DENOMINATIONS of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH

THE ORTHODOX CHURCHES

One of the three branches of world Christianity and the major Christian church in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the Orthodox church, also sometimes called the Eastern church, or the Greek Orthodox, or Orthodox Catholic church, claims to have preserved the original and apostolic Christian faith. Figures for its worldwide membership range from 100 to 200 million, depending on the method of accounting.
STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION
The Orthodox church is a fellowship of administratively independent, or autocephalous (self-governing) local churches, united in faith, sacraments, and canonical discipline, each enjoying the right to elect its own head and its bishops. Traditionally, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul) is recognized as the "first among equal" Orthodox bishops. He possesses privileges of chairmanship and initiative but no direct doctrinal or administrative authority.
The other heads of autocephalous churches, in order of precedence, are: the patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, with jurisdiction over Africa; the patriarch of Antioch, now residing in Damascus, Syria, and heading Arab-speaking Orthodox Christians in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq; the patriarch of Jerusalem, with jurisdiction over Palestine; the patriarch of Moscow and all Russia; the patriarch-catholicos of Georgia (USSR); the patriarch of Serbia (Yugoslavia); the patriarch of Romania; the patriarch of Bulgaria; the archbishop of Cyprus; the archbishop of Athens and all Greece; the metropolitan of Warsaw and all Poland; the archbishop of Albania (presently suppressed); the metropolitan of Prague and all Czechoslovakia; and the archbishop of New York and North America.
Three autonomous churches also enjoy a large degree of independence, although the election of their primate is subject to nominal approval by a mother church. These are the churches of Crete and Finland, under Constantinople, and the church of Japan, under Moscow. The autocephalous and autonomous churches differ greatly in size and membership. The churches of Russia (50-90 million) and Romania (21 million) are by far the largest, whereas some of the ancient patriarchates of the Middle East, including Constantinople, are reduced to a few thousand members.
The patriarch of Constantinople, however, also exercises jurisdiction over Greek-speaking churches outside Greece and controls, for example, the Greek archdiocese of America, which is distinct from the Orthodox church in America, listed among the autocephalous churches. In Greece the Orthodox church is the established religion. Long repressed in the USSR and the Communist countries of Eastern Europe, it experienced renewed freedom with the removal of restrictions on religion during the Gorbachev era.
HISTORY
Historically, the contemporary Orthodox Church stands in direct continuity with the earliest Christian communities founded in regions of the Eastern Mediterranean by the apostles of Jesus. The subsequent destinies of Christianity in those areas were shaped by the transfer (320) of the imperial capital from Rome to Constantinople by Constantine I. As a consequence, during the first 8 centuries of Christian history most major intellectual, cultural, and social developments in the Christian church also took place in that region; for example, all ecumenical councils of that period met either in Constantinople or in its vicinity.
Missionaries, coming from Constantinople, converted the Slavs and other peoples of Eastern Europe to Christianity (Bulgaria, 864; Russia, 988) and translated Scripture and liturgical texts into the vernacular languages used in the various regions. Thus, the liturgy, traditions, and practices of the church of Constantinople were adopted by all and still provide the basic patterns and ethos of contemporary Orthodoxy.
These developments, however, were not always consistent with the evolution of Western Christianity, where the bishop of Rome, or pope, came to be considered the successor of the apostle Peter and head of the universal church by divine appointment. Eastern Christians were willing to accept the pope only as first among patriarchs. This difference in approach explains the various incidents that grew into a serious estrangement.
One of the most vehement disputes concerned the filioque clause of the Nicene Creed, which the Western church added unilaterally to the original text. The schism developed gradually. The first major breach came in the 9th century when the pope refused to recognize the election of PHOTIUS as patriarch of Constantinople. Photius in turn challenged the right of the papacy to rule on the matter and denounced the filioque clause as a Western innovation.
The mounting disputes between East and West reached another climax in 1054, when mutual anathemas were exchanged (see SCHISM, GREAT). The sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth CRUSADE (1204) intensified Eastern hostility toward the West. Attempts at reconciliation at the councils of Lyon (1274) and Florence (1438-39) were unsuccessful. When the papacy defined itself as infallible (First VATICAN COUNCIL, 1870), the gulf between East and West grew wider. Only since the Second VATICAN COUNCIL (1962-65) has the movement reversed, bringing serious attempts at mutual understanding.
DOCTINES and PRACTICES
The Orthodox church recognizes as authoritative the decisions of the seven ecumenical councils that met between 325 and 787 and defined the basic doctrines on the TRINITY and the INCARNATION. In later centuries Orthodox councils also made doctrinal definitions on GRACE (1341, 1351) and took a stand in reference to Western teachings. The Orthodox church accepts the early traditions of Christianity, including the same sacraments as the Roman Catholic church -- although in the Orthodox church infants receive the Eucharist and confirmation -- and the episcopate and the priesthood, understood in the light of APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION.
Married men may become priests, but bishops and monks may not marry. The veneration of MARY, as Mother of God is central to Orthodox worship, and the intercession of saints is emphasized in the Orthodox liturgical tradition. After an early controversy on the subject (see ICONOCLASM), the images, or ICONS, of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints are now seen as visible witnesses to the fact that God has taken human flesh in the person of Jesus.
The LITURGY used by the Orthodox church is known as the Byzantine rite. It has been translated from Greek into many languages, including the Old Church Slavonic used by the Russian Orthodox church. The liturgy is always sung, and communion is distributed to the congregation in both kinds (bread and wine).
MONASTICISM, which had its origins in the Christian East (Egypt, Syria, Cappadocia), has since been considered in the Orthodox church as a prophetic ministry of men and women, showing through their mode of life the action of the Holy Spirit. The monastic republic of Mount ATHOS, Greece, is still viewed among Orthodox Christians as a center of spiritual vitality.
The Orthodox church has been generally quite open to the contemporary ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT. One by one, the autocephalous churches have all joined the Protestant-initiated WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, without modifying their own view on Christian unity, but considering the council as an acceptable forum for dialogue and cooperation with other Christians. The recent steps taken by the Roman Catholic church and the decrees of the Second Vatican Council were seen by the Orthodox as promising groundwork for the future, and this positive reaction was witnessed by several meetings between Orthodox and Catholic leaders, including participation by Vatican representatives in ceremonies marking the thousandth anniversary of Russian Christianity in 1988.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE METHODIST CHURCH

Methodism is the name given to a group of Protestant churches that arose from the 18th-century Wesleyan movement in England led by John and Charles Wesley and George WHITEFIELD. Although centred in the British Isles and North America, Methodism has spread worldwide. The total world community is estimated at about 26 million; the largest single group is the United Methodist Church in the United States, with about 9 million members.
The origins of Methodism are inseparable from the careers of the Wesley brothers. In 1738, influenced by the Moravians, they organised small "societies" within the Church of England for religious sharing, Bible study, prayer, and preaching. Doctrine was based on an Arminian interpretation of the THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES but emphasised personal experience of conversion, assurance, and sanctification.
