1.
Christian denomination
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A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organisation, leadership and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as branches of Christianity or denominational families. Individual Christian groups vary widely in the degree to which they recognize one another, several groups claim to be the direct and sole authentic successor of the church founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject the term denomination to describe themselves, however, the Catholic Church does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational church. This view is rejected by other Christian denominations, Protestant denominations account for approximately 37 percent of Christians worldwide. Together, Catholicism and Protestantism comprise Western Christianity, Western Christian denominations prevail in Western, Northern, Central and Southern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas and Oceania. The Eastern Orthodox Church, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents, is the second-largest Christian organization in the world, unlike the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church is itself a communion of fully independent autocephalous churches that mutually recognize each other to the exclusion of others. The Eastern Orthodox Church, together with Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in Eastern Europe, North Asia, the Middle East and Northeast Africa. Christians have various doctrines about the Church and about how the church corresponds to Christian denominations. Both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox hold that their own organizations faithfully represent the One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church to the exclusion of the other, sixteenth-century Protestants separated from the Catholic Church because of theologies and practices that they considered to be in violation of their own interpretation. But some non-denominational Christians do not follow any particular branch, though regarded as Protestants. Each group uses different terminology to discuss their beliefs and this section will discuss the definitions of several terms used throughout the article, before discussing the beliefs themselves in detail in following sections. A denomination within Christianity can be defined as an autonomous branch of the Christian Church, major synonyms include religious group, sect, Church. Some traditional and evangelical Protestants draw a distinction between membership in the church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church, a related concept is denominationalism, the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. Protestant leaders differ greatly from the views of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, each church makes mutually exclusive claims for itself to be the direct continuation of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, from whom other denominations later broke away. These churches, and a few others, reject denominationalism, Christianity can be taxonomically divided into five main groups, the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism
2.
Religion in the United Kingdom
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Religion in the United Kingdom and in the countries that preceded it has been dominated, for over 1,400 years, by various forms of Christianity. According to the 2011 UK census, Christianity is the religion, followed by Islam. Among Christians, Anglicans are the most common denomination, followed by Roman Catholics and this, and the relatively large number of individuals with nominal or no religious affiliations, has led commentators to variously describe the United Kingdom as a multi-faith and secularised society. The United Kingdom was formed by the union of independent countries from 1707. While some groups have structures for the individual countries of the United Kingdom, others may have a single structure covering England. Similarly, due to the recent creation of Northern Ireland in 1921. While the United Kingdom as a whole lacks an official religion, the Monarch of the United Kingdom is the Supreme Governor of the Church, and accordingly, only a Protestant may inherit the British throne. Pre-Roman forms of religion in Britain included various forms of ancestor worship, little is known about the details of such religions. Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now the United Kingdom for over 1,400 years and it was introduced by the Romans to what is now England, Wales, and Southern Scotland. The doctrine of Pelagianism, declared heretical in the Council of Carthage of 418, originated with a British-born ascetic, still in the Anglo-Saxon period, the archbishops of Canterbury established a tradition of receiving their pallium from Rome to symbolize the authority of the Pope. It retains a representation in the UK Parliament and the British monarch is its Supreme Governor, in Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, established in a separate Scottish Reformation in the sixteenth century, is recognised as the national church. The adherence to Roman Catholicism continued at levels in different parts of Britain, especially among recusants and in the north of England. This would expand in Great Britain, partly due to Irish immigration in the century, the Catholic emancipation. Particularly from the century, forms of Protestant nonconformity, including Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers and, later, Methodists. The Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920 and, as the Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1870 before the partition of Ireland, the Jews in England were expelled in 1290 and only emancipated in the 19th century. British Jews had numbered fewer than 10,000 in 1800, scholars have suggested multiple possible reasons for the decline, but have not agreed on their relative importance. Martin Wellings lays out the model of secularization, while noting that it has been challenged by some scholars. The statistics for current religion from the 2011 census and the statistics from the 2001 census are set out in the tables below
3.
Anglicanism
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Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs, worship practices and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to the Magna Carta and before, adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans. As the name suggests, the churches of the Anglican Communion are linked by bonds of tradition, affection and they are in full communion with the See of Canterbury, and thus the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his person, is a unique focus of Anglican unity. He calls the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, chairs the meeting of primates, Anglicans base their Christian faith on the Bible, traditions of the apostolic Church, apostolic succession, and writings of the Church Fathers. Anglicanism forms one of the branches of Western Christianity, having declared its independence from the Holy See at the time of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Many of the new Anglican formularies of the mid-16th century corresponded closely to those of contemporary Protestantism, the word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English Church. Adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans, as an adjective, Anglican is used to describe the people, institutions and churches, as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the Church of England. As a noun, an Anglican is a member of a church in the Anglican Communion, the word is also used by followers of separated groups which have left the communion or have been founded separately from it, although this is sometimes considered as a misuse. The word Anglicanism came into being in the 19th century, although the term Anglican is found referring to the Church of England as far back as the 16th century, its use did not become general until the latter half of the 19th century. Elsewhere, however, the term Anglican Church came to be preferred as it distinguished these churches from others that maintain an episcopal polity, as such, it is often referred to as being a via media between these traditions. Anglicans understand the Old and New Testaments as containing all necessary for salvation and as being the rule. Reason and Tradition are seen as means to interpret Scripture. Anglicans understand the Apostles Creed as the symbol and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. Anglicans celebrate the sacraments, with special emphasis being given to the Eucharist, also called Holy Communion. Unique to Anglicanism is the Book of Common Prayer, the collection of services that worshippers in most Anglican churches used for centuries and it was called common prayer originally because it was intended for use in all Church of England churches which had previously followed differing local liturgies. The term was kept when the church became international because all Anglicans used to share in its use around the world, in 1549, the first Book of Common Prayer was compiled by Thomas Cranmer, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. The founding of Christianity in Britain is commonly attributed to Joseph of Arimathea, according to Anglican legend, Saint Alban, who was executed in 209 AD, is the first Christian martyr in the British Isles. A new culture emerged around the Irish Sea among the Celtic peoples with Celtic Christianity at its core, what resulted was a form of Christianity distinct from Rome in many traditions and practices
4.
Church of England
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The Church of England is the state church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior cleric, although the monarch is the supreme governor, the Church of England is also the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It dates its establishment as a church to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury. The English church renounced papal authority when Henry VIII sought to secure an annulment from Catherine of Aragon in the 1530s, the English Reformation accelerated under Edward VIs regents before a brief restoration of papal authority under Queen Mary I and King Philip. This is expressed in its emphasis on the teachings of the early Church Fathers, as formalised in the Apostles, Nicene, in the earlier phase of the English Reformation there were both Catholic martyrs and radical Protestant martyrs. The later phases saw the Penal Laws punish Roman Catholic and nonconforming Protestants, in the 17th century, political and religious disputes raised the Puritan and Presbyterian faction to control of the church, but this ended with the Restoration. Papal recognition of George III in 1766 led to religious tolerance. Since the English Reformation, the Church of England has used a liturgy in English, the church contains several doctrinal strands, the main three known as Anglo-Catholic, Evangelical and Broad Church. Tensions between theological conservatives and progressives find expression in debates over the ordination of women and homosexuality, the church includes both liberal and conservative clergy and members. The governing structure of the church is based on dioceses, each presided over by a bishop, within each diocese are local parishes. The General Synod of the Church of England is the body for the church and comprises bishops, other clergy. Its measures must be approved by both Houses of Parliament, according to tradition, Christianity arrived in Britain in the 1st or 2nd century, during which time southern Britain became part of the Roman Empire. The earliest historical evidence of Christianity among the native Britons is found in the writings of such early Christian Fathers as Tertullian, three Romano-British bishops, including Restitutus, are known to have been present at the Council of Arles in 314. Others attended the Council of Sardica in 347 and that of Ariminum in 360, Britain was the home of Pelagius, who opposed Augustine of Hippos doctrine of original sin. Consequently, in 597, Pope Gregory I sent the prior of the Abbey of St Andrews from Rome to evangelise the Angles and this event is known as the Gregorian mission and is the date the Church of England generally marks as the beginning of its formal history. A later archbishop, the Greek Theodore of Tarsus, also contributed to the organisation of Christianity in England, the Church of England has been in continuous existence since the days of St Augustine, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as its episcopal head. Despite the various disruptions of the Reformation and the English Civil War, while some Celtic Christian practices were changed at the Synod of Whitby, the Christian Church in the British Isles was under papal authority from earliest times. The Synod of Whitby established the Roman date for Easter and the Roman style of monastic tonsure in Britain and this meeting of the ecclesiastics with Roman customs with local bishops was summoned in 664 at Saint Hildas double monastery of Streonshalh, later called Whitby Abbey
5.
