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List of Christian denominations

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A Christian denomination 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 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).[1] These "denominational families" are often imprecisely also called denominations.

Christian denominations since the 20th century have often involved themselves in ecumenism. Ecumenism refers to efforts among Christian bodies to develop better understandings and closer relationships.[2][3] 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 the propagation of a certain doctrine.[4][5] The largest ecumenical organization in Christianity is the World Council of Churches.[6][3]

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 Wikipedia 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.

Terminology and qualification

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See also: List of Christian denominations by number of members

World Christianity by tradition in 2024 as per World Christian Database[7]

  Catholic (48.6%)
  Protestant (39.8%)
  Orthodox (11.1%)
  Other (0.5%)
 
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a center for Christian unity in Jerusalem

Christianity can be taxonomically divided into six main groups: the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Restorationism.[8][9] 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.[10] Major Protestant branches include Adventism, Anabaptism, Anglicanism, Baptists, Lutheranism, Methodism, Moravianism, Quakerism, Pentecostalism, Plymouth Brethren, Reformed Christianity, and Waldensianism.[10] Reformed Christianity itself includes the Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, Evangelical Anglican, Congregationalist, and Reformed Baptist traditions.[11] Anabaptist Christianity itself includes the Amish, Apostolic, Bruderhof, Hutterite, Mennonite, River Brethren, and Schwarzenau Brethren traditions.[12]

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.[13][14][15][16] Among those listed, some bodies included do not consider themselves denominations, though for the purpose of academic study of religion, they are categorized as a denomination, that is, "an organized body of Christians."[17] For example, the Catholic Church considers itself the one true church and the Holy See as pre-denominational.[18] The Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Church, also considers themselves to be the original Christian church along with the Catholic church.[19][20] The Lutheran Churches have viewed themselves as 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.[21] 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"),[5] or the launch of Pentecostalism to bestow a baptism with the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues on humanity.[22] 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, 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.[23] This also illustrates that denominations can arise not only from religious or theological issues, but political and generational divisions as well.

 
St. George's Cathedral in Istanbul

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 the local congregation; several groups within the Restoration Movement and congregational churches fall into this category.

 
Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City

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 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.[24] 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 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. the United Church of Christ).[25][26] 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 the Roman Catholic Church, would say are not denominations as they are in full papal communion, and thus part of the Catholic Church.[27] 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 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 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 Christian

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Main articles: Early Christianity and Christianity in the 1st century

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.[28] All modern Christian denominations are said to have descended from 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.[29] There are also other theories on the origin of Christianity.[30]

The following Christian groups appeared between the beginning of the Christian religion and the First Council of Nicaea in 325.

Gnosticism

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Main articles: Gnosticism, Proto-Gnosticism, and List of Gnostic sects

Late ancient and Medieval Christian

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Main articles: History of late ancient Christianity, History of Christianity during the Middle Ages, and State church of the Roman Empire

The following are groups of Christians appearing between 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 the 5th century.[31]

Church of the East

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Further information: Church of the East, Nestorianism, and Schism of 1552

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.[32] Declaring itself separate from the state church in 424–427, liturgically, it adhered to the East Syriac Rite.[31] Theologically, it adopted the dyophysite doctrine of Nestorianism, which emphasizes the separateness of the divine and human natures of Jesus, and addresses Mary as Christotokos instead of Theotokos; the Church of the East also largely practiced aniconism.[33][34] 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 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.[35]

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 the Pope of Rome), and the Assyrian Church of the East.[36][37] 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, the Assyrian, Ancient, Chaldean Syrian and Chaldean Catholic Church comprised over 1.6 million in 2018.[38][39][40][41]

Assyrian (Syriac) Christian

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Further information: Syriac Christianity

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 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.[42][39]

Oriental Orthodox

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Further information: Oriental Orthodox Churches

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.[43][44][45] These churches reject the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and those after it. They departed from the state church of the Roman Empire after the Chalcedonian Council.[46][45] 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 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.[47][48]

All canonical or mainstream Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the World Council of Churches,[45] though only five form the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches.[49] 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).[50]

Canonical Oriental Orthodox

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Independent Oriental Orthodox

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Eastern Orthodox

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Main article: Eastern Orthodoxy

