Illegal Status: Originally illegal in the Roman Empire but continued to spread.
Roman Empire: Eventually became the state religion.
Catholicism
Heritage: Preserves the heritage of the old Christian Roman Empire.
Power Center: Located in Rome.
Eastern Orthodoxy
Byzantine Empire: Survived as the state religion after the Roman Empire split into East and West.
Ecumenical Councils: Called by Byzantine emperors, leading to disagreements with Rome.
Great Schism: Led to separation from the Roman church.
Protestant Reformation
Lutheranism: Started with Martin Luther's 95 Theses criticizing Catholic practices.
Reformed Christianity: Union of different reformers like Zwingli and Vermigli, standardized by John Calvin.
Calvinism: Influential through ideas like predestination and spiritual presence in the Lord's Supper.
Anglicanism
King Henry VII: Initially split from Rome over political reasons rather than theological.
Thomas Cranmer: Theological head aiming to adopt reformed ideas.
Episcopal Structure: Established a hierarchical church government.
Presbyterianism
Scottish Reformed: Opposed the Episcopal structure of the Church of England.
Church Government: Run like a republic rather than a monarchy.
Influence: Inspired American Revolution.
Anabaptists
Radical Reformation: Rejected Catholic church entirely.
Practices: Refused baptism of infants and separated from secular institutions.
Baptists
Church of England: Derived from those who wanted independent churches.
Practices: Similar to Anabaptists, skeptical of institutions and traditions.
Congregationalists
Independent Churches: Wanted independent churches but retained infant baptism.
Pilgrims: Fled to America due to pressure in England, leading to Thanksgiving tradition.
Methodism
John Wesley: Sought revival in the Church of England.
Practices: Focused on religious revival and active faith.
Holiness Churches
Second Great Awakening: Methodists emphasizing spiritual growth and sin avoidance.
Denominations: Includes Church of the Nazarene and Redeemed Christian Church of God.
Pentecostalism
Early 20th Century: Started with Azusa Street Revival focusing on spiritual gifts like healings and speaking in tongues.
Coptic Church
Oriental Orthodox: Split early from Imperial Christianity over theological disagreements about Jesus' nature.
Supporters: Includes Ethiopian, Armenian, and Syriac churches.
Moravians
Early Protestants: Started by Jan Hus, a precursor to Martin Luther.
Assyrian Church of the East
Early Split: Disagreed with theological decisions made by the early church regarding Jesus' nature.
Restorationists
Recent Movement: Includes Churches of Christ and Disciples of Christ, aiming to rebuild Christianity from scratch, avoiding early Creeds and confessions.
Common Roots
Despite many branches, all denominations share the same foundational message about Jesus.