Church of Ireland
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The Church of Ireland is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on a basis and is the second-largest Christian church on the island after the Catholic Church in Ireland. Like other Anglican churches, it has retained elements of pre-Reformation practice, notably its episcopal polity, nevertheless, in theological and liturgical matters, it incorporates many principles of the Reformation, particularly those espoused during the English Reformation. The church self identifies as being both Catholic and Reformed, within the church, differences exist between those members who are more Catholic-leaning and those who are more Protestant-leaning. For historical and cultural reasons, the Church of Ireland is generally identified as a Protestant church, the Church of Ireland is the second-largest in the Republic of Ireland, with around 130,000 members, and the third-largest in Northern Ireland, with around 260,000 members. The Church of Ireland describes itself as part of the Irish Church which was influenced by the Reformation. However, the Church of Ireland is also Protestant, or Reformed, since it opposes doctrines and ways of worshiping that it considers contrary to scripture and which led to the Reformation. When the Church of England broke communion with the Holy See, all, the church then became the established church of Ireland, assuming possession of most church property. This church-state link was vigorously applied when the Normans came to Ireland in the 12th century, Bishops were required to do homage to the king for their lands, just like earls and barons, who were vassals of the crown. It was therefore accepted, both during and after the Reformation, that the crown should continue to exercise authority over the church. In this way, church property that existed at the time of the Reformation, in Ireland, the substantial majority of the population continued to adhere to Roman Catholicism, despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the state church. Legitimacy for the Norman invasion of Ireland was derived from a Papal Bull of 1155 – Laudabiliter, the bull gave King Henry II of England authority to invade Ireland ostensibly as a means of reforming the church in Ireland more directly under the control of the Holy See. The authorisation from the Holy See was based upon the Donation of Constantine which made every Christian island in the western Roman Empire the property of the Papacy. The Church of Ireland is the second largest church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland began as a reformed church independent of the Catholic Church in 1536 when the Irish Parliament declared King Henry VIII to be the Supreme Head of the Church on earth. He would not legally become king of Ireland until 1541, adrian granted Henry II the Lordship of Ireland, thus, Henrys assumption of the title of King had less to do with dispossessing the native Irish kings than with confronting the Pope. The reformation commenced mainly in Dublin under the auspices of George Browne during Henrys reign, when the Church of England was reformed under King Edward VI of England, so too was the Church of Ireland. All but two of the Irish bishops appointed by Queen Mary accepted the Elizabethan Settlement, although the vast majority of priests, the Church of Ireland claims Apostolic succession because of the unbroken continuity of the episcopal hierarchy, however, this is disputed by the Roman Catholic Church. In this way, they were able to conform to the established church whilst at the same time continuing to worship. in the traditional
6.
Scottish Episcopal Church
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The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 18th century, it has held an identity distinct from the Church of Scotland, the current Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church is the Most Reverend David Chillingworth. According to the Mission Atlas Project,85,000 affiliates identify with the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Scottish Episcopal Church is the denomination for 350 congregations. Although the 2011 Census did not include the church by itself, scotlands third largest church is the Scottish Episcopal Church. The Scottish Episcopal Church was previously called the Episcopal Church in Scotland, the Church of Scotland claims the same continuity. The church is sometimes referred to in Scotland as the English Kirk. Saint Ninian conducted the first Christian mission to what is now southern Scotland, in 563, St Columba travelled to Scotland with twelve companions, where according to legend he first landed at the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula, near Southend. However, being still in sight of his land he moved further north along the west coast of Scotland. He was granted land on the island of Iona off the Isle of Mull which became the centre of his mission to the Picts. However, there is a sense in which he did not leave his native people and he visited the pagan king Bridei, king of Fortriu, at his base in Inverness, winning the kings respect and Columba subsequently played a major role in the politics of that country. He was also energetic in his evangelical work, in addition to founding several churches in the Hebrides. He was a man of letters, having written several hymns. He died on Iona and was buried in the abbey he established, the Scottish Reformation was formalised in 1560, when the Church of Scotland broke with the Church of Rome during a process of Protestant reform led, among others, by John Knox. It reformed its doctrines and government, drawing on the principles of John Calvin which Knox had been exposed to living in Switzerland. The 1560 Reformation Settlement was not ratified by the crown for some years, Scottish monarchs made repeated efforts to introduce bishops and two ecclesiastical traditions competed. In 1584 James VI of Scotland had the Parliament of Scotland pass the Black Acts and this met vigorous opposition and he was forced to concede that the General Assembly should continue to run the church. Calvinists who disliked the more style of liturgy were opposed by an Episcopalian faction. Many Scottish church leaders, and their congregations, responded to the Five Articles with boycotts, James son Charles I was crowned in Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, in 1633 with full Anglican rites
7.
Church in Wales
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The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. It defines itself as the ancient Church of this land, catholic and it proclaims and holds fast the doctrine and ministry of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops, the most recent archbishop, Barry Morgan, retired in January 2017 and has not yet been replaced. Unlike the Church of England, the Church in Wales is not an established church, disestablishment was effected in 1920 under the Welsh Church Act 1914. As a province of the Anglican Communion, the Church in Wales recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury as a focus of unity, eighteen cross-border parishes remained in the Church of England and were exempt from disestablishment. The Church in Wales adopted its name by accident, the Welsh Church Act 1914 referred throughout to the Church in Wales, the phrase being used to indicate the part of the Church of England within Wales. In 1920, a convention of the Welsh church considered what name to select, however, there were concerns that adopting a name different from that mentioned in the act might cause legal problems. Given the situation, it seemed sensible to adopt the title the Church in Wales, christianity in Wales can be traced back to the Romano-British period and an organised episcopal church has had continuous existence in Wales since that time. Wales became a refuge for other Britons following the pagan Anglo-Saxon invasion of what became England, the Welsh refused to co-operate with Augustine of Canterburys mission to the Anglo-Saxons. Afterward they were part of the Church of England until disestablishment in 1920, from the time of Henry VIII, Wales had been absorbed into England as a legal entity and the established church in Wales was the Church of England. The bill was fiercely resisted by members of the Conservative Party and blocked in the House of Lords, eventually being passed under the provisions of the Parliament Act 1911. In response to this description, the writer G. K. Chesterton penned the satirical poem Antichrist, or the Reunion of Christendom, An Ode containing the memorable retort Chuck It, Smith. The act both disestablished and disendowed the Church in Wales, the used to define the part of the Church of England which was to be separated. Disestablishment meant the end of the special legal status and Welsh bishops were no longer entitled to sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual. As the Church in Wales became independent of the state, tithes were no longer available to the church, endowments before 1662 were to be confiscated, those of later date were to remain. Disestablishment finally came into effect in 1920, the Church in Wales adopted a written constitution and elected a Governing Body which initially met once a year, but now meets twice annually. The Governing Body has ultimate authority to approve liturgies, review organizational structures, today, the Church in Wales is fully independent of both the state and the Church of England. It is an independent member of the Anglican Communion as are the Church of Ireland, in the first years of the 21st century, the Church in Wales has begun to engage in numerous debates
8.
Baptists
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Other tenets of Baptist churches include soul competency, salvation through faith alone, Scripture alone as the rule of faith and practice, and the autonomy of the local congregation. Baptists recognize two ministerial offices, elders and deacons, Baptist churches are widely considered to be Protestant churches, though some Baptists disavow this identity. Historians trace the earliest church labeled Baptist back to 1609 in Amsterdam, in accordance with his reading of the New Testament, he rejected baptism of infants and instituted baptism only of believing adults. Baptist practice spread to England, where the General Baptists considered Christs atonement to extend to all people, while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to the elect. Thomas Helwys formulated a distinctively Baptist request that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, Helwys died in prison as a consequence of the religious persecution of English dissenters under King James I. In 1638, Roger Williams established the first Baptist congregation in the North American colonies, in the mid-18th century, the First Great Awakening contributed to Baptist growth in both New England and the South. Baptist missionaries have spread their church to every continent, the largest Baptist denomination is the Southern Baptist Convention, with the membership of associated churches totaling more than 15 million. Modern Baptist churches trace their history to the English Separatist movement in the century after the rise of the original Protestant denominations and this view of Baptist origins has the most historical support and is the most widely accepted. Adherents to this position consider the influence of Anabaptists upon early Baptists to be minimal and it was a time of considerable political and religious turmoil. Both individuals and churches were willing to give up their theological roots if they became convinced that a more biblical truth had been discovered, during the Protestant Reformation, the Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church. There were some Christians who were not content with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation, there also were Christians who were disappointed that the Church of England had not made corrections of what some considered to be errors and abuses. Of those most critical of the Churchs direction, some chose to stay and they became known as Puritans and are described by Gourley as cousins of the English Separatists. Others decided they must leave the Church because of their dissatisfaction, historians trace the earliest Baptist church back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with John Smyth as its pastor. Three years earlier, while a Fellow of Christs College, Cambridge, reared in the Church of England, he became Puritan, English Separatist, and then a Baptist Separatist, and ended his days working with the Mennonites. He began meeting in England with 60–70 English Separatists, in the face of great danger, Smyth and his lay supporter, Thomas Helwys, together with those they led, broke with the other English exiles because Smyth and Helwys were convinced they should be baptized as believers. In 1609 Smyth first baptized himself and then baptized the others, in 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote a tract titled The Character of the Beast, or The False Constitution of the Church. In it he expressed two propositions, first, infants are not to be baptized, and second, Antichristians converted are to be admitted into the true Church by baptism. Hence, his conviction was that a church should consist only of regenerate believers who have been baptized on a personal confession of faith
9.
Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland
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The Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland is a Baptist Christian denomination based in Ireland. It is a group of 121 autonomous Baptist churches working together in fellowship and evangelism, the Association only acts on behalf of the churches for the work which the churches have agreed to do together. Baptist work was started in Ireland by the middle of the 17th century, by 1653, there were 10 churches. The Irish Baptist Association was organised in 1862, and was replaced by the Baptist Union of Ireland in 1895, Irish Baptists initially had a close relationship with the English Baptists. But desire for independence caused the Irish Baptists to follow their own path and they supported Charles Spurgeon during the Downgrade Controversy that raged in the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The Association comprises 115 Baptist churches and these member churches have over 8,500 members with a worshipping congregation of over 20,000 each Sunday. Departments include Baptist Women, Baptist Youth, Missions, Welfare, the ABC Insight is a bi-monthly magazine serving the churches. The Baptist Centre comprising the administrative offices and the Irish Baptist College is located near Moira, County Down, the Association holds an annual assembly in May. The Churches Council meets during the week of the annual assembly, the purpose of the Council is to hear reports and conduct business. Matters are handled between sessions by the Executive Committee elected by the churches at the May Churches Council meeting, each church appoints at least two representatives to serve on the Churches Council. This body meets each year. It is the authority within the Association. It appoints the committees and Association Officers, approves the policy and practice of the Association, the officers of the Association are, President, Vice-President, Ex-President, Honorary Treasurer and Association Director (Association Director is based at the Baptist Centre. They meet with the Executive Committee and deal with matters of urgency arising between meetings, the Churches Council also appoints the Management Committees to oversee the various areas of Association work. BM have 23 Mission Partners groups working in a variety of locations, BM have 13 peruvian partners groups working in a variety of locations. The churches of the Association hold to the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ as Head of the Church, the churches stand in the conservative and evangelical understanding of the Scriptures. While there are differences of interpretation, emphasis and practice evident among the churches each church affirms the doctrinal Statement of those things which are commonly believed. God, One God in three persons, the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-equal, co-eternal, sovereign and active in creation, providence and redemption
10.
Baptists Together
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Baptists Together is the association of Baptist churches in England and Wales. The Baptist Union of Great Britain was formed when the General Baptists, the Particular Baptist Missionary Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen was organised in 1792, under the leadership of Andrew Fuller, John Sutcliff, and William Carey. When the Baptist Union was founded in 1813, it was a Particular Baptist organisation, in 1833, it was restructured to allow for membership of General Baptists. General and Particular Baptist work was united in the Baptist Union in 1891, the Baptist Historical Society was founded in 1908. The basis of fellowship in the Baptist Union is a three-part Declaration of Principle stating belief in Jesus, Christian baptism, the national resource and offices are in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, having moved from Baptist Church House 2–6 Southampton Row, London in 1989. In 2013 Lynn Green was elected, with no votes against and she was received at the vote by a standing ovation and her inaugural message included I believe that our union is ready for generational change. It is time to cast off the institutional mindset that has served us well in the past, also in 2013, the Union publicly rebranded itself as Baptists Together and introduced a new logo to reflect the change. The Baptist Union of Great Britain consists of about 2,150 churches with a membership of almost 140,000 individuals. Baptists in the organisation are also part of the wider Fellowship of British Baptists, the European Baptist Federation, and it is itself a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services because of its work to promote young peoples personal and social development. This led to controversy, and some charged him with denying the Deity of Christ, payne, Ernest Alexander, The Baptist Union, A Short History. Brown, Raymond, The English Baptists of the Eighteenth Century, briggs, JHY, The English Baptists of the Nineteenth Century. Clements, Keith, Baptists in the Twentieth Century
11.
Baptist Union of Scotland
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The Baptist Union of Scotland is the main association of Baptist churches in Scotland. Baptists later emerged in the 18th century—in 1750 at Keiss, where the leader was William Sinclair, the group who in Edinburgh came to Baptist convictions in 1765 under the leadership of Robert Carmichael and Archibald McLean became known as Scotch Baptists. Like other Scottish Protestant Christians of the time they were very conservative, along with the English Baptists, they were distinguished from the Scotch Baptists by their more moderate and less Calvinistic attitudes. After overcoming initial hostilities, all groups were able to unite in 1869. The Baptist Union of Scotland was founded in 1869 with 51 churches in its membership, there are currently 164 churches in the Union, with around 12,000 members. The Unions main function is to service the churches, and to examine, the ultimate decision making body within the Union is the annual Assembly attended by delegates from each of the member churches. In between Assemblies a Council exists to ratify decisions and generally be available for consultation from the Core Leaders. BUS maintains strong links with other Baptists in the British Isles, notably the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Baptist Union of Wales, together, these five groups form the Fellowship of British Baptists. Additionally, BUS is in membership with the European Baptist Federation, unlike some other denominations the Baptist Union exercises no control over local churches. Baptists lay stress on the responsibility of local church to govern its own life and affairs. That it is the duty of every disciple to bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, religion in Scotland Wardin, Albert W. ed. Baptists Around the World, a comprehensive handbook. Nashville, Tenn, Broadman & Holman ISBN 0-8054-1076-7 McBeth, H. Leon The Baptist Heritage, nashville, Tenn, Broadman Press Murray, Derek Boyd The First Hundred Years, the Baptist Union of Scotland. Glasgow, Baptist Union of Scotland Bebbington, David W. ed, the Baptists in Scotland, a History. Glasgow, Baptist Union of Scotland McBeth, H. Leon A Sourcebook for Baptist Heritage, nashville, Tenn, Broadman Press Baptist Union of Scotland - official Web Site Scottish Baptist College - official Web Site
12.
Baptist Union of Wales
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The Baptist Union of Wales is a fellowship of Baptist churches in Wales. In 1649 John Myles and Thomas Proud led in the formation of a congregation at Ilston, before Myles emigrated to Swansea, Myles and Proud were connected to the Particular Baptists in London. In 1650 three Baptist congregations held the first general meeting of Baptists in Wales, the national union was organized in 1866. One of the most notable Welsh Baptist ministers was Christmas Evans, the Baptist Union of Wales is a member of the Free Church Council, Cytûn, the European Baptist Federation, and the Baptist World Alliance. Baptist Union headquarters is located at Y Llwyfan at Trinity University College in Carmarthen, in 1995 the Union had 544 congregations with 25,384 members. 146 of these churches held dual membership in the Baptist Union of Great Britain, though English is spoken by most citizens of Wales, many churches hold their services in their native Welsh language. The Baptist Union of Wales is housed at Y Llwyfan, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, College Road, Carmarthen, nonconformism Religion in Wales Albert W. Wardin, Jr. ed. Baptists Around the World. Broadman & Holman,1995 T. M. Bassett The Welsh Baptists, Swansea, Ilston House,1977 Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru/Baptist Union of Wales - official Web Site Shropshire Baptist History Introduction
13.
