Choose a Church: Denominational Branches

Believe ^

[xzins]

This chart is VERY general and minimal. There are literally tens of thousands of additional lines that could be included, for various unique Churches, like say, the Amana Colonies. MANY of those Churches seem to be hybrids where some local group has seen some value in each of two or more existing Denominations. So, there might be an "Evangelical Lutheran Episcopal Congregational Methodist Church", and it would be tough to even GUESS what they believed! You'd have to contact such a Church and request a Statement of Faith from them.

Our hope with this chart is that, if you are looking for a new or different Church to attend, that you might be able to narrow it down to three or four. Then, ACTUALLY ATTEND a Service at each one before making a final decision. Even if the first one seems great, check the others out before making a final commitment. The Lord has been around 2,000 years waiting for you; He will certainly be Patient for another four weeks for you to determine where your Spiritual growth might best occur!

Many of the lines include two numbers in parentheses. The first is the year that the Church began. The second is the publicized number of regular members (generally in the USA).

Christianity

• Protestants (1517) (382 million world) (97 million in US)
  • Lutherans (1517) (70 million) (9 million in US)
    • Moravian Church (1727) (360 thousand)
    • Lutheran Church in America (1962) (2.9 million)
    • Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (1847) (2.6 million)
    • American Lutheran Church (1960) (2.3 million)
    • Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (1987) (5.2 million)
    • Crypto-Calvinists (1552)

  • Calvinists (1536)
    • Standard [Reformed] Calvinists
      • Presbyterians [Knox] (1537/1644) (3.8 million in US)
        • New School (1837)
        • Old School (1837) (re-joined in 1869)
        • Disciples of Christ (1804/1968) (1.1 million)
        • Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (1800/1969) (1.1 million)
      • [Dutch] Reformed Church (1537/1618/1644)
        • Mercersburg (1843)
        • Reformed Church in America (1748) (275 thousand)
        • Christian Reformed Church (1847) (225 thousand)
      • Particular Baptists (1611/1639) (about 35 million)
        
        • Conservative [Calvinist/Missionary] or Regular Baptists
          • Seventh-Day Baptists (1617/1671)
            Seventh Day Baptist General Conference USA (1672/1801) (5 thousand)
          • Philadelphia Baptist Association (1707)
            • General Association of Separatist Baptists (1912)
              • Separate Baptists in Christ (1695) (8 thousand)
            • Old Lights and New Lights (1740s, rejoined later) (none)
            • Baptist Missionary Convention (1814)
              • Primitive Baptists (1827)
                • National Primitive Baptist Convention of the USA (250 thousand, mostly Black)
                • Primitive Baptist-Moderates (75 thousand)
              • Northern Baptist Convention (1845)
                • Northern Baptist Convention (1845)
                  American Baptist Convention (1950) (1.5 million)
                  American Baptist Churches in the USA
                • Conservative Baptist Association of America (1947)
                  • Conservative Baptist Association of America (1953) (250 thousand)
                  • General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (1952) (260 thousand)
                • General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (1932) (240 thousand)
              • Southern Baptist Convention (1845) (15.4 million)
                • Southern Baptist Convention (1845)
                • Landmark Baptists (1856/1905)
                  American Baptist Association (1905) (250 thousand)
                • National Baptist Convention of America (1895)
                  • National Baptist Convention of America (1895) (3.5 million, mostly Black)
                  • National Baptist Evangelical Life and Soul Saving Assembly (1936) (57 thousand, mostly Black)
                  • National Baptist Convention of the USA (1915) (8.2 million, mostly Black)
                  • Progressive National Baptist Convention (1961) (2.5 million)
                • Baptist Bible Fellowship (1950) (1.5 million)
                • South Carolina Baptist Fellowship (50 thousand)
              • World Baptist Fellowship (500 thousand)
      • Brethren (324 thousand) (most of these Churches are also often considered Mennonite)
        • Christian [Plymouth] Brethren (1860) (100 thousand)
        • Church of the Brethren (1719) (162 thousand)
        • Brethren Church (1882) (13 thousand)
        • Old German Baptist Brethren (1881) (5 thousand)
      • Congregationalists
      • United Church of Christ (1931/1957) (1.7 million)