Eastern Orthodoxy is one of the main Chalcedonian Christian branches, alongside Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.[51][52] Each Eastern Orthodox church considers itself part of the one true church, and pre-denominational. Though they consider themselves pre-denominational, being the original Church of Christ before 1054,[53][19] some scholars suggest the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches began after the East–West Schism.[54][55]

Canonical Eastern Orthodox

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Main articles: Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Church organization, Eastern Orthodox theology, and Western Rite Orthodoxy

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially 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.[56][57][58] 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 the Orthodox churches include the Moscow–Constantinople schisms of 1996 and 2018.[59][60][61][62] There are also independent churches subscribing to the Eastern Orthodox traditions.

Independent Eastern Orthodox

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Main article: Eastern Orthodox Church organization § Unrecognized churches

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 the mainstream church over issues of ecumenism and calendar reform since the 1920s;[63] 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.

True Orthodoxy

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Other Orthodox movements

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Catholic

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Main articles: Catholic Church and Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites
Further information: List of heresies in the Catholic Church and List of Catholic rites and churches

The Catholic Church, or Roman Catholic Church, 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,[64] 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, the original Church of Christ.[65][66] Continuity is claimed based upon apostolic succession with the early Church.[67] The Catholic population exceeds 1.3 billion as of 2016,[24] 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.

Latin (Roman) Catholic

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Further information: Latin Church

The Latin Church is the largest and most widely known of the 24 sui iuris churches that together make up the Catholic Church.[27] 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.[68]

Eastern (Oriental) Catholic

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Further information: Eastern Catholic Churches

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 the case of those that are of Greek/Byzantine tradition, concerning some non-doctrinal aspects of the Latin view of Purgatory and clerical celibacy).[69] 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.[70]

Alexandrian Rite
Armenian Rite
Byzantine Rite
East Syriac Rite
West Syriac Rite

Independent Catholic

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Main articles: Independent Catholicism and Old Catholic Church
Further information: Independent sacramental movement and List of Independent Catholic denominations

Independent Catholics consists of those denominations embodying catholicity, and have initially separated from the Latin Church in 1724 through the consecrations of bishops for the present-day Old Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht without papal approval.[71][72] 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.[73]

Catholic movements

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Protestant

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Main articles: Protestantism, Reformation, and List of the largest Protestant denominations

Protestantism is a movement within Christianity which owes its name to 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 the case of the English Reformation while others, such as with Luther's followers, were excommunicated after attempting reform.[74] 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 the universal priesthood of believers.[75]

The majority of contemporary Protestants are members of Adventism, Anglicanism, the Baptist churches, Calvinism (Reformed Protestantism), Lutheranism, Methodism and Pentecostalism.[76] Nondenominational, Evangelical, charismatic, neo-charismatic, independent, Convergence, and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity.[77]

This list gives only an overview, and certainly does not mention all of 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 a little over 1 billion Protestant Christians.[78][79]

Proto-Protestant

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Main article: Proto-Protestantism

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 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; 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.

Arnoldists
Berengarians
Devotio Moderna
Friends of God
Henricans
Hussites
Lollards
Pataria
Petrobrusians
Piagnoni
Strigolniki
Waldensians

Lutheran

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Main articles: Lutheranism and List of Lutheran denominations
See also: Lutheran church bodies in North America

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 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.[80][81][82][83] The largest non-United Lutheran denomination was the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, an Eastern Protestant Christian group.[84]

Radical Pietist

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Main article: Radical Pietism

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 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.[85] Although the Radical Pietists broke with Lutheranism, its influence on Anglicanism, in particular John Wesley, led to the spawning of the Methodist movement.

Reformed

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Main articles: Calvinism and List of Reformed denominations

Calvinism, also known as 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 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.[86][87][88]

Continental Reformed churches

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Main article: Continental Reformed church

Presbyterianism

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Main article: Presbyterianism
See also: List of Presbyterian denominations in North America

Congregationalism

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Main article: Congregational church

Anglican

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Main article: Anglicanism

Anglicanism or Episcopalianism has referred to itself as the via media between Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity,[89] as well as between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.[90][91] 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 was once common, it is controversial today, with some rejecting the label and others accepting it. Anglicans numbered over 85 million in 2018.[92]

Anglican Communion

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United and Uniting churches

Other Anglican churches and Continuing Anglican movement

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Main article: Continuing Anglican movement

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.[93] A select few of these churches are recognized by certain individual provinces of the Anglican Communion.

