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Branches Of Christianity: An Explanation Of The 4 Different Types of Christianity

Within Christianity, the Christian denomination is a distinct religious body, it comprises all church congregations of the same kind, particular history, leadership, organization, and theological doctrine. Unlike a cult, a denomination is usually seen as part of the Christian religious mainstream. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine.

Several groups claim that they are the direct and sole authentic successor of the church that was founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. Most Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, practices, and beliefs. 

The four largest branches of Christianity are Protestantism, the Eastern Orthodox church, the Catholic church, and the Oriental Orthodox Church. However, there are thousands of smaller church communities that exist despite efforts towards ecumenism.

1. The Catholic Church

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The Roman Catholic Church is the largest church, it has 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2019. It’s one of the world’s oldest and largest international institutions and plays a prominent historical role. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches that follow the Catholic canon law. These churches include the Latin church and 23 Eastern Catholic churches of almost 3,500 dioceses, and eparchies which are located around the world.

Catholicism beliefs are found in the Nicene Creed, which is mainstream Christianity’s defining statement of belief. The Nicene Creed is part of the profession of faith that is required in important functions within the Orthodox and Catholic churches.

The Catholic church has thousands of Catholic schools, hospitals, orphanages, universities, and colleges around the world. It is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world. It is also among other social services that are numerous charitable and humanitarian organizations.

The Catholic church is responsible for influencing culture, art, music, science, and Western philosophy. Catholics live all over the world through diaspora, conversions, and missions.

2. The Eastern Orthodox Church

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The Orthodox Church is the second-largest Christian church, it has approximately 220 million baptized members. The church is governed by its bishops via local synods. It is one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the church has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

The Eastern Orthodox Church officially calls itself the Orthodox Catholic church. The church teaches the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church that Jesus Christ established. The church maintains its practices in the original Christain faith as it was passed down by holy tradition.

The church uses baptism as a way to unite the person to the Body of Christ and become a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. During the ceremony, the catechumen is fully immersed in the water three times in the name of the Trinity. They consider this as the death of the old man and rebirth into a new life in Christ. Baptisms are only carried out by bishops and priests, however, during emergencies, any Eastern Orthodox Christian can baptize. 

The Eucharist is only received by baptized and chrismated Eastern Orthodox Christians who have prepared by prayer, confession, and fasting. Baptized infants and children are carried to the chalice to receive holy communion.

3. Protestantism

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Protestantism follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation. It is a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century. Protestantism focuses on the Christain believer’s justification by God in faith alone rather than a combination of faith with good works. They have various views on the number of sacraments, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, apostolic succession, and matters of ecclesiastical polity.

Protestantism is the second-largest form of Christianity today, it has a total of 800 million to 1 billion members worldwide. Protestants are labeled as an adherent of any Christian body that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation. Unlike most beliefs, protestants also adhere to the Nicene Creed and believe in the Trinity. However, during the time of the Protestant Reformation, many in the movement rejected the Trinity. This led to the exclusion of certain groups that were from Protestantism.

Baptists are a major branch of Protestantism, it’s distinguished by baptizing and professing Christian believers only. Baptist churches generally recognize two ministerial offices, pastors, and deacons. Baptist churches are vastly considered to be Protestant churches. The Baptist World Alliance has more than 41 million members in more than 150,000 congregations worldwide. In 2002, it was noted that there were over 100 million Baptists and Baptistic groups members worldwide.

Protestants believe that they are allowed to explore God’s creation and make use of it in a sustainable and responsible way. Believers are to follow God’s commandments and things like discipline, calling, industry, frugality, and responsibility are their moral codes. The Protestant work ethic was an important force behind the unplanned and uncoordinated mass action which influenced the development of capitalism.

4. The Oriental Orthodox Churches

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Oriental Orthodox churches are Eastern Christian churches that stick to the Miasphysite Christology. It has approximately 60 million members worldwide. The churches are part of the Nicee Christian tradition and represent one of its oldest branches.

Their doctrine recognizes the validity of only the first three ecumenical councils. The churches played an important role in the history and culture of Armenia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan, India, and Western Asia. 

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are famous for their recognition of only the first three ecumenical councils which are the First Council of Constantinople, the Council of Ephesus, and the First Council of Nicaea. Oriental Orthodoxy shares many ecclesiastical traditions with the Eastern Orthodox Church like the similar doctrine of salvation, use of the Nicene Creed, reverence of the Theotokos, and tradition of collegiality between bishops.

The churches are a communion of six administratively independent regional churches. It is unclear whether or not each church defined the geographical boundaries of its jurisdiction. They are ruled by the council of bishops or synod presided by a senior bishop. Each regional church consists of constituent dioceses that are ruled by a bishop.

Oriental Orthodoxy in North America represents members, institutions, communities, and organizations of Oriental Orthodox Christianity in North America which includes, Canada, Mexico, the United States, and other North American states. Most of the adherents in North America belong to Coptic, Ethiopian, Indian, Armenian, Syriac, and Eritrean communities which represent a majority or minority within the particular community.