EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (EAST AND WEST
COMBINED)
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: LATIN WESTERN RITES
• Roman Catholic Church centered in Rome and originated in Western Roman Empire
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: EASTERN RITES
• Eastern churches (during Roman Empire, centered in Byzantine Constantinople) that eventually separated from Roman Catholicism during the splitting of Byzantium from the
Roman Empire, but later rejoined the Roman Catholic Church
• Are in “full communion” with the Roman Catholic Church and recognize the Pope as authority; look and feel like the Orthodox churches, but are not split from Roman Catholic
Church in beliefs
• Chaldean Catholic Church (Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Turkey)
• Also Alexandrian (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt), Antiochian (West Syrian), Armenian, and
Byzantine Catholic Churches
EASTERN ORTHODOXY
• Eastern churches (during Roman Empire, centered in Byzantine Constantinople)
• Separated from the Western Roman Catholic Church in 11 th c.
• Greek Orthodox Church
• Russian Orthodox Church
• Albanian, Ukranian, Romanian, Macedonian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Arab, Czech and
Slovak, and Georgian Orthodox Churches
ORIENTAL ORTHODOXY (Oriental means Eastern, not necessarily Asia)
• Eastern churches (during Roman Empire, centered in Byzantine Constantinople) separated from Byzantine Church over the nature of Jesus/God; now in process of healing the schism with the Eastern Orthodox churches
• Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church
• Syriac Orthodox Church
• Coptic Orthodox Church
• Ethiopian Orthodox Church
• Eritrean Orthodox Church
• Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (India)
NESTORIANS
• Assyrian Church of the East separated from Byzantine Church over the nature of
Jesus/God
ANGLICANISM
• “Anglican” means the English church, which was Catholic before King Henry VIII, then its own separate church after King Henry VIII broke away in the 1500s
• Politicians and church believed each country should have its own national church not beholden to Rome; King Henry VIII also wanted a divorce, but Rome would not sanction it

• “Via media” means middle ground between Protestantism and Catholicism; Anglican churches look and feel quite Catholic to Protestant Christians; Anglican churches incorporated many of the concepts of the Protestant Reformation
• Anglican Church is based in England, but can be found anywhere in the former English
Empire, particularly in Canada, Australia, India, and Africa (e.g., Bishop Desmond Tutu)
• Called the Episcopal Church in the USA
PROTESTANTISM
• A series of men in the 1500s, starting with Martin Luther, wanted to reform the Catholic church, not separate from it
• Events, including excommunication by the Catholic church, led to separate Protestant
(“in protest”) churches, including some that originated out of the Protestant movement but see themselves as completely separate
• “Mainline Protestants”: Lutherans (German origins), Methodists (English origins),
Presbyterians (Scottish origins), Calvinists (French and Swiss origins)
• “Anabaptists” (radical reformationists of 1500s) and “Baptists” (origins in Anabaptists and Anglicanism in 1500s): these groups believe in the necessity of adult, public baptism and strong independence as individual churches, including separation of church and state a) Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches: believe in modern miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, dramatic personal transformation; includes
Pentecostal and Assembly of God churches b) Evangelicalism: focus on being “born again” and engaging the community; usually more socially conservative in USA; includes Church of the
Nazarene, Evangelical Lutheran Church and many Baptist churches b) Fundamentalist Churches: seek more separation from the community; sometimes antagonistic towards secular culture; believe in Bible as
“inerrant word of God;” includes many Baptist churches such as the
Southern Baptist Convention b) “Peace” churches: Quakers (“Friends”), The Brethren, Amish, Mennonites,
Hutterites e) Most “megachurches” are Baptist in origin and practice but prefer to downplay that history by using more generic language to draw in people of different backgrounds; sometimes called non-denominational
RESTORATIONISM
• These churches believe they are restoring original, pristine, uncorrupted Christianity and that their church has the best way to do this; most originated in the 1800s in North America
• Seventh-Day Adventists (focused on second coming of Christ, when Jesus returns)
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (a.k.a. LDS or Mormons)
• Jehovah’s Witnesses