Anabaptist

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Main article: Anabaptists

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[who?] Anabaptists.[94] 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 the Pilgrim Mennonite Conference, Beachy Amish and Dunkard Brethren Church), and mainline/assimilated Anabaptism.

Amish
Hutterites
Mennonites
River Brethren
Schwarzenau Brethren
Other Anabaptists

Baptist

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Main article: Baptists
See also: List of Baptist confessions, List of Baptist denominations, and List of Reformed Baptist denominations

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.[86][95]

Baptist movements

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Methodist

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Main articles: Methodism and List of Methodist denominations
Further information: Holiness movement, Wesleyan theology, and Conservative holiness movement

The Methodist movement emerged out the work of Anglican priest John Wesley, who taught a personal conversion to Christ (the New Birth) and holiness of heart.[96] Calling it "the grand depositum" of the Methodist faith, Wesley specifically taught that the propagation of the doctrine of entire sanctification was the reason that God raised up the Methodists in the world.[5] While some Methodists retained the episcopacy (such as the Free Methodist Church, Global Methodist Church and United Methodist Church), others, such as the Congregational Methodist Church have a congregational polity. Methodists were among the first Christians to accept women's ordination since the Montanists. Some 60-80 million Christians are Methodists and members of the World Methodist Council.[86][97][98] The holiness movement emerged within Methodism in the 19th-century.[A] As of 2015, churches of the movement had an estimated 12 million adherents.[101] As Methodist denominations have historically preached two works of grace taught by John Wesley, (1) New Birth and (2) entire sanctification, and many denominations aligned with the holiness movement use Methodist in their name, it is difficult to draw a line between Holiness Methodist denominations and those not aligned with the holiness movement.[102][103] For example, the Free Methodist Church and the Church of the Nazarene are widely regarded as being aligned with the holiness movement and are core members of the World Methodist Council, along with denominations with mixed churchmanship, such as the United Methodist Church.[99]

Albright Brethren

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The Albright Brethren were organized under the leadership of Jacob Albright, who converted to Methodism and preached to German-speaking people. Although the majority of the Albright Brethren merged with the United Brethren, two extant bodies continue today:

Evening Light

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Churches of the Evening Light Reformation in 1880 emerged under the direction of Daniel Sidney Warner, and while they emerged under the influence of the holiness movement, they adhere to a position of antidenominationalism.[104] Classified as Holiness Restorationists, the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) was the original work founded by Warner and its conservative holiness offshoot is the Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma).[105] While the Church of God (Restoration) is listed here, it is distinguished from the two aforementioned bodies by unique doctrines that have taken it in a direction of its own.[106]

Keswickian

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Main article: Higher Life movement

The Higher Life movement emerged in the United Kingdom and emphasized the importance of sanctification, "the deeper and higher life".[107] It became popularized through the Keswick Conventions; W.E. Boardman's Keswickian theology had an influence on A.B. Simpson, who established the Christian and Missionary Alliance.[108]

Quaker

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Main article: Quakers

Quakers, or Friends, originated under the work of George Fox, who taught personal conversion to Christ, along with the doctrine of Christian perfection.[109][110] The Friends have historically held that Christians are guided by the inward light to "make the witness of God" known to everyone.[111]

Shaker

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Main article: Shakers

The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing was founded by Jane Wardley, Ann Lee, and Lucy Wright in 1747. At present, one active Shaker community remains, the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village.[112]

Plymouth Brethren

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Main article: Plymouth Brethren

Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, low church, non-conformist, evangelical Christian movement whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s, originating from Anglicanism.[113]

Irvingist

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Main article: Catholic Apostolic Church

The Catholic Apostolic churches were born out of the 1830s revival started in London by the teachings of Edward Irving, and out of the resultant Catholic Apostolic Church movement.[114]

Pentecostal and Charismatic

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Further information: Pentecostalism and Charismatic Christianity
See also: § Oneness Pentecostalism

