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63-650: FIEC may refer to: Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches , an organisation linking independent, evangelical churches in the United Kingdom Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (Australia) Fox Island Electric Cooperative , a utility cooperative in Vinalhaven, Maine European Construction Industry Federation , see Associazione Nazionale Costruttori Edili International Federation of Associations of Classical Studies Topics referred to by

126-899: A cult or sect, a denomination is usually seen as part of the Christian religious mainstream. Most Christian denominations refer to themselves as churches , whereas some newer ones tend to interchangeably use the terms churches , assemblies , fellowships , etc. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine; issues such as the nature of Jesus , the authority of apostolic succession , biblical hermeneutics , theology , ecclesiology , eschatology , and papal primacy may separate one denomination from another. Groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as "branches of Christianity". These branches differ in many ways, especially through differences in practices and belief. Individual denominations vary widely in

189-447: 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

252-407: 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

315-571: 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

378-748: A leading church in the Independent tradition, joined FIEC when the Congregational Union merged with the English Presbyterian Church to form the United Reformed Church denomination (URC). Many Independent churches within FIEC are Baptist churches but FIEC is open both to churches that only baptise adults and also to churches that baptise the children of believers. FIEC believes the classical Complementarian view which recognises that

441-518: 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

504-507: 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

567-504: 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

630-701: 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

693-410: 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

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756-464: 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

819-521: 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

882-541: 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

945-471: 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

1008-687: 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

1071-507: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches The FIEC staff team is ultimately accountable to its affiliated churches. A 12-member Trust Board acts on behalf of the churches in making policy, safeguarding the Fellowship’s integrity, and in meeting - as its trustees - FIEC’s legal responsibilities. They are also responsible for ensuring

1134-471: 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

1197-475: Is self-governing. Each individual local church has ultimate control over its own affairs. It does not belong to any external body or institution which has control over it." The FIEC leadership claims it exercises 'something comparable to the sub-apostolic' ministry of Timothy and Titus. Some trace the routes of Independency to separatists, such as Robert Browne in the time of Elizabeth I and James I of England, but "separatism" may be an unhelpful term to use in

1260-403: 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

1323-770: 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

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1386-807: 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

1449-612: The Channel Islands , and 50,000 members. All FIEC churches unite around the truths of historic, biblical Christianity found in FIEC's Doctrinal Basis. Member churches also agree to abide with three accepted Ethos Statements. These are intended to bring clarity to life and ministry as a Fellowship. FIEC is in the Independent Evangelical tradition. According to the National Director of FIEC, "An ‘Independent’ church

1512-540: 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

1575-865: 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

1638-655: 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 ",

1701-833: 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

1764-535: 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

1827-471: 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

1890-592: 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

1953-498: 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

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2016-617: 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

2079-478: 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

2142-793: 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

2205-573: 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

2268-523: 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

2331-890: 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,

2394-459: 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

2457-542: 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

2520-618: 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

2583-590: The FIEC staff team serve the churches and fulfil FIEC’s vision. Trust Board members are voted into office by representatives from the churches and they serve in office for three years before re-election. FIEC was formed in 1922 under the name A Fellowship of Undenominational and Unattached Churches and Missions . It was later renamed The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches . The Fellowship brought together many independent churches and mission halls, which had been somewhat isolated. By February 2021, FIEC had come to include 639 churches across Great Britain and

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2646-578: 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

2709-506: 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

2772-546: 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

2835-430: 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

2898-504: The distinctive calling to be a pastor or elder in the local church is a calling for men. It also recognises and encourages a wide calling of ministries within the church for women and men. FIEC is the largest corporate partner of Affinity , which was previously called the British Evangelical Council. They also believe that Ecumenism in the form of Churches Together is not a positive move, citing various reasons including

2961-548: 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

3024-554: 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

3087-509: 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

3150-511: 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

3213-516: The liberal stance of other churches. Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine , worship style and, sometimes, a founder. It is a secular and neutral term, generally used to denote any established Christian church. Unlike

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3276-854: 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 ,

3339-422: 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

3402-523: The present day to describe FIEC, because although a church has to be autonomous and self-governing to affiliate to the FIEC, one of the main purposes of FIEC is that local churches should work together to share resources as they seek to advance the Christian Faith. A number of churches joined FIEC when they separated from a denomination that moved away from what they considered to be historic orthodox biblical Christianity. For example, Westminster Chapel ,

3465-405: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title FIEC . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FIEC&oldid=1019704632 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

3528-519: 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

3591-409: 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

3654-436: 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

3717-473: 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

3780-399: 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

3843-509: 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

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3906-588: 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

3969-446: 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

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