, also known as

19716-661: The Orthodox Catholic Church, claims continuity (based upon apostolic succession ) with the early Church as part of the state church of Rome . The Eastern Orthodox Church had about 230 million members as of 2019 , making it the second largest single denomination behind the Catholic Church. Some of them have a disputed administrative status (i.e. their autonomy or autocephaly is not recognized universally). Eastern Orthodox churches by and large remain in communion with one another, although this has broken at times throughout its history. Two examples of impaired communion between

19902-669: The Orthodox churches include the Moscow–Constantinople schisms of 1996 and 2018 . There are also independent churches subscribing to the Eastern Orthodox traditions. These Eastern Orthodox churches are not in communion with the mainstream or canonical Eastern Orthodox Church. Some of these denominations consider themselves as part of True Orthodoxy or the Old Believers . True Orthodoxy, or Genuine Orthodoxy, separated from

20088-610: The Pentecostal Church, Incorporated. This church later merged with another group forming the United Pentecostal Church International . This controversy among the Finished Work Pentecostals caused Holiness Pentecostals to further distance themselves from Finished Work Pentecostals, who they viewed as heretical . While Pentecostals shared many basic assumptions with conservative Protestants,

20274-778: The Pentecostal experience had the responsibility to use it towards the preparation for Christ's second coming, Pentecostal women held that the baptism in the Holy Spirit gave them empowerment and justification to engage in activities traditionally denied to them. The first person at Parham's Bible college to receive Spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in tongues was a woman, Agnes Ozman . Women such as Florence Crawford, Ida Robinson , and Aimee Semple McPherson founded new denominations, and many women served as pastors, co-pastors, and missionaries. Women wrote religious songs, edited Pentecostal papers, and taught and ran Bible schools. The unconventionally intense and emotional environment generated in Pentecostal meetings dually promoted, and

20460-582: The Pentecostal faith, but many times Pentecostals were forced to establish new religious communities when their experience was rejected by the established churches. One of the first areas of involvement was the African continent, where, by 1907, American missionaries were established in Liberia, as well as in South Africa by 1908. Because speaking in tongues was initially believed to always be actual foreign languages, it

20646-428: The Pentecostal movement) on healing. Edward Irving 's Catholic Apostolic Church (founded c. 1831) also displayed many characteristics later found in the Pentecostal revival. Isolated Christian groups were experiencing charismatic phenomena such as divine healing and speaking in tongues. The Holiness Pentecostal movement provided a theological explanation for what was happening to these Christians, and they adapted

20832-463: The Protestant denominations. The exact number of Protestant denominations, including the members of the denominations, is difficult to calculate and depends on definition. A group that fits the generally accepted definition of "Protestant" might not officially use the term. Therefore, it should be taken with caution. The most accepted figure among various authors and scholars includes around 900 million to

21018-527: The Reformed tradition or Reformed Protestantism is a movement which broke from the Catholic Church in the 16th century. Reformed Christianity is represented in the Continental Reformed , Presbyterian , and Congregationalist traditions, along with Reformed Anglican and Reformed Baptist denominations (the latter two are listed under the Anglican and Baptist sections of this article, respectively). Calvinism follows

21204-426: The Roman Catholic Church, would say are not denominations as they are in full papal communion , and thus part of the Catholic Church. For the purpose of simplicity, this list is intended to reflect the self-understanding of each denomination. Explanations of different opinions concerning their status as Christian denominations can be found at their respective articles. There is no official recognition in most parts of

21390-537: The Syriac Christian tradition. The Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East together had over 0.6 million members as of 2018 . The Oriental Orthodox Churches are the Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite christology and theology, with a combined global membership of 62 million as of 2019 . These churches reject the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and those after it. They departed from

21576-703: The US , Argentina (Christian Assembly in Argentina), and Brazil ( Christian Congregation of Brazil ). In 1908, Giacomo Lombardi led the first Pentecostal services in Italy. In November 1910, two Swedish Pentecostal missionaries arrived in Belem, Brazil and established what would become the Assembleias de Deus (Assemblies of God of Brazil). In 1908, John G. Lake , a follower of Alexander Dowie who had experienced Pentecostal Spirit baptism, traveled to South Africa and founded what would become