Pentecostalism and Charismatic Christianity began in the 1900s. The two movements emphasize direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. They represent some of the largest growing movements in Protestant Christianity.[115] Pentecostalism is divided between its original branch, Holiness Pentecostalism (which teaches three works of grace) and Finished Work Pentecostalism (which views sanctification only in a progressive manner). Oneness Pentecostalism, which rejects the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, split from Finished Work Pentecostalism and is covered in its own section in this article. The charismatic movement was established within historic denominational traditions due to influence from Pentecostalism, e.g. the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Roman Catholicism. According to the Pew Research Center, Pentecostals and Charismatics numbered some 280 million people in 2011.[82]

Holiness Pentecostalism

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Main article: Holiness Pentecostalism

Finished Work Pentecostalism

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Main article: Finished Work Pentecostalism

Charismatics

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Main article: Charismatic Christianity

Neo-charismatic movement

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Main article: Neo-charismatic movement

Convergence

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Main article: Convergence Movement

The Convergence Movement originated from "The Chicago Call" in 1977, urging evangelical Protestants to reconnect with the liturgical historic roots of the Christian Church.[116] It emphasizes the convergence of sacramental, evangelical, and charismatic streams;[117] promoting biblical fidelity, creedal identity, and church unity.

Uniting and united

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Main article: United and uniting churches

These united or uniting churches are the result of a merger between distinct denominational churches (e.g., Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians and the Continental Reformed churches). As ecumenism progresses, unions between various Protestants are becoming more and more common, resulting in a growing number of united and uniting churches. Major examples of uniting churches are the United Protestant Church of France (2013) and the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (2004).[118][119] Churches are listed here when their disparate heritage marks them as inappropriately listed in the particular categories above.

Stone–Campbellite

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Main article: Stone–Campbell Movement

Nondenominational Christianity arose in the 18th century through the Stone–Campbell Movement, with followers organizing themselves simply as "Christians" and "Disciples of Christ".[B][120][122][123] The Stone–Campbell Movement was led by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell.[122]

Adventism

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Main article: Adventism

Adventism originated from the work of William Miller, who preached the end of the world and the second coming of Christ in 1843/44.[124] After the Great Disappointment, this year was reinterpreted by Adventists as being the start of the investigative judgment.[125]

Sunday observing
Saturday observing
Other Adventist

Nondenominational and other Evangelicals

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Main articles: Nondenominational Christianity and Evangelicalism

The term Evangelical appears with the Reformation and reblossoms in the 18th and 19th centuries.[126] Evangelical Protestantism modernly understood is an inter-denominational Protestant movement which maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ's atonement.[127]

International Evangelicalism

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Main article: Internet church

African Evangelicalism

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Main article: Zionist Churches
See also: African-initiated church
P'ent'ay
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Main article: P'ent'ay

P'ent'ay, simply known as Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelicalism, are a group of indigenous Protestant Eastern Baptist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, and Mennonite denominations in full communion with each other and believe that Ethiopian and Eritrean Evangelicalism are the reformation of the current Orthodox Tewahedo churches as well as the restoration of it to original Ethiopian Christianity. They uphold that in order for a person to be saved one has to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of sins; and to receive Christ one must be "born again" (dagem meweled).[128] Its members make up a significant portion of the 2 million Eastern Protestant tradition.

Eastern Protestant

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Main article: Eastern Protestant Christianity

These churches resulted from a post–1800s reformation of Eastern Christianity, in line with Protestant beliefs and practices.

Defunct Protestant churches and movements

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These are protestant denominations, movements and organizations that existed historically, but no longer exist in modern times.

Other Protestant churches and movements

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These are denominations, movements, and organizations deriving from mainstream Protestantism but are not classifiable under historic or current Protestant movements nor as parachurch organizations.

Miscellaneous

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The following are independent and non-mainstream movements, denominations and organizations formed during various times in the history of Christianity by splitting from mainline Catholicism, Eastern or Oriental Orthodoxy, or Protestantism not classified in the previous lists.