Catholicism
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The use of terms catholicism and catholicity is closely related to the use of term Catholic Church. The earliest evidence of the use of term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I limited use of the term Catholic Christian exclusively to those who followed the faith as Pope Damasus I of Rome. Numerous other early writers including Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine of Hippo further developed the use of the term catholic in relation to Christianity. In Christian theology, and specially in ecclesiology, terms Catholicism, when used with small c, terms catholicism and catholicity generally designate theological doctrine of the catholicity of the Church without denominational connotations. A common belief in Catholicism is institutional continuity with the early Christian church founded by Jesus Christ, many churches or communions of churches identify singularly or collectively as the authentic church. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils, when the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Romes influence was sometimes challenged. The first great rupture in the Church followed this Council and they are often called Ancient Oriental Churches. The next major break was after the Council of Chalcedon and this Council repudiated Eutychian Monophysitism which stated that the divine nature completely subsumed the human nature in Christ. This Council declared that Christ, though one person, exhibited two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation and thus is both fully God and fully human, the next great rift within Christianity was in the 11th century. This division between the Western Church and the Eastern Church is called the East–West Schism, several eastern churches reunited, constituting some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, in all these cases the beliefs and practices of Catholicism would be identical with the beliefs and practices of the Church in question. However, in Roman Catholicism, the term catholic is understood as to cover those who recognize and are in standing with the Magisterium. The sense given to the word by those who use it to distinguish their position from a Calvinistic or Puritan form of Protestantism. It is then meaningful to attempt to draw up a list of common characteristic beliefs, the Roman Catholic Church includes the 23 rites who recognize the Magisterium. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the belief that Christ is made manifest in the elements of Holy Communion, possession of the threefold ordained ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and this teaching is preserved in both written scripture and in unwritten tradition, neither being independent of the other. A belief in the necessity and efficacy of sacraments, liturgical and personal use of the Sign of the Cross The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship
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Roman Catholicism in the United Kingdom
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The Catholic Church in the United Kingdom is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope. K. s predecessor Kingdom of Great Britain by the Union of the Crowns in 1707. These discriminatory laws continued after the Acts of Union 1800, which created the new United Kingdom of Great Britain, at that time, Catholic Emancipation was gathering support but was not yet a reality, particularly in Ireland, where the Protestant Ascendancy was still in full force. The Treaty of Union of 1707, like the Act of Settlement, had stated that no Papist could succeed to the throne, the Catholic Church in England comprised three elements. In England there were about 50,000 people in traditional Catholic families and they generally kept a low profile. Their priests usually came from St Edmunds College, a seminary founded in 1793 by English refugees from the French revolution, the main disabilities were lifted by the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829. In 1850 the pope restored the Catholic hierarchy, giving England its own Catholic bishops again, in 1869 a new seminary opened. The second large group comprised very poor Irish immigrants escaping the Great Irish Famine and their numbers rose from 224,000 in 1841 to 419,000 in 1851, concentrated in ports and industrial districts as well as industrial districts in Scotland. The third group included well-known converts from the Church of England, most notably the intellectuals John Henry Newman, Manning became the second Archbishop of Westminster. The next most prominent leader was Herbert Vaughan, who succeeded Manning as Archbishop of Westminster in 1892 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1893, Manning was among the strongest supporters of the pope and especially of the doctrine of papal infallibility. In contrast Cardinal Newman acknowledged this doctrine but thought it not be prudent to define it formally at the time. Manning promoted a modern Catholic view of social justice and these views are reflected in the papal encyclical Rerum novarum issued by Pope Leo XIII. It was the foundation of modern Catholic social justice teaching, Catholic parochial schools, subsidised by the government, were set up in urban areas to serve the largely Irish element. Manning spoke for the Irish Catholic labourers and helped settle the London Dock Strike of 1889 and he gained acclaim for building a new cathedral in Westminister, and for encouraging the growth of religious congregations largely filled by the Irish. K. Chesterton, Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, Malcolm Muggeridge, Katharine Lucy Mary, Kenneth Clark and Joseph Pearce. Members of the Royal family such as the Duchess of Kent and former Prime Minister Tony Blair have also converted to the Catholic Church, there are 38 ecclesiastical circumscriptions and 3,104 parishes. In 2011, in there were roughly 5.7 million Catholics in the United Kingdom,4,155,100 in England and Wales,841,053 in Scotland. In large parts of Northern Ireland, Catholicism is the dominant religion, also in a few Scottish council areas Catholics outnumber other religions, including in the most populous one, Catholics outnumber members of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow City. Other council areas in which Catholics outnumber members of the Church of Scotland are North Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, the English Catholics, 1850–1950, scholarly essays Corrin, Jay P
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Roman Catholicism in Ireland
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The Catholic Church in Ireland is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope. With 4.7 million members, it is the most populous Christian denomination in Ireland, the Primate of All Ireland is the Archishop of Armagh and the Church ministers to Catholics on an All-Island basis, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Irish Catholic Bishops Conference is a body for ordinaries in Ireland. Christianity has existed in Ireland since the 5th century and arrived from Roman Britain and it gradually gained ground and replaced the old pagan traditions. The Catholic Church in Ireland cites its origin to this period, aside from this independence, Gaelic Ireland was a highly decentralised tribal society, so mass conversion to a new system would prove a drawn out process. These were typically in Leinster and Munster, the early stories of these people mention journeys to Roman Britain, Roman Gaul and even Rome itself. Indeed, Pope Celestine I is held to have sent Palladius to evangalise the Gaels in 431, but this did not gather much steam. However, the figure most associated with the Christianisation of Ireland is Patrick, a Romano-British nobleman, a reform to the Roman style diocesan system developed slowly after the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111. In 1155, Pope Adrian IV, the English born Pope and this gave Henry, Duke of Normandy permission to invade Ireland as a means of strengthening the Papacys control over the Irish Church. The Norman invasion of Ireland began in 1169, under the authority of this bull, after the Norman invasion, a greater number of foreign-born prelates were appointed. A confusing but defining period arose during the English Reformation in the 16th century, with monarchs alternately for or against Papal supremacy. When on the Death of Queen Mary in 1558, the church in England and Ireland broke away completely from the Papacy, all, very few of the local clergy led their congregations to follow. The new body became the established State Church, which was grandfathered in the possession of most Church property and this allowed the Church of Ireland to retain a great repository of religious architecture and other religious items, some of which were later destroyed in future wars. A substantial majority of the population remained Catholic, despite the political, the effect of the Act of Supremacy 1558 and the Papal bull of 1570 legislated that the majority population of both kingdoms to be governed by an Anglican Ascendancy. After the defeat of King James II of The Three Kingdoms in 1690, the slow process of reform from 1778 on led to Catholic Emancipation in 1829. By then Ireland was a part of the newly created United Kingdom of Great Britain and this cultural direction was particularly prominent under Éamon de Valera. For example, from 1937 until 1995, divorce and remarriage was not permitted, similarly, the importation of contraception abortion and pornography were also resisted, media-depictions perceived to be detrimental to public morality were also opposed by Catholics. In addition the Church largely controlled the States hospitals, schools, with the partition of Ireland in 1922,92. 6% of the souths population were Catholic while 7. 4% were Protestant
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Roman Catholicism in Scotland
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The Catholic Church in Scotland, overseen by the Scottish Bishops Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. After being firmly established in Scotland for nearly a millennium, the Catholic Church was outlawed following the Scottish Reformation in 1560, Catholic Emancipation in 1793 helped Catholics regain civil rights. In 1878, the Catholic hierarchy was formally restored, in 1716, Scalan seminary was established in the Highlands and rebuilt in the 1760s by Bishop John Geddes, a well-known figure in the Edinburgh of the Enlightenment period. When Robert Burns wrote to a correspondent that the first cleric character I ever saw was a Roman Catholick, the Gàidhealtachd has been both Catholic and Protestant in modern times. A number of Scottish Gaelic areas now are mainly Catholic, including Barra, South Uist, the poet and novelist Angus Peter Campbell writes frequently about the Catholic Church in his work. In the 2011 census, 16% of the population of Scotland described themselves as being Catholic, however, there are significant numbers of Italian, Lithuanian and Polish descent, with more recent Polish immigrants again boosting the numbers of continental Catholic Europeans in Scotland. Owing to immigration, it is estimated that, in 2009, between 1994 and 2002, Catholic attendance in Scotland declined 19% to just over 200,000. By 2008, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Scotland estimated that 184,283 attended Mass regularly, Christianity was probably introduced to what is now lowland Scotland from Roman soldiers stationed in the north of the province of Britannia. It is presumed to have survived among the Brythonic enclaves in the south of modern Scotland, Scotland was largely converted by Irish-Scots missions associated with figures such as St Columba from the fifth to the seventh centuries. These missions tended to found monastic institutions and collegiate churches that served large areas, after the reconversion of Scandinavian Scotland from the tenth century, Christianity under papal authority was the dominant religion of the kingdom. In the Norman period the Scottish church underwent a series of reforms, with royal and lay patronage, a clearer parochial structure based around local churches was developed. New saints and cults of devotion also proliferated and that remained the case until the Scottish Reformation in the mid-16th century, when the Church in Scotland broke with the papacy and adopted a Calvinist confession in 1560. At that point, the celebration of the Catholic mass was outlawed, although officially illegal, the Catholic Church survived in parts of Scotland. The hierarchy of the played a relatively small role and the initiative was left to lay leaders. Where nobles or local lairds offered protection it continued to thrive, as with Clanranald on South Uist, in these areas Catholic sacraments and practices were maintained with relative openness. Members of the nobility were probably reluctant to pursue each other matters of religion because of strong personal and social ties. An English report in 1600 suggested that a third of nobles, in most of Scotland, Catholicism became an underground faith in private households, connected by ties of kinship. This reliance on the household meant that women often became important as the upholders and transmitters of the faith and they transformed their households into centres of religious activity and offered places of safety for priests