The Wesleys and their associate Whitefield travelled widely, preaching to large and enthusiastic crowds of working people. The movement spread through most of England. A striking growth took place in Ireland, and to a lesser extent in Wales and Scotland. To preserve personal fellowship, "bands" and "class meetings" were formed, and the whole was brought together (1744) by John Wesley in the British Conference.
When John Wesley died in 1791 the relationship between the Methodists and the Church of England was unclear, although Wesley's ordination of "clergy" for work in America made a breach likely. The separation was formalized when the Conference of 1795 asserted that Methodist preachers could administer sacraments without ordination by the Church of England.
A number of divisions soon took place among the Methodists. The Methodist New Connection, the Primitive Methodist Church, and the Bible Christians separated from the Conference between 1797 and 1815. They were reunited in two mergers (1907, 1932) with the main branch to form the Methodist Church in Britain, which has an adult membership of about 650,000. The central organisation is the British Conference. This church has recently engaged in ecumenical negotiations with the Church of England.
Whitefield conducted several preaching tours in North America and was an influential figure in the GREAT AWAKENING. Wesleyan Methodism was later established in America by unofficial lay missionaries such as Philip EMBURY, Barbara Heck, Robert Strawbridge, and Thomas Webb; and by missionaries appointed by John Wesley, of whom the chief were Francis ASBURY, Richard Boardman, Joseph Pilmore, and Thomas Rankin. In 1784, Wesley's actual ordination of two missionaries and appointment of Thomas COKE as "superintendent" for America led to the formation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore. (Coke's adoption of the title bishop was not approved by Wesley; the British church did not adopt an episcopal structure.)
In 1830, in a controversy over episcopal authority, the Methodist Protestant Church was formed by a strongly liberal minority. In 1843 the Wesleyan Methodist Church of America was started by a group of antislavery Methodists. \The next year the General Conference split over issues related to slavery and episcopal authority, and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was formed at the Louisville convention in 1845. In 1860 came the Free Methodist Church, which was antislavery and theologically perfectionist.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was troubled by controversy over sanctification and interpretation of the Bible (fundamentalism). Three large black churches were also organized, largely in protest against racial prejudice: the African Methodist Episcopal Church (1816), the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (1820), and the Colored (later Christian) Methodist Episcopal Church (1870).
With the formation of the Methodist Church in 1939 by the Northern and Southern branches and the Methodist Protestants, reunion was achieved. A racially identified central jurisdiction remained a source of controversy until its abolition in 1968. In that year the church merged with the EVANGELICAL UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH to form the United Methodist Church. The church maintains a large Methodist publishing house, Abingdon Press, hospitals and homes, and institutions of higher learning, including 13 theological seminaries.
Both the British Methodist Missionary Society and the American Board of Global Ministries have conducted worldwide missionary efforts. The Methodist churches stand in close relation to one another in the World Methodist Conference, which elects the World Methodist Council, as well as in the World Council of Churches.

THE 39 ARTICLES OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH

This table of doctrine of the Anglican Church clearly states the issues on which it is at variance with the Roman Catholic Church.
[As established by the Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in Convention, on the twelfth day of September, in the Year of our Lord, 1801.]
I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity.
There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker, and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
II. Of the Word or Son of God, which was made very Man.
The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took Man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect Natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God, and very Man; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men.
III. Of the going down of Christ into Hell.
As Christ died for us, and was buried, so also is it to be believed, that he went down into Hell.
IV. Of the Resurrection of Christ.
Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of Man's nature; wherewith he ascended into Heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all Men at the last day.
V. Of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.
VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation.
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.
Of the Names and Number of the Canonical Books.
Genesis, The First Book of Samuel, The Book of Esther,
Exodus, The Second Book of Samuel, The Book of Job,
Leviticus, The First Book of Kings, The Psalms,

Numbers, The Second Book of Kings, The Proverbs,
Deuteronomy, The First Book of Chronicles, Ecclesiastes or Preacher,
Joshua, The Second Book of Chronicles, Cantica, or Songs of Solomon,
Judges, The First Book of Esdras, Four Prophets the greater,
Ruth, The Second Book of Esdras, Twelve Prophets the less.
And the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following:
The Third Book of Esdras, The rest of the Book of Esther,
The Fourth Book of Esdras, The Book of Wisdom,
The Book of Tobias, Jesus the Son of Sirach,
The Book of Judith, Baruch the Prophet,
The Song of the Three Children, The Prayer of Manasses,
The Story of Susanna, The First Book of Maccabees,
Of Bel and the Dragon, The Second Book of Maccabees.
All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them Canonical.
VII. Of the Old Testament.
The Old Testament is not contrary to the New: for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to Mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and Man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which feign that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the Law given from God by Moses, as touching Ceremonies and Rites, do not bind Christian men, nor the Civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to be received in any commonwealth; yet notwithstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obedience of the Commandments which are called Moral.
VIII. Of the Creeds.
The Nicene Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles' Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture.
The original Article given Royal assent in 1571 and reaffirmed in 1662, was entitled "Of the Three Creeds; and began as follows, "The Three Creeds, Nicene Creed, Athanasius's Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles' Creed ..."
IX. Of Original or Birth-Sin.
Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly talk;) but it is the fault and corruption of the Nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation.
And this infection of nature doth remain, yea in them that are regenerated; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek, p¢vnæa sapk¢s, (which some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some the affection, some the desire, of the flesh), is not subject to the Law of God. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized; yet the Apostle doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the nature of sin.
X. Of Free-Will.
The condition of Man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith; and calling upon God. Wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.
XI. Of the Justification of Man.
We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by Faith only, is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.
XII. Of Good Works.
Albeit that Good Works, which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.
XIII. Of Works before Justification.
Works done before the grace of Christ, and the Inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ; neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the School-authors say) deserve grace of congruity: yea rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.
XIV. Of Works of Supererogation.
Voluntary Works besides, over and above, God's Commandments, which they call Works of Supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety: for by them men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable servants.
XV. Of Christ alone without Sin.
Christ in the truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things, sin only except, from which he was clearly void, both in his flesh, and in his spirit. He came to be the Lamb without spot, who, by sacrifice of himself once made, should take away the sins of the world; and sin (as Saint John saith) was not in him. But all we the rest, although baptized and born again in Christ, yet offend in many things; and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
XVI. Of Sin after Baptism.
Not every deadly sin willingly committed after Baptism is sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after Baptism. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the grace of God we may arise again, and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned, which say, they can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent.
XVII. Of Predestination and Election.
Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour.
Wherefore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called according to God's purpose by his Spirit working in due season: they through Grace obey the calling: they be justified freely: they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image of his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity.
As the godly consideration of Predestination, and our Election in Christ, is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh, and their earthly members, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God: So, for curious and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of God's Predestination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the Devil doth thrust them either into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less perilous than desperation.