Christian Identitist

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Main article: Christian Identity

Esoteric Christianity

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Main articles: Esoteric Christianity and Western esotericism

Neo-Gnostic

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Main article: Neo-Gnosticism

Judeo-Christian

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Main articles: Judaizers and Judeo-Christian
See also: Christian Zionism and List of Sabbath-keeping churches

Messianic Judaism

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Main article: Messianic Judaism

Nontrinitarian

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Main article: Nontrinitarianism
See also: Christomonism

These groups or organizations diverge from historic trinitarian theology (usually based on the Council of Nicaea) with different interpretations of Nontrinitarianism.

Bible Students and splinter groups

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Main article: Bible Student movement

Christian Science

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Main article: Christian Science

Latter Day Saint movement

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Main articles: Latter Day Saint movement and Mormonism
See also: List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement and Mormonism and Christianity

Most Latter Day Saint denominations are derived from the Church of Christ established by Joseph Smith in 1830. The largest worldwide denomination of this movement, and the one publicly recognized as Mormonism, is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some sects, known as the "Prairie Saints", broke away because they did not recognize Brigham Young as the head of the church, and did not follow him West in the mid-1800s. Other sects broke away over the abandonment of practicing plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto. Other denominations are defined by either a belief in Joseph Smith as a prophet or acceptance of the Book of Mormon as scripture. The Latter Day Saints comprise over 17 million members collectively.

Swedenborgianism

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Main article: The New Church

Unitarianism and Universalism

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Main articles: Unitarianism and Christian Universalism

Oneness Pentecostalism

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Main article: Oneness Pentecostalism

Other Nontrinitarians

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Chinese salvationist and other East Asian

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Main article: Chinese salvationist religions

Southcottist

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Main article: Southcottism

Other

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Parachurch

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Main articles: Ecumenism and Parachurch organization

Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. These organizations are not churches but work with churches or represent a coalition of churches.

Ideologies

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Main article: List of Christian movements

A Christian movement is a theological, political, or philosophical interpretation of Christianity that is not necessarily represented by a specific church, sect, or denomination.

British Israelism

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Main article: British Israelism

Syncretic

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Main article: Syncretism
See also: Folk Catholicism and Folk Orthodoxy

The relation of these movements to other Christian ideas can be remote. They are listed here because they include some elements of Christian practice or beliefs, within religious contexts which may be only loosely characterized as Christian.

African diaspora religions

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African diaspora religions are a number of related religions that developed in the Americas in various nations of the Caribbean, Latin America and the Southern United States. They derive from traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity and Islam. Examples incorporating elements of Christianity include but are not limited to:

New Thought

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Main article: New Thought

The relation of New Thought to Christianity is not defined as exclusive; some of its adherents see themselves as solely practicing Christianity, while adherents of Religious Science say "yes and no" to the question of whether they consider themselves to be Christian in belief and practice, leaving it up to the individual to define oneself spiritually.

Other syncretists

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Other Christian or Christian-influenced syncretic traditions and movements include:

Historical movements with strong syncretic influence from Christianity but no active modern membership include

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ The vast majority of denominations aligned with the holiness movement are Methodist, with the largest ones belonging to the World Methodist Council, such as the Free Methodist Church, Global Methodist Church, Wesleyan Methodist Church, and the Church of the Nazarene, along with a significant holiness contingent in other Methodist denominations, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.[99] The holiness movement did affect other non-Methodist denominations as well, including Anabaptists, Baptists, Quakers and Restorationists; the Brethren in Christ Church is an example of a River Brethren Anabaptist denomination aligned with the holiness movement, while the Central Yearly Meeting of Friends is an example of a Quaker denomination aligned with the holiness movement.[100] For those denominations, see the relevant section, such as those discussing Anabaptism and Quakerism.
  2. ^ The first nondenominational Christian churches which emerged through the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement are tied to associations such as the Churches of Christ or the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).[120][121]