21762-496: The US, Europe, and other parts of the world chose to remain and work for spiritual renewal within their traditional churches. This initially became known as New or Neo-Pentecostalism (in contrast to the older classical Pentecostalism) but eventually became known as the Charismatic Movement . While cautiously supportive of the Charismatic Movement, the failure of Charismatics to embrace traditional Pentecostal teachings, such as

21948-529: The West also contended that this primacy extended to jurisdiction, a position rejected by the Eastern patriarchs. Various attempts at dialogue between the two groups would occur, but it was only in the 1960s, under Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras , that significant steps began to be made to mend the relationship between the two. The Protestant Reformation began with the posting of Martin Luther 's Ninety-Five Theses in Saxony on October 31, 1517, written as

22134-506: The Western world. Catholics do not describe themselves as a denomination but rather as the original Church, from which all other branches broke off in schism . The Baptist , Methodist , and Lutheran churches are generally considered to be Protestant denominations, although strictly speaking, of these three, only the Lutherans took part in the official Protestation at Speyer after the decree of

22320-416: The baptism with the Holy Spirit is a definite experience in a believer's life, Pentecostals view it as just the beginning of living a Spirit-filled life. Pentecostal teaching stresses the importance of continually being filled with the Spirit. There is only one baptism with the Spirit, but there should be many infillings with the Spirit throughout the believer's life. Pentecostalism is a holistic faith, and

22506-454: The belief that Jesus is Healer is one quarter of the full gospel. Pentecostals cite four major reasons for believing in divine healing: 1) it is reported in the Bible, 2) Jesus' healing ministry is included in his atonement (thus divine healing is part of salvation), 3) "the whole gospel is for the whole person"—spirit, soul , and body , 4) sickness is a consequence of the Fall of Man and salvation

22692-462: The book In Pursuit of Wholeness: Experiencing God's Salvation for the Total Person , Pentecostal writer and Church historian Wilfred Graves Jr. describes the healing of the body as a physical expression of salvation . For Pentecostals, spiritual and physical healing serves as a reminder and testimony to Christ's future return when his people will be completely delivered from all the consequences of

22878-481: The case of the English Reformation while others, such as with Luther's followers, were excommunicated after attempting reform. New denominations and organizations formed through further divisions within Protestant churches since the Reformation began. A denomination labeled "Protestant" subscribes to the fundamental Protestant principles—though not always—that is scripture alone, justification by faith alone, and

23064-583: The case of those that are of Greek/Byzantine tradition, concerning some non-doctrinal aspects of the Latin view of Purgatory and clerical celibacy ). The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church (which are united in the worldwide Catholic Church) share the same doctrine and sacraments, and thus the same faith. The total membership of the churches accounted for approximately 18 million members as of 2019 . Independent Catholics consists of those denominations embodying catholicity , and have initially separated from

23250-487: The character of global Christianity. Pentecostalism is an evangelical faith, emphasizing the reliability of the Bible and the need for the transformation of an individual's life through faith in Jesus. Like other evangelicals, Pentecostals generally adhere to the Bible's divine inspiration and inerrancy —the belief that the Bible, in the original manuscripts in which it was written, is without error. Pentecostals emphasize

23436-608: The church and characterize it as being both Protestant and Catholic. A case is sometimes also made to regard Lutheranism in a similar way, considering the catholic character of its foundational documents (the Augsburg Confession and other documents contained in the Book of Concord ) and its existence prior to the Anglican, Anabaptist, and Reformed churches, from which nearly all other Protestant denominations derive. List of Christian denominations A Christian denomination

23622-468: The conflict with the denominations was the sectarianism of Latter Rain adherents. Many autonomous churches were birthed out of the revival. A simultaneous development within Pentecostalism was the postwar Healing Revival . Led by healing evangelists William Branham , Oral Roberts , Gordon Lindsay , and T. L. Osborn , the Healing Revival developed a following among non-Pentecostals as well as Pentecostals. Many of these non-Pentecostals were baptized in