Furthermore, we must receive God's promises in such wise, as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture: and, in our doings, that Will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared unto us in the Word of God.
XVIII. Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ.
They also are to be had accursed that presume to say, That every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that Law, and the light of Nature. For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved.
XIX. Of the Church.
The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same. As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith.
XX. Of the Authority of the Church.
The Church hath power to decree Rites or Ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of Faith: and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the Church be a witness and a keeper of Holy Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any thing against the same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce any thing to be believed for necessity of Salvation.
XXI. Of the Authority of General Councils.
[The Twenty-first of the former Articles is omitted; because it is partly of a local and civil nature, and is provided for, as to the remaining parts of it, in other Articles.]
The original 1571, 1662 text of this Article, omitted in the version of 1801, reads as follows: "General Councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will of Princes. And when they be gathered together, (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God,) they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they be taken out of holy Scripture."
XXII. Of Purgatory.
The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Relics, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.
XXIII. Of Ministering in the Congregation.
It is not lawful for any man to take upon him the office of public preaching, or ministering the Sacraments in the Congregation, before he be lawfully called, and sent to execute the same. And those we ought to judge lawfully called and sent, which be chosen and called to this work by men who have public authority given unto them in the Congregation, to call and send Ministers into the Lord's vineyard.
XXIV. Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a Tongue as the people understandeth.
It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of the Primitive Church to have public Prayer in the Church, or to minister the Sacraments, in a tongue not understanded of the people.
XXV. Of the Sacraments.
Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him.
There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.
Those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not like nature of Sacraments with Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.
The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about, but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation: but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves damnation, as Saint Paul saith.
XXVI. Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinders not the effect of the Sacraments.
Although in the visible Church the evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometimes the evil have chief authority in the Ministration of the Word and Sacraments, yet forasmuch as they do not the same in their own name, but in Christ's, and do minister by his commission and authority, we may use their Ministry, both in hearing the Word of God, and in receiving the Sacraments. Neither is the effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wickedness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such as by faith, and rightly, do receive the Sacraments ministered unto them; which be effectual, because of Christ's institution and promise, although they be ministered by evil men.
Nevertheless, it appertaineth to the discipline of the Church, that inquiry be made of evil Ministers, and that they be accused by those that have knowledge of their offences; and finally, being found guilty, by just judgment be deposed.
XXVII. Of Baptism.
Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or New-Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed, Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God.
The Baptism of young Children is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ.
XXVIII. Of the Lord's Supper.
The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather it is a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ's death: insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ; and likewise the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ.
Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of Bread and Wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.
The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is Faith. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
XXIX. Of the Wicked, which eat not the Body of Christ in the use of the Lord's Supper.
The Wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as Saint Augustine saith) the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ; yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ: but rather, to their condemnation, do eat and drink the sign or Sacrament of so great a thing.
XXX. Of both Kinds.
The Cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the Lay-people: for both the parts of the Lord's Sacrament, by Christ's ordinance and commandment, ought to be ministered to all Christian men alike.
XXXI. Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross.
The Offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.
XXXII. Of the Marriage of Priests.
Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, are not commanded by God's Law, either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage: therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve better to godliness.
XXXIII. Of excommunicate Persons, how they are to be avoided.
That person which by open denunciation of the Church is rightly cut off from the unity of the Church, and excommunicated, ought to be taken of the whole multitude of the faithful, as an Heathen and Publican, until he be openly reconciled by penance, and received into the Church by a Judge that hath authority thereunto.
XXXIV. Of the Traditions of the Church.
It is not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies be in all places one, or utterly like; for at all times they have been divers, and may be changed according to the diversity of countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be ordained against God's Word.
Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely, doth openly break the Traditions and Ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, (that others may fear to do the like,) as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church, and hurteth the authority of the Magistrate, and woundeth the consciences of the weak brethren.
Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish, Ceremonies or Rites of the Church ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying.
XXXV. Of the Homilies.
The Second Book of Homilies, the several titles whereof we have joined under this Article, doth contain a godly and wholesome Doctrine, and necessary for these times, as doth the former Book of Homilies, which were set forth in the time of Edward the Sixth; and therefore we judge them to be read in Churches by the Ministers, diligently and distinctly, that they may he understanded of the people.
Of the Names of the Homilies.
1. Of the right Use of the Church.
2. Against Peril of Idolatry.
3. Of repairing and keeping clean of Churches.
4. Of good Works: first of Fasting.
5. Against Gluttony and Drunkenness.
6. Against Excess of Apparel.
7. Of Prayer.
8. Of the Place and Time of Prayer.
9. That Common Prayers and Sacraments ought to be ministered in a known tongue.
10. Of the reverend Estimation of God's Word.
11. Of Alms-doing.
12. Of the Nativity of Christ.
13. Of the Passion of Christ.
14. Of the Resurrection of Christ.
15. Of the worthy receiving of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.
16. Of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost.
17. For the Rogation-days.
18. Of the State of Matrimony.
19. Of Repentance.
20. Against Idleness.
21. Against Rebellion.
[This Article is received in this Church, so far as it declares the Books of Homilies to be an explication of Christian doctrine, and instructive in piety and morals. But all references to the constitution and laws of England are considered as inapplicable to the circumstances of this Church; which also suspends the order for the reading of said Homilies in churches, until a revision of them may be conveniently made, for the clearing of them, as well from obsolete words and phrases, as from the local references.]
XXXVI. Of Consecration of Bishops and Ministers.
The Book of Consecration of Bishops, and Ordering of Priests and Deacons, as set forth by the General Convention of this Church in 1792, doth contain all things necessary to such Consecration and Ordering; neither hath it any thing that, of itself, is superstitious and ungodly. And, therefore, whosoever are consecrated or ordered according to said Form, we decree all such to be rightly, orderly, and lawfully consecrated and ordered.
The original 1571, 1662 text of this Article reads as follows: "The Book of Consecration of Archbishops and Bishops, and Ordering of Priests and Deacons, lately set forth in the time of Edward the Sixth, and confirmed at the same time by authority of Parliament, doth contain all things necessary to such Consecration and Ordering: neither hath it any thing, that of itself is superstitious and ungodly. And therefore whosoever are consecrated or ordered according to the Rites of that Book, since the second year of the forenamed King Edward unto this time, or hereafter shall be consecrated or ordered according to the same Rites; we decree all such to be rightly, orderly, and lawfully consecrated and ordered."
XXXVII. Of the Power of the Civil Magistrates.
The Power of the Civil Magistrate extendeth to all men, as well Clergy as Laity, in all things temporal; but hath no authority in things purely spiritual. And we hold it to be the duty of all men who are professors of the Gospel, to pay respectful obedience to the Civil Authority, regularly and legitimately constituted.
The original 1571, 1662 text of this Article reads as follows: "The King's Majesty hath the chief power in this Realm of England, and other his Dominions, unto whom the chief Government of all Estates of this Realm, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Civil, in all causes doth appertain, and is not, nor ought to be, subject to any foreign Jurisdiction.