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Holiness movement
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The movement is defined by its emphasis on John Wesleys doctrine of a second work of grace leading to Christian perfection. As of 2015 Holiness-movement churches had an estimated 12 million adherents, though it became a multi-denominational movement over time and was furthered by the Second Great Awakening which energized churches of all stripes, the Holiness movement has its roots in Wesleyanism. The Methodists of the 19th century continued the interest in Christian holiness that had started by their founder. They continued to publish Wesleys works and tracts, including his famous A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, in 1835, Palmers sister, Sarah A. Lankford, started holding Tuesday Meetings for the Promotion of Holiness in her New York City home. In 1837, Palmer experienced what she called entire sanctification and had become the leader of the Tuesday Meetings by 1839, at first only women attended these meetings, but eventually Methodist bishops and hundreds of clergy and laymen began to attend as well. At the same time, Methodist minister Timothy Merritt of Boston founded a journal called the Guide to Christian Perfection and this was the first American periodical dedicated exclusively to promoting the Wesleyan message of Christian holiness. In 1865, the Palmers purchased The Guide which at its peak had a circulation of 30,000, at the Tuesday Meetings, Methodists soon enjoyed fellowship with Christians of different denominations, including the Congregationalist Thomas Upham. Other non-Methodists also contributed to the Holiness movement in the U. S. in 1836, Mahan experienced what he called a baptism with the Holy Spirit. Mahan believed that experience had cleansed him from the desire. Finney believed that experience might provide a solution to a problem he observed during his evangelistic revivals. Some people claimed to experience conversion but then slipped back into their old ways of living, finney believed that the filling with the Holy Spirit could help these converts to continue steadfast in their Christian life. This phase of the Holiness movement is referred to as the Oberlin-Holiness revival. Hannah Whitall Smith, an English Quaker, experienced a personal conversion. Sometime in the 1860s, she found what she called the secret of the Christian life—devoting ones life wholly to God and her husband, Robert Pearsall Smith, had a similar experience at the camp meeting in 1867. The couple became figureheads in the now-famous Keswick Convention, which rise to what is often called the Keswick-Holiness revival. Also representative was the revivalism of Rev. James Caughey, an American missionary sent by the Wesleyan Methodist Church to work in Ontario and he brought in the converts by the score, most notably in the revivals in Canada West 1851–53. Phoebe Palmers ministry complemented Caugheys revivals in Ontario circa 1857, at least two major Wesleyan denominations broke away from Methodism during this period. In 1843 Orange Scott organized the Wesleyan Methodist Connection at Utica, roberts and John Wesley Redfield founded the Free Methodist Church on the ideals of slavery abolition, egalitarianism, and second-blessing holiness
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Pietism
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Pietism was an influential movement within Lutheranism that combined Lutheran emphasis on Biblical doctrine with the Reformed emphasis on individual piety and living a vigorous Christian life. Although the movement was active exclusively within Lutheranism, it had a impact on Protestantism worldwide, particularly in North America. Pietism spread from Germany to Switzerland and the rest of German-speaking Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltics, and it was further taken to North America, primarily by German and Scandinavian immigrants. The movement reached its zenith in the century, and declined through the 19th century. A substantial part of the Pietistic Protestants was formed by German Sectarians, Norwegian Lutherans, Swedish Lutherans, as the forerunners of the Pietists in the strict sense, certain voices had been heard bewailing the shortcomings of the Church and advocating a revival of practical and devout Christianity. The direct originator of the movement was Philipp Jakob Spener and he studied theology at Strasbourg, where the professors at the time were more inclined to practical Christianity than to theological disputation. In 1675, Spener published his Pia desideria or Earnest Desire for a Reform of the True Evangelical Church and this was originally a pejorative term given to the adherents of the movement by its enemies as a form of ridicule, like that of Methodists somewhat later in England. While large numbers of orthodox Lutheran theologians and pastors were deeply offended by Speners book, in 1686 Spener accepted an appointment to the court-chaplaincy at Dresden, which opened to him a wider though more difficult sphere of labor. In Leipzig, a society of young theologians was formed under his influence for the learned study, the theological chairs in the new university were filled in complete conformity with Speners proposals. Orthodox Lutherans rejected this viewpoint as a simplification, stressing the need for the church. Spener died in 1705, but the movement, guided by Francke and fertilized from Halle, spread through the whole of Middle, Spener stressed the necessity of a new birth and separation of Christians from the world. Many Pietists maintained that the new birth always had to be preceded by agonies of repentance, the whole school shunned all common worldly amusements, such as dancing, the theatre, and public games. Some believe this led to a new form of justification by works and its ecclesiolae in ecclesia also weakened the power and meaning of church organization. These Pietistic attitudes caused a counter-movement at the beginning of the 18th century, one leader was Valentin Ernst Löscher, a movement which cultivated religious feeling almost as an end itself. Yet some claim that Pietism contributed largely to the revival of Biblical studies in Germany and to making religion once more an affair of the heart and of life and it likewise gave a new emphasis to the role of the laity in the church. Then came a time when another intellectual power took possession of the minds of men, bonhoeffer denounced the basic aim of Pietism, to produce a desired piety in a person, as unbiblical. Pietism is considered the influence that led to the creation of the Evangelical Church of the Union in Prussia in 1817. The King of Prussia ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in Prussia to unite and this union movement spread through many German lands in the 1800s
19.
Church of the Nazarene
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The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th-century Holiness movement in North America. With its members commonly referred to as Nazarenes, it is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world, at the end of September 2016 the Church of the Nazarene had 2,471,553 members in 30,574 churches in 162 different world areas. The Church of the Nazarene uses world area to describe countries and areas that are a part of a country, more than 20 of the denominations 162 world areas fall into this category, such as Guam, a U. S. territory on the Asia-Pacific Region. With 626,811 members, at the end of 2016 the USA was the nation with the greatest number of Nazarenes, Other nations with large Nazarene populations include Mozambique, Brazil, India, Haiti, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Benin, and Ethiopia. In 2016, the Church of the Nazarene had the highest percentage presence in the nations of Barbados, Cape Verde, Swaziland, Haiti Mozambique, and Samoa. The global mission of the Church of the Nazarene since its beginnings has been to respond to the Great Commission of Christ to ‘go, in December 2006, this was expressed more succinctly as to make Christlike disciples in the nations. This frames the global mission of the denomination, since 2001, the three “core values” of the Church have been identified as Christian, Holiness, Missional. The denominational vision is, to be a church, an international community of faith. Reflecting the decisions and judgments of ministerial and lay delegates of the Twenty-eighth General Assembly, the Church of the Nazarene supports 52 undergraduate and graduate educational institutions in 35 countries on six continents around the world, with an enrollment of 51,555 students in 2016. The Nazarene Publishing House has been located in Kansas City, Missouri since its inception in 1912. During that reporting period,139,560 people became new members of the Church of the Nazarene, with 113,968 received by profession of faith and a further 25,592 coming from other denominations. With 626,811 members, the USA was the nation with the greatest number of Nazarenes, Other nations with large Nazarene populations include Mozambique, Brazil, India, Haiti, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Benin, and Ethiopia. In 2016, the Church of the Nazarene had the highest percentage presence in the nations of Barbados, Cape Verde, Swaziland, Haiti Mozambique, and Samoa. The highest percentage of Nazarene presence in the USA occurred in 2000, according to the Board of General Superintendents in December 2009, an average of 455 people came to Christ and joined the Church of the Nazarene every day last year. With 27. 29% of the Nazarene population, for the first time Africa was the largest of the denominations 6 global regions, with a total of 674,414 members reported. The USA/Canada region, which had always been the largest region in the ranked as second with 25. 87% of the global Nazarene population. In 2006 the USA/Canada region comprised 40. 27% of the Nazarene population, according to Nazarene Research Services, from 1983 to 2013, Church of the Nazarene membership grew from 650,000 full members to more than 2 million. The top 10 world areas for net gain of full members over that 30-year period were, Mozambique, USA, Brazil, India, Haiti, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Benin, and Peru
20.