23808-543: The definitions of several terms used throughout the article, before discussing the beliefs themselves in detail in following sections. A denomination within Christianity can be defined as a "recognized autonomous branch of the Christian Church"; major synonyms include "religious group, sect, Church," etc. "Church" as a synonym, refers to a "particular Christian organization with its own clergy, buildings, and distinctive doctrines"; "church" can also more broadly be defined as

23994-764: The development of indigenous churches. The first generation of Pentecostal believers faced immense criticism and ostracism from other Christians, most vehemently from the Holiness movement from which they originated. Alma White , leader of the Pillar of Fire Church —a Holiness Methodist denomination, wrote a book against the movement titled Demons and Tongues in 1910. She called Pentecostal tongues "satanic gibberish" and Pentecostal services "the climax of demon worship". Famous Holiness Methodist preacher W. B. Godbey characterized those at Azusa Street as "Satan's preachers, jugglers, necromancers, enchanters, magicians, and all sorts of mendicants". To Dr. G. Campbell Morgan , Pentecostalism

24180-517: The disappearance of many of these taboos since the 1960s, apart from certain Holiness Pentecostal denominations, such as the Apostolic Faith Church , which maintain these standards of outward holiness . Because of this, the cultural differences between classical Pentecostals and charismatics have lessened over time. The global renewal movements manifest many of these tensions as inherent characteristics of Pentecostalism and as representative of

24366-494: The earliest Pentecostals were rejected by Fundamentalist Christians who adhered to cessationism . In 1928, the World Christian Fundamentals Association labeled Pentecostalism "fanatical" and "unscriptural". By the early 1940s, this rejection of Pentecostals was giving way to a new cooperation between them and leaders of the "new evangelicalism", and American Pentecostals were involved in the founding of

24552-416: The edification of the church, etc.). Pentecostals believe that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is available to all Christians. Repentance from sin and being born again are fundamental requirements to receive it. There must also be in the believer a deep conviction of needing more of God in their life, and a measure of consecration by which the believer yields themself to the will of God. Citing instances in

24738-498: The entire Eastern Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church believes itself to be the continuation of the original Christian Church established by Jesus Christ , and the Apostles . The Orthodox and Catholics have been separated since the 11th century, following the East–West Schism , with each of them saying they represent the original pre-schism Church. The Eastern Orthodox consider themselves to be spiritually one body, which

24924-504: The entire body of Christians, the " Christian Church ". Some traditional and evangelical Protestants draw a distinction between membership in the universal church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church; one then may join a fellowship of other local believers. Some evangelical groups describe themselves as interdenominational fellowships, partnering with local churches to strengthen evangelical efforts, usually targeting

25110-424: The experience of speaking in tongues spread, a sense of the immediacy of Christ's return took hold, and that energy would be directed into missionary and evangelistic activity. Early Pentecostals saw themselves as outsiders from mainstream society, dedicated solely to preparing the way for Christ's return. An associate of Seymour's, Florence Crawford, brought the message to the Northwest , forming what would become

25296-445: The extent that they have mutually recognized baptisms and acknowledge historically orthodox views including the divinity of Jesus and doctrines of sin and salvation , even though doctrinal and ecclesiological obstacles hinder full communion between churches . Since the reforms surrounding the Second Vatican Council of 1962–1965, the Catholic Church has referred to Protestant churches as ecclesial communities , while reserving

25482-442: The fact that some of them had nothing to do with the 1529 protestation at Speyer which coined the term Protestant. In particular, the Utraquists were eventually accommodated as a separate Catholic rite by the papacy after a military attempt to end their movement failed. On the other hand, the surviving Waldensians ended up joining Reformed Protestantism, so it is not completely inaccurate to refer to their movement as Protestant;

25668-431: The fall. However, not everyone receives healing when they pray. It is God in his sovereign wisdom who either grants or withholds healing. Common reasons that are given in answer to the question as to why all are not healed include: God teaches through suffering, healing is not always immediate, lack of faith on the part of the person needing healing, and personal sin in one's life (however, this does not mean that all illness

25854-451: The family of God, and the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification is initiated. Classical Pentecostal soteriology is generally Arminian rather than Calvinist . The security of the believer is a doctrine held within Pentecostalism; nevertheless, this security is conditional upon continual faith and repentance . Pentecostals believe in both a literal heaven and hell , the former for those who have accepted God's gift of salvation and