Where we attribute to the King's Majesty the chief government, by which Titles we understand the minds of some slanderous folks to be offended; we give not our Princes the ministering either of God's Word, or of the Sacraments, the which thing the Injunctions also lately set forth by Elizabeth our Queen do most plainly testify; but that only prerogative, which we see to have been given always to all godly Princes in holy Scriptures by God himself; that is, that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to their charge by God, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal, and restrain with the civil sword the stubborn and evil-doers.
The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.
The Laws of the Realm may punish Christian men with death, for heinous and grievous offences.
It is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons, and serve in the wars."
XXXVIII. Of Christian Men's Goods, which are not common.
The Riches and Goods of Christians are not common, as touching the right, title, and possession of the same; as certain Anabaptists do falsely boast. Notwithstanding, every man ought, of such things as he possesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his ability.
XXXIX. Of a Christian Man's Oath.
As we confess that vain and rash Swearing is forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ, and James his Apostle, so we judge, that Christian Religion doth not prohibit, but that a man may swear when the Magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith and charity, so it be done according to the Prophet's teaching in justice, judgment, and truth.

ROMAN CATHOLICISM

The term ROMAN CATHOLICISM has been in general use since the Reformation to identify the faith and practice of Christians in communion with the pope. Although it has a reputation for conservatism and reaction, Roman Catholicism is a genuinely evolving religious system, valuing the deepening and development of its understanding of the Christian faith.
The Ignatian principles of accommodation and J. H. Newman's theory of development have been two expressions of this process. This development sometimes goes beyond biblical data, but Catholic scholars contend that the church's doctrines, e.g., on the sacraments, the blessed Virgin Mary, and the papacy, are suggested by a "trajectory of images" in the NT; post-biblical developments are said to be consistent with the "thrust" of the NT. At other times this evolution has involved the rediscovery of truths that the church once possessed but which it subsequently lost in the course of its long history. The church has even at times recognised as error what it had earlier decreed authoritatively.
Vatican Council II's Declaration on Religious Freedom is seen by reputable Catholic scholars to be in conflict with the condemnations of religious freedom in Gregory XVI's encyclical Mirari vos of 1832. The conflict was recognised by members of the council, but they supported the declaration on the principle of doctrinal development. Protestants hostile to Catholicism should be wary of attacking allegedly unalterable Catholic positions: the Catholic Church has reversed its position on basic issues.
If, then, Roman Catholicism cannot be fixed within a single monolithic theological system, it is nevertheless helpful to distinguish between two traditions within Catholicism. The mainstream tradition has stressed the transcendence of God and the church as a divinely commissioned institution (the "vertical church"). This authoritarian, centralising tradition has been variously labelled, mainly by its critics as "medievalism," "Romanism," "Vaticanism," "papalism," "Ultramontanism," "Jesuitism," "Integralism," and "neoscholasticism." A minority reformist tradition has stressed the immanence of God and the church as community (the "horizontal church"). Reform Catholicism has nourished such movements as Gallicanism, Jansenism, liberal Catholicism, and modernism.
The two traditions coalesced at Vatican II, facilitated by John XXIII's dictum, "The substance of the ancient doctrine is one thing ... and the way in which it is presented is another." An understanding, then, of modern-day Roman Catholicism requires a description of the characteristics of conservative Catholicism which dominated the church especially from the Council of Trent (1545-63) until Vatican II, plus an outline of the changes in emphasis inaugurated at Vatican II.
THE CHURCH:
The most distinctive characteristic of Roman Catholicism has always been its theology of the church (its ecclesiology). The church's role in mediating salvation has been emphasised more than in other Christian traditions. Supernatural life is mediated to Christians through the sacraments administered by the hierarchy to whom obedience is due. The church is monarchical as well as hierarchical since Christ conferred the primacy on Peter, whose successors are the popes. Pre-Vatican II theology taught that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true church of Christ, since it alone has a permanent hierarchy (which is apostolic) and primacy (which is Petrine) to ensure the permanence of the church as Christ instituted it. All other churches are false churches insofar as they lack one of the four properties possessed by the Roman Catholic Church: unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity.
The most important document of Vatican II, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, transformed rather than revolutionized the church's ecclesiology. The traditional emphasis on the church as means of salvation was supplanted by an understanding of the church as a mystery or sacrament, "a reality imbued with the hidden presence of God" (Paul VI).
The conception of the church as a hierarchical institution was replaced by a view of the church as the whole people of God. To the traditional understanding of the church's mission as involving (1) the proclamation of the gospel and (2) the celebration of the sacraments, the council added (3) witnessing to the gospel and (4) service to all in need. The Tridentine emphasis on the church universal was supplemented by an understanding of the fullness of the church in each local congregation.
In the Decree on Ecumenism the council recognised that both sides were at fault in the rupture of the church at the Reformation, and it sought the restoration of Christian unity rather than a return of non-Catholics to "the true Church." For the church is greater than the Roman Catholic Church: other churches are valid Christian communities since they share the same Scriptures, life of grace, faith, hope, charity, gifts of the Spirit, and baptism.
Further, the traditional identification of the kingdom of God with the church, into which everyone must therefore be brought or salvation will elude them, is replaced by an understanding of the church as the sign and instrument by which God calls and moves the world toward his kingdom.
THE POPE:
The dogmas of papal primacy and infallibility were promulgated as recently as Vatican I (1869-70), but they have a long history which Roman Catholics trace ultimately to the will of Christ (Matt. 16:18-19; Luke 22:32; John 21:15-17) and the roles exercised by the apostle Peter (fisherman, shepherd, elder, rock, etc.) in the NT church. In succeeding centuries the prestige of the church of Rome increased since it was located at the Imperial capital and because of its association with the apostles Peter and Paul. It was increasingly looked to as the arbiter of orthodoxy.
Pope Leo I maintained that Peter continues to speak to the whole church through the bishop of Rome, the first known such claim. The rise of the pope's temporal power, which for over a millennium buttressed his claims to supremacy, is commonly traced to the middle of the eighth century, when a vacuum in civil leadership was created by the collapse of the Western Empire.
In 1234 Gregory IX combined and codified all previous papal decisions into the Five Books of Decretals. By now the church was understood primarily as a visible hierarchical organisation with supreme power vested in the pope. Bishops were required to take an oath of obedience to the pope similar to the feudal oath binding a vassal to his lord. The supreme pontiff was no longer only consecrated; he was also crowned with the triple tiara used originally by the deified rulers of Persia.
The coronation rite was continued until 1978, when John Paul I refused the crown, a symbolic action repeated by his successor, John Paul II. The height of papal pretensions was reached in 1302 with Boniface VIII's bull, Unam Sanctam, which decreed that the temporal power was subject to the spiritual, and that submission to the Roman pontiff "is absolutely necessary to salvation."