Citations

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  1. ^ "Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity". courses.lumenlearning.com. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Ecumenism". Anglican Communion Website. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "The WCC as a Fellowship of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  4. ^ McGoldrick, James Edward (1 January 1994). Baptist Successionism: A Crucial Question in Baptist History. Scarecrow Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9780810836815. Although the two most popular textbooks used in America to teach Baptist history cite Holland and England early in the seventeenth century as the birthplace of the Baptist churches, many Baptists object vehemently and argue that their history can be traced across the centuries to New Testament times. Some Baptists deny categorically that they are Protestants and that the history of their churches is related to the success of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Those who reject the Protestant character and Reformation origins of the Baptists usually maintain a view of church history sometimes called "Baptist successionism" and claim that Baptists have represented the true church, which must be, and has been, present in every period of history. The popularity of the successionist view has been enhanced enormously by a booklet entitled The Trail of Blood, of which thousands of copies have been distributed since it was published in 1931.
  5. ^ a b c Davies, Rupert E.; George, A. Raymond; Rupp, Gordon (2017). A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain, Volume Three. Wipf & Stock Publishers. p. 225. ISBN 978-1532630507.
  6. ^ "History of the World Council of Churches". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Status of Global Christianity, 2024, in the Context of 1900–2050" (PDF). Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Christian total 2,631,941,000, Catholic total 1,278,009,000 (48.6%), Wider Protestant total including Independents 1,047,295,000 (39.8%), Orthodox total including Eastern and Oriental 293,158,000 (11.1%)
  8. ^ Riswold, Caryn D. (1 October 2009). Feminism and Christianity: Questions and Answers in the Third Wave. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-62189-053-9.
  9. ^ Gao, Ronnie Chuang-Rang; Sawatsky, Kevin (7 February 2023). "Motivations in Faith-Based Organizations". Houston Christian University. Retrieved 22 November 2023. For example, Christianity comprises six major groups: Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Restorationism.
  10. ^ a b Encyclopedia of World Religions. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. ISBN 978-1-59339-491-2. Amid all this diversity, however, it is possible to define Protestantism formally as non-Roman Western Christianity and to divide most of Protestantism into four major confessions or confessional families – Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed, and Free Church.
  11. ^ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1987. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-85229-443-7.
  12. ^ Brewer, Brian C. (30 December 2021). T&T Clark Handbook of Anabaptism. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 564. ISBN 978-0-567-68950-4.
  13. ^ Lewis, Paul W.; Mittelstadt, Martin William (27 April 2016). What's So Liberal about the Liberal Arts?: Integrated Approaches to Christian Formation. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4982-3145-9. The Second Great Awakening (1790-1840) spurred a renewed interest in primitive Christianity. What is known as the Restoration Movement of the nineteenth century gave birth to an array of groups: Mormons (The Latter Day Saint Movement), the Churches of Christ, Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Though these groups demonstrate a breathtaking diversity on the continuum of Christianity they share an intense restorationist impulse. Picasso and Stravinsky reflect a primitivism that came to the fore around the turn of the twentieth century that more broadly has been characterized as a "retreat from the industrialized world."
  14. ^ Bloesch, Donald G. (2 December 2005). The Holy Spirit: Works Gifts. InterVarsity Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8308-2755-8.
  15. ^ Spinks, Bryan D. (2 March 2017). Reformation and Modern Rituals and Theologies of Baptism: From Luther to Contemporary Practices. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-90583-1. However, Swedenborg claimed to receive visions and revelations of heavenly things and a 'New Church', and the new church which was founded upon his writings was a Restorationist Church. The three nineteenth-century churches are all examples of Restorationist Churches, which believed they were refounding the Apostolic Church, and preparing for the Second Coming of Christ.
  16. ^ Lewis, Paul W.; Mittelstadt, Martin William (27 April 2016). What's So Liberal about the Liberal Arts?: Integrated Approaches to Christian Formation. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4982-3145-9. The Second Great Awakening (1790-1840) spurred a renewed interest in primitive Christianity. What is known as the Restoration Movement of the nineteenth century gave birth to an array of groups: Mormons (The Latter Day Saint Movement), the Churches of Christ, Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Though these groups demonstrate a breathtaking diversity on the continuum of Christianity they share an intense restorationist impulse. Picasso and Stravinsky reflect a primitivism that came to the fore around the turn of the twentieth century that more broadly has been characterized as a "retreat from the industrialized world."