26040-432: The growth of Pentecostalism throughout the United States and the rest of the world. Visitors carried the Pentecostal experience back to their home churches or felt called to the mission field . While virtually all Pentecostal denominations trace their origins to Azusa Street, the movement has had several divisions and controversies. Early disputes centered on challenges to the doctrine of entire sanctification , and later on,

26226-489: The latter for those who have rejected it. For most Pentecostals there is no other requirement to receive salvation. Baptism with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues are not generally required, though Pentecostal converts are usually encouraged to seek these experiences. A notable exception is Jesus' Name Pentecostalism , most adherents of which believe both water baptism and Spirit baptism are integral components of salvation. Pentecostals identify three distinct uses of

26412-458: The launch of Pentecostalism to bestow a baptism with the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues on humanity. To express further the complexity involved, the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches were historically one and the same , as evidenced by the fact that they are the only two modern churches in existence to accept all of the first seven ecumenical councils , until differences arose , such as papal authority and dominance ,

26598-444: The leaders of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, the two largest Christian denominations. Each church makes mutually exclusive statements for itself to be the direct continuation of the church founded by Jesus Christ, from whom other denominations later broke away. These churches, and a few others, reject denominationalism. For the purpose of academic study of religion, the main families of Christianity are categorized as

26784-410: The local congregation; several groups within the Restoration Movement and congregational churches fall into this category. Some Christian bodies are large (e.g. Catholics, Orthodox, Pentecostals and nondenominationals , Anglicans or Baptists), while others are just a few small churches, and in most cases the relative size is not evident in this list except for the denominational group or movement as

26970-468: The love of God". The main purpose of the experience is to grant power for Christian service. Other purposes include power for spiritual warfare (the Christian struggles against spiritual enemies and thus requires spiritual power), power for overflow (the believer's experience of the presence and power of God in their life flows out into the lives of others), and power for ability (to follow divine direction, to face persecution, to exercise spiritual gifts for

27156-453: The mainstream church over issues of ecumenism and calendar reform since the 1920s; and the Russian Old Believers refused to accept the liturgical and ritual changes made by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow between 1652 and 1666. Several Old Believer denominations have reunified with the Russian Orthodox Church and subsequent wider Eastern Orthodox communion. God Schools Relations with: The Catholic Church, or Roman Catholic Church,

27342-403: The mission, carrying the "fire" back to their home churches. Despite the work of various Wesleyan groups such as Parham's and D. L. Moody 's revivals, the beginning of the widespread Pentecostal movement in the US is generally considered to have begun with Seymour's Azusa Street Revival. The crowds of African-Americans and whites worshiping together at William Seymour's Azusa Street Mission set

27528-411: The moment of salvation and held that after conversion the Christian would progressively grow in grace in a lifelong process. This teaching polarized the Pentecostal movement into two factions: Holiness Pentecostalism and Finished Work Pentecostalism. The Wesleyan doctrine was strongest in the Apostolic Faith Church , which views itself as being the successor of the Azusa Street Revival , as well as in

27714-601: The most part. Similarly, the Catholic Church is a communion of sui iuris churches, including 23 Eastern ones. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches , the Oriental Orthodox communion , the Assyrian Church of the East , the Ancient Church of the East , and the Eastern Lutheran Churches constitute Eastern Christianity . There are certain Eastern Protestant Christians that have adopted Protestant theology but have cultural and historical ties with other Eastern Christians. Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in Eastern Europe , North Asia ,

27900-473: The movement a latter-day restoration of the church's apostolic power, and historians such as Cecil M. Robeck Jr. and Edith Blumhofer write that the movement emerged from late 19th-century radical evangelical revival movements in America and in Great Britain. Within this radical evangelicalism, expressed most strongly in the Wesleyan–holiness and Higher Life movements, themes of restorationism , premillennialism , faith healing , and greater attention on

28086-545: The one true church, and pre-denominational. Though they consider themselves pre-denominational, being the original Church of Christ before 1054, some scholars suggest the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches began after the East–West Schism . Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially

28272-463: The original Church of Christ. Continuity is claimed based upon apostolic succession with the early Church. The Catholic population exceeds 1.3 billion as of 2016 , making up the majority of Western Christianity. Stemming from the one Roman Catholic institution, there exists several Independent Catholic churches which have expanded the Catholic denominational family, becoming Old and Old Roman Catholicism , and Liberal Catholics . The Latin Church

28458-422: The other. In the course of ecumenical councils (large gatherings of Christian leaders), some church bodies split from the larger family of Christianity. Many earlier heretical groups either died off for lack of followers or suppression by the early proto-orthodox Church at large (such as Apollinarians , Montanists , and Ebionites ). Following the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the next large split came with

28644-402: The person and work of the Holy Spirit were central to emerging Pentecostalism. Believing that the second coming of Christ was imminent, these Christians expected an endtime revival of apostolic power, spiritual gifts, and miracle-working. Figures such as Dwight L. Moody and R. A. Torrey began to speak of an experience available to all Christians which would empower believers to evangelize

28830-821: The propagation of a certain doctrine. The largest ecumenical organization in Christianity is the World Council of Churches . The following is not a complete list, but aims to provide a comprehensible overview of the diversity among denominations of Christianity, ecumenical organizations, and Christian ideologies not necessarily represented by specific denominations. Only those Christian denominations, ideologies and organizations with Misplaced Pages articles will be listed in order to ensure that all entries on this list are notable and verifiable. The denominations and ecumenical organizations listed are generally ordered from ancient to contemporary Christianity. World Christianity by tradition in 2024 as per World Christian Database Christianity can be taxonomically divided into six main groups:

29016-457: The purpose of academic study of religion, they are categorized as a denomination, that is, "an organized body of Christians." For example, the Catholic Church considers itself the one true church and the Holy See as pre-denominational. The Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, also considers themselves to be the original Christian church along with the Roman Catholic Church. The Lutheran churches have viewed themselves as

29202-479: The restoration of the fivefold ministry led by apostles. These apostles were believed capable of imparting spiritual gifts through the laying on of hands . There were prominent participants of the early Pentecostal revivals, such as Stanley Frodsham and Lewi Pethrus , who endorsed the movement citing similarities to early Pentecostalism. However, Pentecostal denominations were critical of the movement and condemned many of its practices as unscriptural. One reason for

29388-596: The rise of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the continuance of emperors in the Eastern Roman Empire , and the final and permanent split that occurred during the Crusades with the siege of Constantinople . This also illustrates that denominations can arise not only from religious or theological issues, but political and generational divisions as well. Other churches that are viewed by non-adherents as denominational are highly decentralized and do not have any formal denominational structure, authority, or record-keeping beyond

29574-413: The schism are complex, but one major controversy was the inclusion and acceptance in the West of the filioque clause into the Nicene Creed , which the East viewed as erroneous. Another was the definition of papal primacy . Both West and East agreed that the Patriarch of Rome was owed a " primacy of honour " by the other patriarchs (those of Alexandria , Antioch , Constantinople and Jerusalem ), but

29760-586: The sick . This is done in imitation of Jesus who often healed in this manner. Another method that is found in some Pentecostal churches is based on the account in Acts 19:11–12 where people were healed when given handkerchiefs or aprons worn by the Apostle Paul . This practice is described by Duffield and Van Cleave in Foundations of Pentecostal Theology : Many Churches have followed a similar pattern and have given out small pieces of cloth over which prayer has been made, and sometimes they have been anointed with oil. Some most remarkable miracles have been reported from

29946-409: The spirit of the Protestant Reformation . The Cathars were a very strong movement in medieval southwestern France, but did not survive into modern times. In northern Italy and southeastern France , Peter Waldo founded the Waldensians in the 12th century. This movement has largely been absorbed by modern-day Protestant groups. In Bohemia , a movement in the early 15th century by Jan Hus called

30132-458: The state church of the Roman Empire after the Chalcedonian Council. Other denominations, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church and bodies in Old and True Orthodoxy , often label the Oriental Orthodox Churches as "Monophysite". As the Oriental Orthodox do not adhere to the teachings of Eutyches , they themselves reject this label, preferring the term "Miaphysite". Historically, the Oriental Orthodox Churches considered themselves collectively to be