These papal claims were resisted not only by national rulers but by some scholars, notably William of Ockham and Marsilius of Padua, and by conciliarism, a movement in the church to subject the pope to the judgment and legislation of general councils. Its greatest triumph was the Council of Constance (1414-15) with its law Haec Sancta, decreeing the supremacy of a general council and the collegiality of bishops.
Conciliarism was condemned by succeeding popes until Vatican I declared that the pope's authoritative teachings are not subject to the consent of the entire church. The pope was declared to be infallible (immune from error) when he speaks ex cathedra (from the chair) on matters of faith and morals with the intention of binding the whole church.
Vatican II stressed the role of the pope as "perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of the bishops and of the multitude of the faithful," a role received sympathetically by some Protestant churches since the council (see, e.g., R. E. Brown et al., Peter in the New Testament, sponsored by the United States Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue). Vatican II also revived the collegiality of bishops, thus modifying the monarchical governance of the church: "Together with its head, the Roman Pontiff, and never without its head, the episcopal order is the subject of supreme and full power over the universal church."
THE SACRAMENTS:
The sacramental principle is another characteristic tenet of Roman Catholicism. The sacramental system worked out especially in the Middle Ages by the schoolmen and subsequently at the Council of Trent envisaged sacraments primarily as causes of grace that could be received independent of the merit of the recipient. Recent Catholic sacramental theology emphasizes their function as signs of faith. Sacraments are said to cause grace insofar as they are intelligible signs of it, and that the fruitfulness, as distinct from the validity, of the sacrament is dependent on the faith and devotion of the recipient. Sacramental rites are now administered in the vernacular, rather than in Latin, to increase the intelligibility of the signs.
Conservative Catholicism connected sacramental theology to Christology, stressing Christ's institution of the sacraments and the power of the sacraments to infuse the grace of Christ, earned on Calvary, to the recipient. The newer emphasis connects the sacraments to ecclesiology. We do not encounter Christ directly, but in the church, which is his body. The church mediates the presence and action of Christ.
The number of sacraments was finally fixed at seven during the medieval period (at the councils of Lyons 1274, Florence 1439, and Trent 1547). In addition Roman Catholicism has innumerable sacramentals, e.g., baptismal water, holy oil, blessed ashes, candles, palms, crucifixes, and statues. Sacramentals are said to cause grace not ex opere operanto like the sacraments, but ex opere operantis, through the faith and devotion of those using them.
Three of the sacraments, baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, are concerned with Christian initiation.
BAPTISM:
The sacrament is understood to remit original sin and all personal sin of which the recipient sincerely repents. All must be baptised or they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. But not all baptism is sacramental baptism by water. There is also "baptism of blood," which is received by dying for Christ (e.g., the "holy innocents," Matt. 2:16-18), and "baptism of desire," which is received by those who, implicitly or explicitly, desire baptism but are prevented from receiving it sacramentally. "Even those who through no fault of their own do not know Christ and his church may be counted as anonymous Christians if their striving to lead a good life is in fact a response to his grace, which is given in sufficient measure to all."
CONFIRMATION:
A theology of confirmation was not developed until the Middle Ages. Confirmation was said to be the gift of the Spirit for strengthening (ad robur) while baptismal grace is for forgiveness (ad remissionem). This distinction has no basis in the Scriptures or the fathers, but has been retained to the present following ratification by the Council of Trent. Today, however, the rite is sometimes administered at the same time as baptism and by the priest, not the bishop, to emphasise that both are really aspects of the one sacrament of initiation.
EUCHARIST
Distinctively Catholic doctrines on the Eucharist include the sacrificial nature of the Mass and transubstantiation. Both were defined at Trent and neither was modified at Vatican II. The unbloody sacrifice of the Mass is identified with the bloody sacrifice of the cross, in that both are offered for the sins of the living and the dead. Hence Christ is the same victim and priest in the Eucharist as he was on the cross. Transubstantiation, the belief that the substance of bread and wine is changed into the body and blood of Christ, was first spoken of at the Fourth Lateran Council (1215).
Two sacraments, penance and anointing the sick, are concerned with healing.
PENANCE:
By the Middle Ages the sacrament of penance had four components which were confirmed by the Council of Trent: satisfaction (the doing of an act of penance), confession, contrition, and absolution by a priest. All grave sins had to be confessed to a priest who acted as judge. Since Vatican II the role of the priest in penance is understood as healer, and the purpose of the sacrament is reconciliation with the church rather than the restoration of friendship with God. Through contrition the sinner's union with God is restored, but he is still required to seek forgiveness in the sacrament of penance because his sin compromises the mission of the church to be a holy people.
ANNOINTING THE SICK:
During the Middle Ages the rite of anointing the sick was reserved increasingly for the dying, hence the description of Peter Lombard: extreme unctio (last anointing). Vatican II relabeled the sacrament "anointing of the sick," stating explicitly that it "is not a sacrament reserved for those who are at the point of death." The last sacrament is now known as viaticum, received during Mass if possible.
There are two sacraments of vocation and commitment: marriage and orders.
MARRIAGE:
The sacramentality of marriage was affirmed by the councils of Florence and Trent. Marriage is understood to be indissoluble, although dispensations, chiefly in the form of annulment (a declaration that a valid marriage never existed), are permitted. The grounds of nullity so carefully delimited in the 1918 Code of Canon Law have now been broadened to embrace many deficiencies of character.
ORDERS:
Vatican II recognised that all the baptised participate in some way in the priesthood of Christ, but confirmed Catholic tradition on the clerical hierarchy by decreeing that there is a distinction between the priesthood conferred by baptism and that conferred by ordination.
The ordained priesthood has three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons. The first and third are offices of the NT church. The office of priest emerged when it was no longer practical to continue recognising the Jewish priesthood (owing to the destruction of the temple and the great influx of Gentiles into the church) and with the development of a sacrificial understanding of the Lord's Supper.
CANON LAW:
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries a new branch of theological studies, canon law, emerged as an adjunct of papal supremacy. Legal decrees rather than the gospel became the basis for moral judgments. The church was understood primarily as an institution in its juridical aspect. The legal aspects of the sacraments and matrimony were paramount. Until the post-Vatican II period a knowledge of canon law was the chief prerequisite for ecclesiastical advancement.
THE CULT OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY:
At the Council of Ephesus (431) Mary was declared to be the Mother of God (Theotokos) and not only the mother of Christ (Christotokos). This gave an impetus to Marian devotion and by the seventh century four Marian feasts were being observed in Rome: the annunciation, the purification, the assumption, and the nativity of Mary. To these feasts the Eastern churches added the feast of the conception of Mary at the end of the same century.
Bernard of Clairvaux influenced Mariology decisively by arguing that while Christ is our mediator he is also our judge, and that therefore we need a mediator with the mediator, so that in popular devotion the merciful Mary was contrasted with the fierce Christ. Marian devotion blossomed between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. The rosary (three groups of fifty Hail Marys counted on beads) was in popular use by the twelfth century and the angelus also appeared (the recitation of prayers to Mary, morning, noon, and evening, at the sound of a bell).