  17. ^ Ballantine, Jeanne H.; Roberts, Keith A. (17 November 2008). Our Social World: Introduction to Sociology. Pine Forge Press. p. 400. ISBN 978-1-4129-6818-8.
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  21. ^ Junius Benjamin Remensnyder (1893). The Lutheran Manual. Boschen & Wefer Company. p. 12.
  22. ^ Yongnan, Jeon Ahn (21 May 2019). Interpretation of Tongues and Prophecy in 1 Corinthians 12-14, with a Pentecostal Hermeneutics. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 9-10. ISBN 978-90-04-39717-0.
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  43. ^ Lamport, Mark A. (2018). Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 601. ISBN 978-1-4422-7157-9. Today these churches are also referred to as the Oriental Orthodox Churches and are made up of 50 million Christians.
  44. ^ "Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 8 November 2017. Oriental Orthodoxy has separate self-governing jurisdictions in Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Armenia and Syria, and it accounts for roughly 20% of the worldwide Orthodox population.
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  77. ^ World Council of Churches: Evangelical churches: "Evangelical churches have grown exponentially in the second half of the 20th century and continue to show great vitality, especially in the global South. This resurgence may in part be explained by the phenomenal growth of Pentecostalism and the emergence of the charismatic movement, which are closely associated with evangelicalism. However, there can be no doubt that the evangelical tradition "per se" has become one of the major components of world Christianity. Evangelicals also constitute sizable minorities in the traditional Protestant and Anglican churches. In regions like Africa and Latin America, the boundaries between "evangelical" and "mainline" are rapidly changing and giving way to new ecclesial realities."
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  99. ^ a b Fahlbusch, Erwin; Bromiley, Geoffrey William (1999). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 513. ISBN 978-0-8028-2415-8. Some denominations belonging to the World Methodist Council are international in character. These bodies are the United Methodist Church, Wesleyan Church, Free Methodist Church, Church of the Nazarene, and three historic black denominations—the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, and Christian Methodist Episcopal Churches.
  100. ^ Angell, Stephen W.; Dandelion, Pink; Watt, David Harrington (28 April 2023). The Creation of Modern Quaker Diversity, 1830–1937. Penn State Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-271-09576-9.
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  103. ^ Sanders, Fred (31 August 2013). Wesley on the Christian Life: The Heart Renewed in Love. Crossway. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-4335-2487-5. Wesley's understanding of the normative Christian experience was that after conversion, believers would have a gradual expansion of their knowledge and understanding of their own sin and of God's holiness. With the regenerate nature working within them, the increasing awareness of spiritual reality would produce a mounting tension, with greater grief over sin an greater desire to be delivered from it. Then, at a time and in a manner that pleased him, God would answer the Christian's faithful prayer for a deliverance from indwelling sin. Wesley thought this change happened in a moment, just like regeneration itself, although Methodists reported different levels of awareness of it: "an instantaneous change has been wrought in some believers," but "in some...they did not perceive the instant when it was wrought." The pattern was event-process-event-process; conversion, gradual growth, entire sanctification, then more gradual growth. Concluding his 1764 review of the subject, Wesley wrote, "All our Preachers should make a point of preaching perfection to believers constantly, strongly, and explicitly; and all believers should mind this one thing, and continually agonize for it." An in letters through the 1770s, we hear Wesley urging that: "Never be ashamed of the old Methodist doctrine. Press all believers to go on to perfection. Insist everywhere on the second blessing as receivable now, by simple faith." There are several threads woven together in the Wesleyan teaching on Christian perfection. Everything Wesley has taught about the distinction between justification and sanctification, of regeneration as initial sanctification, and about the Christian life as being normed and formed by the law comes together here. To this are joined new threads such as the idea of a second definite work of grace subsequent to conversion, and the need to ask God for that second blessing. But the dominant theme in Wesley's teaching on Christian perfection is the renewed heart.
  104. ^ Goff, Philip (25 March 2010). The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America. John Wiley & Sons. p. 574. ISBN 978-1-4443-2409-9.
  105. ^ Melton, J. Gordon (1987). The Encyclopedia of American Religions. Gale Research Company. p. 287. ISBN 978-0-8103-2133-5. In doctrine and practice the Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma) is almost identical with the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), but it is stricter in its practice of holiness and refusal to compromise with the world.