30318-411: The teaching of the "full gospel" or "foursquare gospel". The term foursquare refers to the four fundamental beliefs of Pentecostalism: Jesus saves according to John 3:16 ; baptizes with the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4; heals bodily according to James 5:15; and is coming again to receive those who are saved according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17. The central belief of classical Pentecostalism

30504-420: The term "Apostolic" or " Full Gospel " to describe their movement. Holiness Pentecostalism emerged in the early 20th century among adherents of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement , who were energized by Christian revivalism and expectation of the imminent Second Coming of Christ . Believing that they were living in the end times , they expected God to spiritually renew the Christian Church and bring to pass

30690-431: The term "church" for apostolic churches , including the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as the Ancient and Assyrian Churches of the East (see subsistit in and branch theory ) . But some non-denominational Christians do not follow any particular branch, though they sometimes are regarded as Protestants. Each group uses different terminology to discuss their beliefs. This section will discuss

30876-467: The term "denomination" to describe themselves, to avoid implying equivalence with other churches or denominations. The Catholic Church , which has over 1.3 billion members or 50.1% of all Christians worldwide, does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational Church. The total Protestant population has reached around 1.047 billion in 2024, accounting for about 39.8% of all Christians. Sixteenth-century Protestants separated from

31062-473: The theological traditions set down by John Calvin , John Knox and other Reformation-era theologians . Calvinists differ from Lutherans on the nature of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist , theories of worship , and the use of God's law for believers , among other things. There are from 60 to 80 million Christians identifying as Reformed or Calvinist according to statistics gathered in 2018. Anglicanism or Episcopalianism has referred to itself as

31248-510: The three-year-long Azusa Street Revival in 1906. The revival first broke out on Monday April 9, 1906 at 214 Bonnie Brae Street and then moved to 312 Azusa Street on Friday, April 14, 1906. Worship at the racially integrated Azusa Mission featured an absence of any order of service. People preached and testified as moved by the Spirit, spoke and sung in tongues, and fell (were slain) in the Spirit. The revival attracted both religious and secular media attention, and thousands of visitors flocked to

31434-415: The tone for much of the early Pentecostal movement. During the period of 1906–1924, Pentecostals defied social, cultural and political norms of the time that called for racial segregation and the enactment of Jim Crow laws . The Church of God in Christ , the Church of God (Cleveland) , the Pentecostal Holiness Church , and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World were all interracial denominations before

31620-399: The union of human and divine natures in the person of Jesus Christ, and the two communions separated as a consequence of the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451, although there have been recent moves towards reconciliation. Since these groups are relatively obscure in the West, literature on them has sometimes included the Church of the East , which, like the Oriental Orthodox, originated in

31806-492: The universal priesthood of believers. The majority of contemporary Protestants are members of Adventism, Anglicanism, the Baptist churches, Calvinism (Reformed Protestantism), Lutheranism, Methodism and Pentecostalism. Nondenominational , Evangelical, charismatic , neo-charismatic , independent, Convergence , and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. This list gives only an overview, and certainly does not mention all of

31992-418: The use of this method. It is understood that the prayer cloth has no virtue in itself, but provides an act of faith by which one's attention is directed to the Lord, who is the Great Physician. During the initial decades of the movement, Pentecostals thought it was sinful to take medicine or receive care from doctors. Over time, Pentecostals moderated their views concerning medicine and doctor visits; however,

32178-505: The various denominations formed during and after the Protestant Reformation . There also exists a number of non-Trinitarian groups. Denominationalism is the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. The idea was first articulated by Independents within the Puritan movement. They argued that differences among Christians were inevitable, but that separation based on these differences

32364-404: The word " baptism " in the New Testament : While the figure of Jesus Christ and his redemptive work are at the center of Pentecostal theology, that redemptive work is believed to provide for a fullness of the Holy Spirit of which believers in Christ may take advantage. The majority of Pentecostals believe that at the moment a person is born again, the new believer has the presence (indwelling) of

32550-588: The world (making up approximately one-third of the population) and the various divisions have commonalities and differences in tradition, theology , church government , doctrine, and language. The largest schism or division in many classification schemes is between the families of Eastern and Western Christianity . After these two larger families come distinct branches of Christianity. Most classification schemes list Roman Catholicism, Protestantism , and Orthodox Christianity , with Orthodox Christianity being divided into Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy and