In 1854, following another revival of Marian spirituality, Pius IX promulgated the dogma of the immaculate conception, that Mary was free from original sin from the moment of her conception. In 1950 Pius XII defined the dogma of bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary, that on her death she was preserved from "the corruption of the tomb" and was "raised body and soul to the glory of heaven, to shine refulgent as Queen at the right hand of her Son."
Since Vatican II Catholic scholars have questioned if denial of these two Marian dogmas means exclusion from the Catholic Church, since that denial must be "culpable, obstinate, and externally manifested." Vatican II also tended to disassociate Mariology from Christology, thus removing an emphasis on her involvement in our redemption and attaching her to ecclesiology, so that Mary is seen rather as the type, model, mother, and pre-eminent member of the church.
REBELATION:
The Council of Trent declared tradition to be equally authoritative with Scripture and the definitive interpretation of both to be the preserve of the church. In its Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Vatican II sought to remove the sharp distinction perceived by Protestants between Scripture and tradition by defining tradition as the successive interpretations of the Scriptures given by the church throughout the ages. That the church somehow stood above both sources of revelation was specifically denied: "This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it ... It is clear, therefore, that sacred tradition, sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church ... are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others."
The failure of post-Vatican II Catholicism to give a clear preeminence to the Bible leaves some Protestants dissatisfied, but there is no doubt that the scholarly and popular study of the Bible by Roman Catholics has increased markedly since 1965. Roman Catholicism is no longer simply reacting and polemical, devoted to defending truth through the condemnation of error. It is now an innovative and irenical movement, more devoted to illustrating the Christian faith than defining it. [Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary]
Read the Catholic Catechism, and criticisms of it, at these links:
THE CATHOLIC CATECHISM
CATHOLIC CATECHISM
CRITICISM OF THE CATHOLIC CATECHISM

THE MAJOR DENOMINATIONS OF CHRISTIANITY

By (Greek Orthodox) Bishop Germanos Polizoides of Chicago
The Eastern Orthodox Faith contains what is necessary for our spiritual needs and for our salvation. It is One, Holy, Catholic (i.e. Universal), and Apostolic. It has maintained the same sacraments for twenty centuries, the same pure teachings of Christ, the same pastors who trace their descent by uninterrupted succession from the Holy Apostles and, through them, from Jesus. It is called Orthodox because it firmly believes and truly teaches (as the Greek word Orthodoxia means a true teaching).
It teaches:
1. That there are three Divine Persons in God, distinct, yet equal;
2. That the Father is neither begotten, nor proceeds from anyone;
3. That the Son is begotten from the Father, of the very essence of the Father. He is God and also truly man like us, because He assumed human nature from the Blessed Virgin Mary, except for sin. He died on the cross to save mankind and He ascended into heaven. He will come again "to judge the living and the dead;"
4. That the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father;
5. That the world is not self-created but is the work of one God.
The Eastern Orthodox Church also teaches:
6. That there are seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Confession, Ordination, Marriage, and Holy Unction;
7. That no one can be saved unless he is baptized;
8. That the Holy Scriptures and Sacred Tradition are of equal value, and that they complete each other;
9. That God assigned to every man an Angel to guide and help him;
10. That after death, man's body goes to earth, and the soul, which is immortal, is presented before God and, according to its actions, pre-enjoys happiness or pre-suffers punishment until the General Judgment;
11. That of all Saints, the Mother of God has a supreme grace and that the veneration given to icons and relies relates not to the sacred images as such, but to the person whom they represent;
12. That God knows which road man will take, but He does not predestinate him.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has three orders of Priesthood: deacons, priests, and bishops. Thus the Eastern Orthodox Church dates back to Christ, and every other Christian denomination is of more recent date. The Westerns, also called Romans or Latins or Papals, were separated from the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, and from them the Protestants were separated.
The Roman Catholic Church
Unfortunately, in 1054 A.D., the Western part of the Church was separated from the Mother Church. These are the new teachings that the Roman Catholic Church adopted:
1. The doctrine that the Holy Spirit proceeds "and from the Son" (Filioque) against the specific teaching of the Church which says that the Holy Spirit "proceedeth from the Father."
2. The use of unleavened bread in the Holy Eucharist, although the leavened bread was used in the Last Supper.
3. The serving of the Holy Bread and Holy Wine (i.e. the Body and the Blood of Christ) to the Clergy only. The laity receive only the Holy Bread.
4. Permission to one Priest to celebrate many Liturgies on the same day and on the same Altar.
5. Obligatory celibacy for deacons, priests and bishops, whereas Orthodoxy requires celibacy of bishops only.
6. The granting of indulgences by the Pope on the ground that he has the right to take the surplus of the good works of Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints, and to credit with them those who have none.
7. The performance of the sacrament of Baptism by pouring water on the head of the baptized, whereas the Eastern Orthodox Church accepts as canonical Baptism the three immersions.
8. Changes in confessions.
9. Concentration of the entire authority of the Church in the Pope who is considered infallible, whereas the Orthodox Church considers the Church as a whole infallible, i.e. when it comes together in an Ecumenical Council.
10. The existence, besides heaven and hell, of a purgatory.
11. Communion may be given to children only after they are 11 years old.
12. The separation of Chrism from Baptism and the annointing of the baptized, not immediately, but when the child is from seven to eleven years old.
13. The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, whereas Orthodoxy accepts that only Christ was conceived and born without original sin and that the Virgin Mary was cleansed from it on Annunciation Day.
14. The recently declared dogma that the Virgin Mary's Body "was taken up into heaven."
15. Not granting divorces.
16. Canonising Saints every now and then, whereas the Eastern Orthodox Church is very conservative in this point.
Anyone can see that these doctrines cannot be based either on the Scriptures or on Holy Tradition, and that they are innovations introduced by persons who disregard that Christ said: "Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5, 19)
The total number of Roman Catholics in the United States is almost 33,500,000.
The Uniats or The Uniat Church
The Uniat(e) Church, called also the Greek Catholic Church, came into existence in the Eastern-Central part of Europe (Galicia), after the armies of King Sigismund the Second, of Poland, conquered in 1596 the Slavic populations of that regionmostly Ruthenians, Ukrainians and Carpathorussians, who always belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church since their Christianisation in the 9th century.
They were compelled to recognise the Pope of Rome as their spiritual head. To make their submission safer, they were permitted to retain their Orthodox Liturgy, their Sacraments, their religious customs and ceremonies and to conduct them in their own languages. Their native priests are dressed like the Greek Orthodox clergymen. Married men may be ordained to the deaconate and priesthood. But bishops must be celibate, nor can a deacon or priest marry after ordination. The Uniats have only to mention the Pope's name in their Liturgies and Services. To those Uniats joined later some Hungarians, Croatians, Roumanians, Sicilians, Syrians and a few others who were formerly Greek Orthodox.