The Salvation Army
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The Salvation Army is a Christian Protestant church and international charitable organisation structured in a quasi-military fashion. The organisation reports a membership of over 1.5 million, consisting of soldiers, officers. Its founders Catherine and William Booth sought to bring salvation to the poor, destitute and it is present in 127 countries, running charity shops, operating shelters for the homeless and disaster relief and humanitarian aid to developing countries. The theology of the Salvation Army is derived from that of Methodism although it is distinctive in institution, the Armys doctrine is typical of evangelical Protestant denominations. The Armys purposes are the advancement of the Christian religion, of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole. The Army was founded in 1865 in London by one-time Methodist circuit-preacher William Booth as the East London Christian Mission, in 1878 Booth reorganised the mission, becoming its first General and introducing the military structure which has been retained to the present day. The current world leader of The Salvation Army is General André Cox, the Salvation Army was founded in Londons East End in 1865 by one-time Methodist Reform Church minister William Booth and his wife Catherine as the East London Christian Mission. The name The Salvation Army developed from an incident on 19 and 20 May, William Booth was dictating a letter to his secretary George Scott Railton and said, We are a volunteer army. Bramwell Booth heard his father and said, Volunteer, Im no volunteer, Im a regular. Railton was instructed to cross out the volunteer and substitute the word salvation. The Salvation Army was modelled after the military, with its own flag and its own hymns, often with words set to popular, Booth and the other soldiers in Gods Army would wear the Armys own uniform, for meetings and ministry work. He became the General and his ministers were given appropriate ranks as officers. When William Booth became known as the General, Catherine is known as the Mother of The Salvation Army, William preached to the poor, and Catherine spoke to the wealthy, gaining financial support for their work. She also acted as a minister, which was unusual at the time. William Booth described the approach, The three ‘Ss’ best expressed the way in which the Army administered to the down and outs, first, soup, second, soap. In 1880, the Salvation Army started its work in three countries, Australia, Ireland, and the United States. When the first official officers arrived in Australia and the United States, they found groups of Salvationists already waiting for them and started working with each other. The Booths did not include the use of sacraments in the Armys form of worship, other beliefs are that its members should completely refrain from drinking alcohol, smoking, taking illegal drugs and gambling
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Seventh-day Adventist Church
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The denomination grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the mid-19th century and was formally established in 1863. Among its founders was Ellen G. White, whose writings are still held in high regard by the church. Much of the theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church corresponds to common Protestant Christian teachings, such as the Trinity, distinctive teachings include the unconscious state of the dead and the doctrine of an investigative judgment. The church is known for its emphasis on diet and health, its understanding of the person, promotion of religious liberty. The world church is governed by a General Conference, with smaller regions administered by divisions, union conferences and it currently has a worldwide baptized membership of over 20 million people, and 25 million adherents. As of May 2007, it was the twelfth-largest religious body in the world, and it is ethnically and culturally diverse, and maintains a missionary presence in over 200 countries and territories. The church operates schools, hospitals, and publishing houses worldwide, as well as a humanitarian aid organization known as the Adventist Development. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest of several Adventist groups which arose from the Millerite movement of the 1840s in upstate New York, a phase of the Second Great Awakening. William Miller predicted on the basis of Daniel 8, 14–16, in the summer of 1844, Millerites came to believe that Jesus would return on October 22,1844, understood to be the biblical Day of Atonement for that year. When this did not happen, most of his followers disbanded and returned to their original churches. Hiram Edson and other Millerites came to believe that Millers calculations were correct and these Adventists came to the conviction that Daniel 8,14 foretold Christs entrance into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary rather than his Second Coming. As the early Adventist movement consolidated its beliefs, the question of the day of rest. The foremost proponent of Sabbath-keeping among early Adventists was Joseph Bates, Bates was introduced to the Sabbath doctrine through a tract written by Millerite preacher Thomas M. Preble, who in turn had been influenced by Rachel Oakes Preston, a young Seventh Day Baptist. This message was accepted and formed the topic of the first edition of the church publication The Present Truth. They embraced the doctrines of the Sabbath, the heavenly sanctuary interpretation of Daniel 8,14, conditional immortality, among its most prominent figures were Joseph Bates, James White, and Ellen G. White. Ellen White came to occupy a central role, her many visions. The church was established in Battle Creek, Michigan, on May 21,1863. The denominational headquarters were moved from Battle Creek to Takoma Park, Maryland
22.
Wesleyan Holiness Church
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The Wesleyan Holiness Church is a Christian denomination which describes itself as evangelical protestant and has its roots in John Wesleys Methodism. It sits within the Holiness movement which emerged from Methodism during the nineteenth century, in the UK, the British Isles District has 16 churches. The head office is at New Life Wesleyan Church in Handsworth, Birmingham
23.
Lutheranism
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Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity which identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer and theologian. Luthers efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone and this is in contrast to the belief of the Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent, concerning authority coming from both the Scriptures and Tradition. In addition, Lutheranism accepts the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church, unlike Calvinism, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lords Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, the purpose of Gods Law, the grace, the concept of perseverance of the saints. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism, with approximately 80 million adherents, it constitutes the third most common Protestant denomination after historically Pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism. The Lutheran World Federation, the largest communion of Lutheran churches, Other Lutheran organizations include the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as independent churches. The name Lutheran originated as a term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Catholics followed the practice of naming a heresy after its leader. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran, preferring the term Evangelical, which was derived from euangelion, the followers of John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other theologians linked to the Reformed tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed. As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped, Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists. In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title Lutheran as referring to the true church, Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther, who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century, as the monarch of Denmark–Norway, through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia. Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen, under the reign of Frederick I, Denmark-Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers. During Fredericks reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark, at an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by the king in 1536, the people shouted, We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore. Fredericks son Christian was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his fathers death, however, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1537 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark-Norway
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Lutheran Church in Great Britain
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The Lutheran Church in Great Britain is a relatively small church in the United Kingdom. The LCiGB is also a member of the Porvoo Communion of Anglican and Lutheran churches in Europe and it is, in common with many Lutheran Churches, led by a Bishop and a Council elected at its Annual Synod. The Right Revd Dr Martin Lind, former Bishop of the Diocese of Linköping in the Church of Sweden, was received as the third Bishop of LCiGB on 11 January 2014. The English Reformation did not follow the Lutheran pattern, but was largely influenced by ideas stemming from the Reformation in Switzerland. It is well known that Henry VIII did not favour the Lutheran cause, however, there were some English adherents of Lutheranism. A group of theologians at the University of Cambridge, which met at the White Horse tavern from the mid-1520s and its members included Robert Barnes, Hugh Latimer, John Frith and Thomas Bilney. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was initially influenced by Lutheran theology and he visited Andreas Osiander in Nuremberg in 1532. The First Prayer Book of Edward VI was arguably Lutheran in content, however, the Second Prayer Book of Edward VI was published along Swiss Reformed lines and the Church of England became part of the Reformed tradition in Protestantism. The first Lutherans living in Britain after the Reformation were therefore not local people, the foundation stone of the new Holy Trinity Church was laid on 21 November 1672 and the completed building was dedicated one year later on Advent Sunday 1673. The church was known as the Hamburg Lutheran Church because many of its original members were sea merchants associated with the Hanseatic League in Germany. The church survived until 1871 when it was demolished to make way for the Mansion House underground station, in addition, The Queens Chapel of the Savoy, a royal peculiar and thus not subject to a bishops jurisdiction, hosted the German congregation of Westminster. It was granted permission to worship in the Savoy Chapel when it separated from Holy Trinity the Less. The new congregations first pastor, Irenaeus Crusius, dedicated the congregation on the 19th Sunday after Trinity 1694 as the Marienkirche or in English as the German Church of St Mary-le-Savoy. In the English-speaking lineage, Holy Trinity the Less was succeeded by St Annes Lutheran Church which worshipped at the Anglican church of St Anne, the German-speaking congregation now meets in Cambridge. St Annes now worships at the Anglican church of St Mary-at-Hill, the German Church of St Mary-le-Savoy now exists as part of the united German congregation of St Mary and St George. The congregation now meets in the chapel within the International Lutheran Student Centre in Bloomsbury, all Lutheran congregations in Britain were originally ethnic churches that worshipped in various national languages and most that remain still function on ethnic-linguistic lines. The LCiGB was founded as the English-speaking United Lutheran Synod in April 1961 by four congregations in London, High Wycombe, Corby and these congregations were mainly founded by European immigrants, but now worshipped in English. In 1978, it changed its name to the Lutheran Church in Great Britain - United Synod, in 1988, the words United Synod were dropped from its name
25.
Methodism
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Methodism, or the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their inspiration from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and Johns brother Charles Wesley were also significant leaders in the movement and it originated as a revival within the 18th century Church of England and became a separate Church after Wesleys death. Because of vigorous missionary work, the movement spread throughout the British Empire, Wesleys theology focused on sanctification and the effect of faith on the character of a Christian. Distinguishing Methodist doctrines include an assurance of salvation, imparted righteousness, the possibility of perfection in love, the works of piety and the primacy of Scripture. Most Methodists teach that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for all of humanity and that salvation is available for all, in theology and this teaching rejects the Calvinist position that God has pre-ordained the salvation of a select group of people. However, Whitefield and several others were considered Calvinistic Methodists and held to the latter position, Methodism emphasises charity and support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the works of mercy. These ideals are put into practice by the establishment of hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens and schools to follow Christs command to spread the gospel, the movement has a wide variety of forms of worship, ranging from high church to low church in liturgical usage. Denominations that descend from the British Methodist tradition are generally less ritualistic, Methodism is known for its rich musical tradition and Charles Wesley was instrumental in writing much of the hymnody of the Methodist Church. In Britain, the Methodist Church had an effect in the early decades of the making of the working class. In the United States, it became the religion of many slaves who later formed black churches in the Methodist tradition. The Methodist revival began with a group of men, including John Wesley and his younger brother Charles, the Wesley brothers founded the Holy Club at the University of Oxford, where John was a fellow and later a lecturer at Lincoln College. The club met weekly and they set about living a holy life. They were accustomed to receiving Communion every week, fasting regularly, abstaining from most forms of amusement and luxury and frequently visited the sick, the fellowship were branded as Methodist by their fellow students because of the way they used rule and method to go about their religious affairs. John, who was leader of the club, took the attempted mockery, unsuccessful in their work, the brothers returned to England conscious of their lack of genuine Christian faith. They looked for help to Peter Boehler and other members of the Moravian Church, at a Moravian service in Aldersgate on 24 May 1738, John experienced what has come to be called his evangelical conversion, when he felt his heart strangely warmed. Charles had reported an experience an few days previously. Considered a pivotal moment, Daniel L. John Wesley came under the influence of the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, Arminius had rejected the Calvinist teaching that God had pre-ordained an elect number of people to eternal bliss while others perished eternally. Conversely, George Whitefield, Howell Harris, and Selina Hastings, George Whitefield, returning from his own mission in Georgia, joined the Wesley brothers in what was rapidly to become a national crusade
26.