32736-414: The world and particularly in the US of a coming move of the Spirit which would renew the entire Christian Church. This revival saw thousands of conversions and also exhibited speaking in tongues. Parham moved to Houston, Texas in 1905, where he started a Bible training school. One of his students was William J. Seymour , a one-eyed black preacher. Seymour traveled to Los Angeles where his preaching sparked

32922-525: The world for religious bodies, and there is no official clearinghouse which could determine the status or respectability of religious bodies. Often there is considerable disagreement between various groups about whether others should be labeled with pejorative terms such as " cult ", or about whether this or that group enjoys some measure of respectability. Such considerations often vary from place to place, or culture to culture, where one denomination may enjoy majority status in one region, but be widely regarded as

33108-448: The world, often termed baptism with the Holy Spirit . Certain Christian leaders and movements had important influences on early Pentecostals. The essentially universal belief in the continuation of all the spiritual gifts in the Keswick and Higher Life movements constituted a crucial historical background for the rise of Pentecostalism. Albert Benjamin Simpson (1843–1919) and his Christian and Missionary Alliance (founded in 1887)

33294-455: Was Gaston B. Cashwell (the "Apostle of Pentecost" to the South ), whose evangelistic work led three Southeastern holiness denominations into the new movement. The Pentecostal movement, especially in its early stages, was typically associated with the impoverished and marginalized of America, especially African Americans and Southern Whites. With the help of many healing evangelists such as Oral Roberts, Pentecostalism spread across America by

33480-434: Was "the last vomit of Satan", while Dr. R. A. Torrey thought it was "emphatically not of God, and founded by a Sodomite". The Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene, one of the largest holiness groups, was strongly opposed to the new Pentecostal movement. To avoid confusion, the church changed its name in 1919 to the Church of the Nazarene . A. B. Simpson's Christian and Missionary Alliance—a Keswickian denomination—negotiated

33666-399: Was believed that missionaries would no longer have to learn the languages of the peoples they evangelized because the Holy Spirit would provide whatever foreign language was required. (When the majority of missionaries, to their disappointment, learned that tongues speech was unintelligible on the mission field, Pentecostal leaders were forced to modify their understanding of tongues.) Thus, as

33852-465: Was itself created by, other forms of participation such as personal testimony and spontaneous prayer and singing. Women did not shy away from engaging in this forum, and in the early movement the majority of converts and church-goers were female. Nevertheless, there was considerable ambiguity surrounding the role of women in the church. The subsiding of the early Pentecostal movement allowed a socially more conservative approach to women to settle in, and, as

34038-445: Was not necessarily schism . Christians are obligated to practice their beliefs rather than remain within a church with which they disagree, but they must also recognize their imperfect knowledge and not condemn other Christians as apostate over unimportant matters. Some Christians view denominationalism as a regrettable fact. As of 2011, divisions are becoming less sharp, and there is increasing cooperation between denominations, which

34224-529: Was once common, it is controversial today, with some rejecting the label and others accepting it. Anglicans numbered over 85 million in 2018. There are numerous churches following the Anglican tradition that are not in full communion with the Anglican Communion. Some churches split due to changes in the Book of Common Prayer and the ordination of women , forming Anglo-Catholic , Anglican Papal or Evangelical Anglican communities. A select few of these churches are recognized by certain individual provinces of

34410-503: Was the scriptural evidence for the reception of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. On January 1, 1901, after a watch night service, the students prayed for and received the baptism with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Parham received this same experience sometime later and began preaching it in all his services. Parham believed this was xenoglossia and that missionaries would no longer need to study foreign languages. Parham closed his Topeka school after 1901 and began

34596-409: Was very influential in the early years of Pentecostalism, especially on the development of the Assemblies of God . Another early influence on Pentecostals was John Alexander Dowie (1847–1907) and his Christian Catholic Apostolic Church (founded in 1896). Pentecostals embraced the teachings of Simpson, Dowie, Adoniram Judson Gordon (1836–1895) and Maria Woodworth-Etter (1844–1924; she later joined

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