    • Arminians (1610)
      • General Baptists (1611)
        • Free-Will Baptists (1727/1780) (210 thousand)
          National Association of Free Will Baptists (1935) (210 thousand)
        • European Baptists
          • North American Baptist Conference (German) (1843) (43 thousand)
          • Baptist General Conference (Swedish) (1852) (136 thousand)
        • United Free-Will Baptist Church (1901) (100 thousand, mostly Black)
        • General Association of General Baptists (75 thousand)
        • United Baptists (64 thousand)
      • Methodists (1739/1795) (38 million)
        • Methodist Church (1939)
        • Wesleyan Methodist Church (1843)
        • Free Methodist Church (1860) (74 thousand)
        • African Methodist Episcopal Church (1816) (3.5 million, mostly Black)
        • African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (1820) (1 million, mostly Black)
        • Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1844)
        • Primitive Methodist Church (1797) (8 thousand)
        • Evangelical United Brethren Church (1800/1946) (750 thousand)
        • Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (1870) (720 thousand, mostly Black)
        • United Methodist Church (1968) (10 million)
        • Holiness Movement (1845) (8 million)
          • Salvation Army (1865) (2.5 million) (446 thousand in US)
            • Volunteers of America (1896)
          • Church of the Nazarene (1895-1908) (575 thousand)
          • Wesleyan Church (1968) (100 thousand)
          • Church of God (Anderson, IN) (1880) (215 thousand)
          • Pentecostal Denominations (1896-1906) (51 million)
            • Church of God (Cleveland, TN) (1886) (672 thousand)
            • Church of God in Christ (mostly Black)
            • Apostolic Faith (Portland, OR) (1907) (5 thousand)
            • Pentecostal Holiness Church (few hundred)
            • United Holy Church (mostly Black)
            • Pentecostal Free-Will Baptist Church (1959) (18 thousand)
            • Methodist Pentecostal Church
            • Assemblies of God (1914) (2.3 million)
            • Pentecostal Church of God (1919) (102 thousand)
            • Foursquare Gospel (1890/1927) (207 thousand)
            • Open Bible Standard Church (1919) (40 thousand)
            • Pentecostal Assemblies (1907) (500 thousand)
            • United Pentecostal Church (1945) (550 thousand)
            • Church of God of Prophecy (1923) (72 thousand)
            • Congregational Holiness Church (1921) (7 thousand)
            • "Neo-Pentecostalism" has influenced many denominations (1960) (11 million)
            • many "Charismatic" Churches (~1960)
          • Pilgrim Holiness Church (1897)

  • Anabaptists (re-baptizers) (1525)
    • Mennonites (1536/1632)
      • [Old] Mennonite Church (1683) (100 thousand)
      • General Conference Mennonite Church (1860) (34 thousand)
      • Mennonite Brethren Church (1860) (17 thousand)
      • United Missionary Church (1969)
        Mennonite Brethren in Christ (1863) (16 thousand)
      • Amish (1693) (79 thousand) (35 thousand in US)
        • Old Order Amish Mennonite Church (1693) (24 thousand)
        • Conservative Amish Church
        • Beachy Amish Mennonite Church (1927) (7 thousand)
        • Conference of the Evangelical Mennonite Church (4 thousand)
    • Hutterian Brethren (1535) (20 thousand)
    • Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (42 thousand)
    • Swiss Brethren (1527)
    • Swiss Free Church tradition (1525)
    • Socinians (1605)
    • Unitarians (1560/1819) (175 thousand)