Wesleyanism
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Wesleyanism, manifest today in Methodist and holiness churches, is named for its founders, the Wesleys. In 1736, these two brothers traveled to the Georgia colony in America as missionaries for the Church of England, both of them subsequently had religious experiences, especially John in 1738, being greatly influenced by the Moravian Christians. They began to organize a movement within the Church of England to focus on personal faith. The Wesleyan churches are similar to Anglicanism, yet have added a strong emphasis on personal faith. At its heart, the theology of John Wesley stressed the life of Christian holiness, to love God with all heart, mind, soul and strength. Wesley’s teaching also stressed experiential religion and moral responsibility, the doctrine of Wesleyan-Arminianism was founded as an attempt to explain Christianity in a manner unlike the teachings of Calvinism. Arminianism is a study conducted by Jacobus Arminius, from the Netherlands. After the death of Arminius the followers, led by Simon Episcopius and this document is known today as the five articles of Remonstrance. Arminianism was officially recorded and presented to Dutch leaders in 1610 A. D. about one hundred, the doctrine is based upon five essential beliefs that are purposely biblical in nature. The first of five points is the reason for the conflict between Calvinism and Arminianism in its basic foundation, it is the concept of free will. Arminius believed that even after the fall of humankind, all persons had the responsibility to accept Jesus Christ, the second point of Arminianism declares conditional election. Arminius states that the choosing of the elect is based upon the foreknowledge of God as to who would believe and it is this choosing by Gods grace to accept Jesus Christ that elects one to inherit salvation. Thus, salvation is made to initially by Gods prevenient grace and then ones free will. Third, Arminianism explains that redemption is based on the fact that God loves everyone, that Christ was sacrificed for all, the crucifixion of Christ satisfied Gods wrath, provided the means by which forgiveness can occur, and Christs resurrection enables the forgiven to inherit life. However, once again, one must choose Christ in order to be saved, hence Christ died for every person who has lived and will ever live, but only those that freely choose to follow Jesus are elected unto salvation. Fourth, the idea of Obstructable Grace states that since God does desire all persons to be saved, God sent the Holy Spirit to encourage, yet, again because of free will, one may choose to reject salvation and thus resist Gods will. God wills all people to be saved and worship God in spirit and in truth, in the early 1770s, John Wesley, aided by the theological writings of John William Fletcher emphasized Arminian doctrines in his controversy with the Calvinistic wing of the evangelicals in England. Then, in 1778, he founded a journal which he titled the Arminian Magazine
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Methodist Church of Great Britain
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The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the fourth-largest Christian denomination in Britain and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, the World Council of Churches, in July 2014 the church had approximately 202,000 members in 4,650 congregations, and 575,000 adherents in total. Methodism began primarily through the work of John Wesley, who led a revival in 18th century Britain. His preaching centred upon the universality of Gods grace for all, the effect of faith on character and he organised the new converts locally and in a Connexion across Britain. In the 19th century, the Wesleyan Methodist Church experienced many secessions, the main streams of Methodism were reunited in 1932, forming the Methodist Church as it is today. Methodist circuits, containing several local churches, are gathered into thirty-one districts, the movement which would become the Methodist Church began in the mid-18th century within the Church of England. A small group of students, including John Wesley, Charles Wesley and George Whitefield and they focused on methodical study of the Bible and living a holy life. Other students mocked them, saying they were the Holy Club, the first Methodist movement outside the Church of England was associated with Howell Harris in Wales. This was to become the Calvinistic Methodist Church, another branch of the Methodist revival was under the ministry of George Whitefield, resulting in the Countess of Huntingdons Connexion. The largest branch of Methodism in England was organised by John Wesley and he took to open-air preaching to recruit followers to his movement. He formed small classes in which his followers would receive religious guidance, most importantly, Wesley appointed itinerant evangelists to travel and preach as he did and to care for these groups of people. It is a tribute to Wesleys powers of oratory and organisational skills that the term Methodism is today assumed to mean Wesleyan Methodism unless otherwise stated, Methodist preachers were famous for their enthusiastic sermons and often accused of fanaticism. Theophilus Evans, a critic of the movement, even wrote that it was the natural Tendency of their Behaviour, in Voice and Gesture and horrid Expressions. In one of his prints, William Hogarth likewise attacked Methodists as enthusiasts full of Credulity, Superstition, other attacks against the Methodists were physically violent—Wesley was nearly murdered by a mob at Wednesbury in 1743. The Methodists responded vigorously to their critics and thrived despite the attacks against them, as Wesley and his colleagues preached around the country they formed local societies, authorised and organised through Wesleys leadership and conferences of preachers. Wesley insisted that Methodists regularly attend their local church as well as Methodist meetings. In 1784, Wesley made provision for the governance of Methodism after his death through the Yearly Conference of the People called Methodists and he nominated 100 people and declared them to be its members and laid down the method by which their successors were to be appointed. The Conference has remained the governing body of Methodism ever since, as his societies multiplied, and elements of an ecclesiastical system were successively adopted, the breach between Wesley and the Church of England gradually widened
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Methodist Church in Ireland
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The Methodist Church in Ireland is a Wesleyan Methodist church that operates across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on an all-Ireland basis. It is the fourth largest Christian denomination in Northern Ireland, the governing body of the Methodist Church in Ireland is the Annual Conference. John spent much of his preaching in Ireland and is said to have visited forty-two times. Wesleyan Theology remained close to the Anglican criteria of scripture, tradition and reason, the Methodist Church as part of the worldwide church shares those core beliefs which it believes to have been passed down from the time of the Apostles. Those beliefs are founded on the Bible and are summed up in the creeds, the Methodist Church affirms the importance of these matters. John Wesley believed that certain aspects of the Christian Faith required special emphasis, all can be saved - We can be saved from the consequences of our sin through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is a Gospel for everyone - God sent the Son into the world, there are no bishops or ordained hierarchy. Authority in the Church is vested in the Annual Conference and the trustees, the small group has always been the lifeblood of Methodism. They have different names now, whether an Alpha Home group, prayer triplet, Bible study, or whatever and these small groups gather, along with other people, to worship together on Sunday and to work and witness in the community throughout the week. These congregations can be linked with up to six or seven other congregations in the area to form a circuit. The direction of a circuit is guided by the Circuit Executive, composed of one minister, other ministers, local preachers. There are 73 Methodist circuits on the island of Ireland, which have gathered into eight districts to co-ordinate and motivate at a more general geographical level. Each district appoints a Superintendent and a Secretary to oversee the work, the annual conference is usually held over the second weekend of June each year. There are several boards and departments which work at the Connexional level to serve individuals, each year Conference elects an administrative and representative president for 12 months. The Methodist Church has made a contribution to Ireland both through education and social action. The church has an emphasis on action in society. One of the churchs mottoes is that the organisation is Friends of all, the Methodist Church maintains a number of City Missions. Work carried out by the City Missions includes listening services, homeless help, retirement and nursing homes, strongly emphasised is that the relief of social and personal needs are addressed irrespective of creed
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Newfrontiers
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Newfrontiers is a neocharismatic apostolic network of evangelical, charismatic churches founded by Terry Virgo. It forms part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 1950s and 1960s combining features of Pentecostalism with British evangelicalism, other streams of the British New Church Movement with which it shares some features include Together, Ministries Without Borders, and Life-Links. Groups like Pioneer, Ichthus Christian Fellowship, and Vineyard are more distantly related, Newfrontiers is committed to building churches according to New Testament principles. One of the slogans of the movement has been changing the expression of Christianity around the world, if it is considered to be potentially beneficial to the whole church body, any worship music being played will subside for a moment, and the individual can address the congregation. In the early days of the movement a bible week called The Downs was held at Plumpton race course each year and this was replaced by Stoneleigh Bible Week, which was held at the National Agricultural Centre showground. After the Stoneleigh Bible Week was stopped a number of more regional events were started. After running for 10 years North Camp was to cease after the 2013 event, newday is a camping event attended by young people between the ages of 12 and 19. The Everything Conference was a one-day Christian conference held in the UK by the Newfrontiers family of churches, the conference was held in London, and focused on cultural transformation. The conference borrowed its name from the verse in the Bible The earth is the Lords, in each local church leadership is expressed in a plurality of local elders, often with multiple staff. This means that women are not allowed to occupy positions of leadership within the local churches. Women do, however, hold positions in almost every area in the church and are encouraged to do so. Newfrontiers believes that sex is a sin, but does not condone homophobia. There have been claims that at least one Newfrontiers church has attempted to cure gay people, nigel Wright believes that Newfrontiers and other British restorationists are claiming too much when they speak of restoring the church. In 1986, sociologist and church historian Andrew Walker wrote of Newfrontiers that churches are far more centralised and controlled than those of mainline charismatic fellowships, the situation seems slightly analogous to Japanese business practices, they… export with great success, but import virtually nothing from anybody else. One of the conclusions, There is a toughness about this style of leadership that is unlikely to be distracted by opposition. The disadvantage is that this style of leadership can leave some individuals hurt, in February 2016, musician Joseph Coward wrote an article for Vice Magazine, in which he described a now disbanded Newfrontiers church. He claimed that it had all the hallmarks of a cult, fleming, John, Bind Us Together, To Be the Church That Jesus Really Wants, Seaford, Thankful, ISBN 978-1-905084-15-9. Hosier, John, Christs Radiant Church, Oxford, Monarch Books, Virgo, Terry, The Spirit-Filled Church, Finding Your Place in Gods Purpose, ISBN 0-857-21049-1