Aside from external appearances, the so-called Uniat or Greek Catholic Church is Roman Catholic or a Latin Church and should NEVER be confused with Eastern Orthodoxy, because it is entirely different. The Uniats are nothing else but a branch of the Catholic or Latin or Roman Church.
The total membership of the Uniate Church is about 4.5 millions. In the United States, some 45 years ago, the Uniats were almost unknown. Now there are about 450,000. They came from Europe as laborers and miners in the coal districts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, mostly. In Greece also there are about 20,000.
The Church of England or The Episcopal Church
During the 16th century, many Christians separated from the Roman Catholic Church. But instead of coming back to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, i.e. the Eastern Orthodox Church, they organised themselves into separate groups. They protested against the Roman Church and were called Protestants.
One of them is the Church of England or Protestant Episcopal Church as it is called in the United States, because it alone of all Protestant Churches retains the order of bishops. It is known as (a) "High" or "Ritualistic" Church and (b) as "Low" Church. It does not admit a supreme visible head on earth and it has therefore an equal Episcopal hierarchy. Almost all Episcopalians desire a union with the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Their teachings may be found in the so-called Thirty-Nine Articles and in the Book of Common Prayer. They believe in the Divinity of Christ and in His two natures. They believe in the seven sacraments with emphasis only on two of them: Baptism and Holy Eucharist. The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Apostles are most venerated by them. They, as do almost all Protestant Churches, accept the belief that the Holy Spirit proceeds "and from the Son," but many of the Episcopal Theologians consider the phrase "and from the Son" as an unfortunate addition.
The communicant members of the Episcopal Church in the United States are about 3 million.
The Lutheran Church
The Lutheran Church was also formed in the 16th century. Martin Luther, a priest and a monk in the Roman Church, broke away from that Church because of its doctrinal errors and the abuses of some of the Popes of Rome.
These are the basic beliefs of the Lutheran Church:
1. It abolishes the invocation of the Saints;
2. It teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds "and from the Son;"
3. It denounces five of the seven sacraments, retaining only Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It has no priesthood or consecration and denies the efficacy of sacramental confession;
4. It rejects the doctrine that the bread and wine in the Holy Eucharist are actually changed into the Body and Blood of Christ;
5. It places its hope of salvation on faith alone;
6. It rejects Sacred Tradition entirely and allows individual interpretation of the Scriptures.
The Lutherans have the largest membership in the world among the Protestant Churches, but in the United States have about six million communicant members divided among 19 ecclesiastical bodies.
The Presbyterian Church
The Presbyterian Church believes that the government of the Church belongs to the Presbyters-Elders instead of to the bishops. These Elders, after their election by the congregation, place their hands upon the candidate for the deaconate, or the presbytery, and this is what they call Ordination. There are two classes of Presbyters: the "teaching Elders" or the pastors, and the "ruling Elders." The highest court is the "General Assembly," composed of an equal number of Pastors and Ruling Elders, representatives of the parishes.
The Presbyterian Church believes in Predestination. It believes that "man fell because God ordained it," whereas our Orthodox Church believes that "Adam fell by the abuse of his freedom." The Presbyterians do not believe in the bodily presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, but in a spiritual one. In Baptism they separate the sanctifying grace from the actual reception of the sacrament. They believe in the Holy Trinity, but consider that the Holy Spirit proceeds "and from the Son."
The founders of Presbyterianism are John Calvin and John Knox. Almost united with the Presbyterian Church is the so-called Reformed Church. According to statistics the Presbyterians have the second largest membership in the world among the Protestant Churches. They number 10,893,000. Of these, 3,986,000 are in the United States.
The Baptist Church
The Baptist Church also has no Apostolic succession, although its members claim that they are the original church.
1. It administers Baptism to adults only by one immersion and regards Baptism as a mere symbol and not a means of cancelling sins.
2. It leans toward the Calvinistic doctrine of predestination and justification by faith alone.
3. It maintains, in common with other Protestant denominations, that the Scriptures are the only rule of faith and religious practice, and that anyone may interpret them according to his own private notion, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
4. It believes in a merely symbolic meaning of the Holy Eucharist.
5. It believes in salvation through faith, whereas Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that in order to be saved, the sacraments, faith, good works, grace, and the keeping of the commands of God and of the Church are required.
Every local Baptist Church is independent because the Christian, they say, has no need of rules and governments, of altars, etc., because he himself is a priest. Baptists largely recommend offering 10% of one's income (tithing) for the maintenance of the Church and its institutions.
In the whole world there are now (according to 1955 statistics) twenty-one million Baptists and in the United States about seventeen million, including the Southern Baptists, the Negro Baptists, and the minor sects.
The Congregational Church
In England some pastors and members, strictly Calvinists, being dissatisfied with the retention by the Church of England of so many rites and practices, arose against it. They called themselves Puritans or Independents. They went to Holland trying to organise Congregations, but, not being successful there, they set sail in the Mayflower and in 1620 landed at Plymouth, Mass., and adopted the name of Congregationalists. They reject:
1. The use of the sign of the cross;
2. The invocation of Saints;
3. They appoint their pastors as they wish, with a trial sermon only;
4. They have no council or synod or jurisdiction, so that every Congregation is autonomous.
5. They have no priesthood, and almost deny even the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the divinity of Christ.
In 1932 they united with the "Christian Church," a liberal Unitarian denomination. There are about 2,100,000 Congregationalists in the world. Of these, 985,000 are in the United States.
The Methodist Church
When in the eighteenth century a group of students in Oxford University (one of them was John Wesley) became spiritually serious and organised a "Holy Club," the other students, noting their "methodical" habits of life and work, nicknamed them "Methodists." Later in 1738 when some of these men led a nation-wide evangelical movement, they took this name. It indicates method in moral and spiritual pursuits, but no distinctive doctrine.
1. Methodists admit only two sacraments: Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, but not in the sense of our Orthodox Church. For them Baptism is merely a sign of the regeneration which they claim comes only through faith in Christ. The Holy Eucharist is for them merely a commemoration of the passion and death of Christ.
2. They receive bread and wine believing that Christ comes to them in a spiritual manner.
3. They believe in the Filioque ("and from the Son").
4. They also consider the Scriptures as the only source and rule of faith, and they do not believe in Sacred Tradition.
The Methodist Church in America was established in 1784. There are 15,000,000 Methodists in the world, of whom 9,000,000 are in the United States.
United Brethren in Christ
Similar to the Methodist Church is the Church of the "United Brethren in Christ," organised in Germany and transferred to the United States in 1789. They believe in only two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Eucharist; but the mode of baptism and the manner of observing the Holy Eucharist are always to be left to the judgment of each individual. Among the United Brethren in Christ there are many sub-sects. Their total number is about 425,000.