  • Anglican Communion (7.4 million in US) (75 million world)
    • Church of England (597) (27 million)
    • Episcopalians (1789) (2.5 million)
    • Oxford Movement (1833)
      Anglo-Catholicism (high church) (1838)
    • Liberals (broad church) (~1690)
    • Evangelicals (low church)
    • Puritans (1605)
      Pilgrims (1620)
    • Parker Society (1840) (none)
  • Mormons (1842) (4.4 million)
    • Church of Jesus Christ LDS (1842) (4.4 million)
    • Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ LDS (1852) (150 thousand)
  • Quakers (1652) (109 thousand) (15 groups)
    • Friends United Meeting (58 thousand in US) (200 thousand world)
    • Friends General Conference (32 thousand)
    • Evangelical Friends Alliance (1947) (9 thousand)
    • Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church (8 thousand)
    • Mid-America Yearly Meeting (8 thousand)
    • Shakers (1747) (about 50)
  • Adventists
    • Seventh Day Adventists (1844) (750 thousand)
    • Advent Christian Church (1860) (28 thousand)
    • Primitive Advent Christian Church (1830) (few hundred)

• Roman Catholics (50/317/1054/1204) (59 million in US) (1 billion world)
  • Roman Catholics (33) (59 million in US)
  • Benedictines (510)
  • Jesuits (1534) (27 thousand)
  • Franciscans (1226)
  • Dominicans (1215)
  • Cistercians (1098)
  • Trappists (1664)
  • Augustinians (1050/1256)
  • Jansenists (1640)
    Old Catholic Church (1724) (four hundred)
  • National Polish Church (1897)
  • Liberal Catholics (1832) (3 thousand)
  • Eastern Rite Catholic Churches (1596) (11 million world)
    • Alexandrian
      • Coptic
      • Ethiopian
    • Antiochene
      • Malankar
      • Maronites of Lebanon (c. 1150 AD)
      • Syrian
    • Byzantine
      • Albanian
      • Bulgarian
      • Georgian
      • Greek
      • Hungarian
      • Italo - Albanian
      • Melchite
      • Romanian Eastern Rite Church (1700)
      • Russian
      • Ruthenian
      • Slovak
      • Ukrainian Catholic Church (1596) (5 million world)
      • White Russian
      • Yugoslavian
    • Chaldean
      • Chaldean
      • Malabar
    • Armenian

• Orthodox Church (50/317/1054/1204) (600 thousand [or 6 million] in US) (173 million world)
  • Patriarchate of Constantinople (first among equals) (320 AD) (a few thousand)
    • Crete
    • Finland
    • Greek Archdiocese of America
  • Patriarchate of Alexandria (over Africa)
  • Patriarchate of Antioch (over Syria, Lebanon and Iraq)
  • Patriarchate of Jerusalem (over Palestine)
  • Patriarchate of Moscow and all Russia (988 AD) (90 million)
    • Japan
  • Patriarch-catholicos of Georgia (near Russia)
  • Patriarchate of Serbia (Yugoslavia)
  • Patriarchate of Romania (Rumania) (21 million)
  • Patriarchate of Bulgaria (864 AD)
  • Patriarchate of Cyprus
  • Patriarchate of Athens and all Greece
  • Metropolitan of Warsaw and all Poland
  • Archbishop of Albania
  • Metropolitan of Prague and all Czechloslovakia
  • Archbishop of New York and North America
    • Orthodox Church in America
• Armenian Church (301) (1.6 million) (564 thousand in US)

---

[A.J.Armitage]

double-verified in unbiased historical reference books

Just what is that supposed to mean? He looked up stuff in two encyclopedias?

If you are Roman Catholic, your religion was founded by Jesus Christ in the year 33.

Nope, no bias there.

If you are Eastern Orthodox, your sect of the Catholic Church separated from Roman Catholicism around the year 1,000.

At this point, you suspect the author isn't just writing a polemical pseudo-reference in favor of Roman Catholicism, he's unbearably arrogant as well. So you skip ahead.

If you are an agnostic, you profess an uncertainty or skepticism about the existence of God

Do you suppose an agnostic would really need to be told that sort of thing? Maybe next you could tell a man named Bob how to spell Bob.

[broadsword]

Your author is a she, and is Jewish, and has always shown herself to be antagonistic toward Christians in general, but especially so toward Catholics.

So there's the fly in your manufactured ointment. It must be a terrible thing to sacrifice reason to desire.

[A.J.Armitage]

I simply don't believe you.

[broadsword]

As I said.

And I am sorry for you.

[A.J.Armitage]

And I am sorry for you.

Why? Is gullibility fun or something?