  106. ^ Indianapolis Monthly. Emmis Communications. 2005. p. 256-257.
  107. ^ Sanner, A. Elwood; Harper, Albert Foster (1978). Exploring Christian Education. Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-8341-0494-5.
  108. ^ Burgess, Stanley M.; Maas, Eduard M. van der (3 August 2010). The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements: Revised and Expanded Edition. Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-87335-8. A.B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA), influenced by A.J. Gordon and W.E. Boardman, adopted a Keswickian understanding of sanctification.
  109. ^ Dandelion, Pink, 'Who are the Quakers?', The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (Oxford, 2008; online edn, Oxford Academic, 24 Sept. 2013)
  110. ^ Stewart, Kathleen Anne (1992). The York Retreat in the Light of the Quaker Way: Moral Treatment Theory: Humane Therapy Or Mind Control?. William Sessions. ISBN 978-1-85072-089-8. On the other hand, Fox believed that perfectionism and freedom from sin were possible in this world.
  111. ^ Hodge, Charles (12 March 2015). Systematic Theology. Delmarva Publications, Inc. p. 137. This spiritual illumination is peculiar to the true people of God; the inward lihgt, in which the Quakers believe, is common to all men. The design and effect of the "inward light" are the communication of new truth, or of truth not objectively revealed, as well as the spiritual discernment of the truths of Scripture. The design and effect of spiritual illumination are the proper apprehension of truth already speculatively known. Secondly. By the inner light the orthodox Quakers understand the supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit, concerning which they teach, – (1.) That it is given to all men. (2.) That it not only convinces of sin, and enables the soul to apprehend aright the truths of Scripture, but also communicates a knowledge of "the mysteries of salvation." ... The orthodox Friends teach concerning this inward light, as has been already shown, that it is subordinate to the Holy Scriptures, inasmuch as the Scriptures are the infallible rule of faith and practice, and everything contrary thereto is to be rejected as false and destructive.
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  117. ^ Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (10 November 2016). Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-4432-0.
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  120. ^ a b The Journal of American History. Oxford University Press. 1997. p. 1400. Richard T. Hughes, professor of religion at Pepperdine University, argues that the Churches of Christ built a corporate identity around "restoration" of the primitive church and the corresponding belief that their congregations represented a nondenominational Christianity.
  121. ^ Barnett, Joe R. (2020). "Who are the Churches of Christ". Southside Church of Christ. Retrieved 7 December 2020. Not A Denomination: For this reason, we are not interested in man-made creeds, but simply in the New Testament pattern. We do not conceive of ourselves as being a denomination–nor as Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish—but simply as members of the church which Jesus established and for which he died. And that, incidentally, is why we wear his name. The term "church of Christ" is not used as a denominational designation, but rather as a descriptive term indicating that the church belongs to Christ.
  122. ^ a b Hughes, Richard Thomas; Roberts, R. L. (2001). The Churches of Christ. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-313-23312-8. Barton Stone was fully prepared to ally himself with Alexander Campbell in an effort to promote nondenominational Christianity, though it is evident that the two men came to this emphasis by very different routes.
  123. ^ Cherok, Richard J. (14 June 2011). Debating for God: Alexander Campbell's Challenge to Skepticism in Antebellum America. ACU Press. ISBN 978-0-89112-838-0. Later proponents of Campbell's views would refer to themselves as the "Restoration Movement" because of the Campbellian insistence on restoring Christianity to its New Testament form. ... Added to this mix were the concepts of American egalitarianism, which gave rise to his advocacy of nondenominational individualism and local church autonomy, and Christian primitivism, which led to his promotion of such early church practices as believer's baptism by immersion and the weekly partaking of the Lord's Supper.
  124. ^ Mayer, Robert J. (16 February 2017). Adventism Confronts Modernity: An Account of the Advent Christian Controversy over the Bible's Inspiration. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4982-9526-0.
  125. ^ MacPherson, Anthony (26 September 2022). "Investigative Judgment". Encyclopedia of Seventh-Day Adventists. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  126. ^ Kidd, Thomas (20 March 2018). "When Did Evangelical Christianity Begin?". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  127. ^ "Glossary | Operation World". www.operationworld.org. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  128. ^ "Evangelical Church Fellowship of Ethiopia". www.ecfethiopia.org. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
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