The Church of Christ Scientist (or Eddyism)
The Church of Christ Scientist was organized at Boston, Mass., in 1879 by Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy. From her book called "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" we infer that this denomination:
1. Does not believe in the Holy Trinity, considering this as polytheistic;
2. Does not accept the divinity and the resurrection of Christ;
3. Does not consider angels as messengers of God;
4. Does not accept the future resurrection of men;
5. Does not accept the doctrine of original sin;
6. Does not accept sickness, and leaves many with gangrene, peritonitis, diptheria, etc., while medicine could have cured or at least alleviated the sufferers;
7. Does not accept the sacraments, the priesthood or grace;
8. Denies sin;
9. Denies the work of Christ;
10. Rejects the ordinance of matrimony by teaching that children are only "spiritual thoughts."
All that Christian Science retains of Christianity is the name. It has, however, an excellent daily newspaper, the "Christian Science Monitor." Its literature is rich, and the Scientists contribute very liberally toward the maintenance of their institutions, although they are only about 825,000 in the United States.
Disciples of Christ
The Church of the "Disciples of Christ," organized in 1808 by Rev. Thomas Campbell in accordance with other Pentecostal denominations, holds that the Scriptures are the only rule of faith; that only one sacrament, Baptism, is enough; that the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is only a memorial feast; that no creeds or doctrines or rites are necessary. They believe, however, in the final judgment of all men with reward for the good and punishment for the wicked. In the United States there are 1,100,000 members of this sect.
Mormonism or Church of the Latter-Day Saints
Mormonism was organized in 1830. Driven successively out of the States of New York, Indiana and Missouri, the Mormons went to Utah where they built Salt Lake City. Mormonism is an eclectic religion, having borrowed freely from many sources such as polytheism, paganism, unitarianism, judaism, masonry, spiritism and Christianity. The Mormons have their own book, called the "Book of Mormon" which, they say, was written by their prophet Mormon in Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
1. They interpret the Scriptures as they wish.
2. They believe in polygamy, but do not practice it now.
3. They believe that "Adam fell that man might exist."
4. They believe in the necessity of Baptism.
5. They believe in the Holy Trinity.
6. They believe that Christ is the Son of God.
7. They accept the doctrine that all men may be saved through the atonement of Christ.
8. They dream of a happy millennium when Christ will visibly dwell and reign on earth at Jerusalem for one thousand years.
There are about 800,000 Mormons in the United States. We find very few in other countries.
The Seventh Day Adventists
The Adventists teach that Christ will bodily come and reign on earth. They reject infant baptism forgetting that "unless a man be born of water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Adventism can hardly be classified as a Christian denomination. The Adventists reject almost all the sacraments; celebrate the seventh day of the week instead of Sunday; demand that the Old Testament tithe and dietary rules must still be observed; teach the utter annihilation of the wicked on Judgment Day, whereas the Orthodox Church believes that the wicked will go to never-ending punishment.
Differing again from the Orthodox Church, the Adventists hold that the soul sleeps from the time of man's death until the general resurrection. There are seven sects of Adventists in this country taking their name from their belief as to the second coming of Christ. The Adventists and the so-called Church of God have almost the same teachings, as do Jehovah's Witnesses, Chiliasts, and Bible Students. They number about 190,000.
Quakerism or Religious Society of Friends
The Quakers or Friends, were organised in England about the year 1660. They reject all sacraments, creeds, councils and external practices, believing in the Inner Light, a sort of individual inspiration by the Holy Spirit. If any man or woman, or child in the congregation believes himself or herself moved by this Inner Light, that person rises and speaks "by the Holy Spirit." Their ministers receive no salary, but are to do their work for the love of truth.
Quakers believe that all rites were abolished by Christ. They dislike the word "Trinity" because they claim they cannot find it in the Scriptures. They do not like concerts or singing, dancing or luxurious clothing, and they condemn wars and slavery.
While at one time the Quakers were the third largest religious group in the United States, there are now about 120,000 in the United States, 30,000 in England and fewer than a quarter-million in the whole world. Its founder was George Fox.
Moravians or Bohemian Brethren
The Moravians, or Bohemian Brethren, were organised in Moravia (Europe) after their separation from the Roman Church. They believe in Baptism for infants and for adults. They also believe in the Holy Eucharist and before they receive Holy Communion they hold a fast and make a general confession of sinfulness. Their highest legislative authority is vested in the General Synod held every eight or nine years.
The total number of their three sects is 345,000. The first Moravian Mission in the United States was established in 1735 and it now numbers about 55,000 members here.
Mennonite Church
The Mennonite Church almost coincides with the Church of the Anabaptists. It took the name from its founder, S. Menno, who organized the movement in Holland. The Mennonites maintain that by a living faith, man receives forgiveness of all past and present sins. They do not believe in the sacrament of Repentance or Confession, while Orthodoxy teaches that Christ gave to His Apostles and their successors the power to forgive and the power to retain sins. (St. John 20, 23)
Their ministers are elected and then confirmed by the imposition of hands on the part of the elders. They do not take part in any secular government. They do not believe in wars. Although they do not have many ceremonies, the washing of the feet of the travelling brethren is one used by them. They oppose infant Baptism and the taking of oaths. The Mennonites in the United States are about 115,000 and they are split up into as many as 10 different bodies.
Unitarianism
Unitarianism, developed mostly in England, numbers about 50,000 members in the United States. The Unitarians deny all sacraments except infant baptism and the Holy Eucharist. They reject the Holy Trinity, the divinity of Christ, His supernatural birth, His atonement, and the doctrine of original sin and eternal reward or punishment. From the Scriptures they accept only what suits them and question the authenticity of the rest, differing thus from the Orthodox Church which has always believed in the divine inspiration of the Bible.

Universalism
Universalism came to America from England about 1780 and now it has about 50,000 members in the United States. It believes in the ultimate salvation for all, for good and bad alike. The wicked, they say, will be punished for a while, but none will be punished everlastingly, whereas Orthodoxy teaches that all men, even the greatest sinners, may be saved if they come only in time to God through Christ and die in the state of sanctifying grace and not in a mortal sin. Universalism speaks of Christ as of a man divinely sent. It denies therefore the Holy Trinity and the divinity of Christ.
We have briefly examined some of the main Christian denominations. There are others, perhaps as many as two hundred and fifty or more in the United States with almost 257,000 church-buildings.
Protestantism, in general, has a world membership of approximately 170,000,000. Roman Catholicism 395,000,000 and Eastern Orthodoxy about 224,000,000. In the United States there are about five and a half millions of Orthodox. Of these one million are Greek-Orthodox with 382 church-buildings.
The more the Orthodox people compare the confessional writings of the other Churches with the Word of God, the more deeply will they appreciate in humble gratitude the mercy of God which has given to them the Word in its truth and purity, and the sacraments according to Christ's institution. The Eastern Orthodox Church can without doubt claim that it dates back to Jesus, the Founder of the One Church which He called as the "Kingdom of Heaven" and of which He plainly said: "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."