Branches of Christianity
Christianity is the largest of the world religions, with approximately 2.4 billion followers (one third of the world鈥檚 population) across the globe. Christianity began as a branch of Judaism, and Jesus himself was a Jew. As Christianity is such a large religion with an international following, it is not surprising that there are many different branches within Christianity. These groups have varying understandings of what it means to be Christian.
The various groups or branches within Christianity are referred to as A group within a religion. Christian denominations include, for example, Roman Catholic and Anglican denominations.. Sometimes different Christian churches are also referred to as denominations. Historically, there have been several key events when divisions were created within Christianity. Examples include the The break, or schism between the Church of Rome and other Christian faiths began with the split with Orthodox Christians in 1054 over questions of principles and the absolute authority and behaviour of the popes. and the The 16th century religious revolution that led to the establishment of the Protestant churches. in the 16th century.
The three main denominations of Christianity are:
Roman Catholic tradition
- Roman Catholicism is the largest group within Christianity, having approximately 1.2 billion members.
- Catholics accept the authority of the The Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church., who rules and guides the Church.
- The pope is seen as the successor of Saint Peter and is regarded as the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
- Catholics believe that there are seven Religious ceremonies or acts, such as baptism., which aid humans in achieving The healing of a broken relationship between people and God..
Protestant tradition
- Protestants do not accept the authority of the pope, and they believe the Bible is the only source of authority. These are key aspects of Protestant belief.
- In comparison to Catholics, the sacraments do not hold the same significance for Protestants. Salvation is achieved through faith instead.
- There are many subgroups within the Protestant tradition, such as A member of the Baptist Church, or a Christian who practices believers' baptism. and A member of a Christian Protestant denomination..
- There are also fringe groups, which are groups that do not agree with mainstream Protestant beliefs. They may also have some quite diverse views due to variations in beliefs. Examples of these fringe groups are Unitarians are a Christian group who believe God is one entity rather than three. and Members of a Christian-based religious movement founded in the USA in the late 19th century..
Orthodox tradition
- Orthodox Christians reject the authority of the pope.
- They do, however, believe that the sacraments are essential for salvation.
- The Orthodox Church can trace its origins back to the first Church started by Jesus鈥 A person who follows and learns from someone else. in Jerusalem. Many Orthodox Christians believe that this gives them greater authority than other denominations and that they are following the right teachings.
- Many Orthodox churches are organised on a national level, for example the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.