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Eastern Christianity
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Eastern Christianity consists of four main church families, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Assyrian Church of the East, as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches. The term is used in contrast with Western Christianity, the term does not describe a single communion or religious denomination. Some Eastern churches have more in common historically and theologically with Western Christianity than with one another, the various Eastern churches do not normally refer to themselves as Eastern, with the exception of the Assyrian Church of the East and its offshoots. Eastern Christians do not share the religious traditions, but do share many cultural traditions. Christianity divided itself in the East during its early centuries both within and outside of the Roman Empire in disputes about Christology and fundamental theology, as well as national divisions and it would be many centuries later that Western Christianity fully split from these traditions as its own communion. The Eastern churches differences from Western Christianity have as much, if not more, to do with culture, language, for the non-Catholic Eastern churches, a definitive date for the commencement of schism cannot usually be given. Oriental Orthodoxy separated after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, since the time of the historian Edward Gibbon, the split between the Church of Rome and the Orthodox Church has been conveniently dated to 1054, though the reality is more complex. This split is referred to as the Great Schism. Eastern Orthodox Christians accept the decisions of the First seven Ecumenical Councils, the Eastern Orthodox Church is organized into self-governing jurisdictions along geographical, national, ethnic, and/or linguistic lines. Eastern Orthodoxy is thus made up of 15 or 16 autocephalous bodies, smaller churches are autonomous and each have a mother church that is autocephalous. This is in contrast to the Catholic Church and its various Churches, members of the latter are all in communion with each other, parts of a top-down hierarchy. The majority of Catholics accept both the Filioque clause and, since 1950, the Assumption of Mary and this puts them in sharp contrast with the Eastern Orthodox. Yet some Catholics who are not in communion with the Catholic Church side with the Eastern Orthodox here and reject these teachings and it is estimated that there are approximately 240 million Eastern Orthodox Christians in the world. Today, many adherents shun the term Eastern as denying the universal character. They refer to Eastern Orthodoxy simply as the Orthodox Church, hence, these churches are also called Old Oriental churches. Oriental Orthodoxy developed in reaction to Chalcedon on the limit of the Byzantine Empire and in Egypt. In those locations, there are also Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, thereafter it was often known, possibly inaccurately, as the Nestorian Church in the West. Surviving a period of persecution within Persia, the Church of the East flourished under the caliphate and branched out, in the 16th century dynastic struggles sent the church into schism, resulting in the formation of two rival churches
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Pentecostalism
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The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, like other forms of evangelical Protestantism, Pentecostalism adheres to the inerrancy of scripture and the necessity of accepting Christ as personal Lord and Savior. It is distinguished by belief in the baptism in the Holy Spirit that enables a Christian to live a Spirit-filled and empowered life and this empowerment includes the use of spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and divine healing—two other defining characteristics of Pentecostalism. For this reason, some Pentecostals also use the term Apostolic or Full Gospel to describe their movement, Pentecostalism emerged in the early 20th century among radical adherents of the Holiness movement who were energized by revivalism and expectation for the imminent Second Coming of Christ. In 1900, Charles Parham, an American evangelist and faith healer, the three-year-long Azusa Street Revival, founded and led by William J. While virtually all Pentecostal denominations trace their origins to Azusa Street, an early dispute centered on challenges to the doctrine of the Trinity. As a result, the Pentecostal Movement is divided between trinitarian and non-trinitarian branches, there are over 279 million Pentecostals worldwide, and the movement is growing in many parts of the world, especially the global South. Together, Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity numbers over 500 million adherents, Pentecostalism is an evangelical faith, emphasizing the reliability of the Bible and the need for the transformation of an individuals life through faith in Jesus. Like other evangelicals, Pentecostals generally adhere to the Bibles divine inspiration and inerrancy—the belief that the Bible, Pentecostals emphasize the teaching of the full gospel or foursquare gospel. The central belief of Pentecostalism is that through the death, burial and this is the Gospel or good news. The fundamental requirement of Pentecostalism is that one be born again, the new birth is received by the grace of God through faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. In being born again, the believer is regenerated, justified, adopted into the family of God, Pentecostal soteriology is generally Arminian rather than Calvinist. The security of the believer is a doctrine held within Pentecostalism, nevertheless, Pentecostals believe in both a literal heaven and hell, the former for those who have accepted Gods gift of salvation and the latter for those who have rejected it. For most Pentecostals there is no requirement to receive salvation. Baptism with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues are not generally required, a notable exception is Oneness Pentecostalism, most adherents of which believe both water baptism and Spirit baptism are integral components of salvation. Pentecostals identify three distinct uses of the baptism in the New Testament, Baptism into the body of Christ. Every believer in Christ is made a part of his body, the Holy Spirit is the agent, and the body of Christ is the medium. Baptism with the Holy Spirit, This is an experience distinct from baptism into the body of Christ
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Church of God in Christ
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The Church Of God in Christ is a Pentecostal-Holiness Christian denomination with a predominantly African-American membership. The denomination reports having more than 12,000 churches and over 6.5 million members in the United States. The National Council of Churches ranks it as the fifth largest Christian denomination in the U. S. Internationally and its worldwide membership is estimated to be between six and eight million, composing more than 25,000 congregations throughout the world. The Church of God in Christ was formed in 1897 by a group of disfellowshiped Baptists, Mason were licensed Baptist ministers in Mississippi who taught a Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection or Entire Sanctification as a second work of grace to their Baptist congregations. Her life story led many African-Americans into the movement, including C. H. Mason who testified to receiving Entire Sanctification after reading her autobiography, Jones held a Holiness convention at Mt. Helm Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, attended by C. H. Mason and others from several states, protestant doctrinal debates about Calvinism and Wesleyan Perfectionism impacted how even local African-American Baptist pastors responded to new Christian movements at the time. Some of these African-American Baptist pastors in local Southern areas such as Mississippi, Tennessee, the leadership of the Mississippi State Convention of the National Baptist Convention intervened and expelled C. P. Mason, and others who embraced the Wesleyan teaching of Entire Sanctification, in 1897 after being expelled from preaching in local Baptist churches under the Mississippi State Convention, Elder Mason founded the St. Paul Church in Lexington, Mississippi, the first COGIC church. When the first convocation was held in 1897, the group was known simply as the Church of God. Since so many new groups and fellowships were forming using the name Church of God. Mason sought a name to distinguish this holiness organization from others, later in 1897, while in Little Rock, Arkansas, C. H. Mason believed that God had given him such a name for the group, Mason believed that the name taken from 1 Thessalonians 2,14 was divinely revealed and biblically inspired. This Holiness group/fellowship adopted the name Church of God in Christ, Jones was elected the General Overseer, C. H. Mason was selected as Overseer of Tennessee, and J. A, Jeter was selected as Overseer of Arkansas. After testifying to being sanctified, members of the referred to themselves as the Saints. In 1906, C. H. Mason, J. A Jeter, Young were appointed as a committee by C. P. Jones to investigate reports of a revival in Los Angeles, California that was being led by an itinerant preacher named William J. Seymour, masons visit to the Azusa Street Revival changed the direction of the newly formed holiness church
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Elim Pentecostal Church
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The Elim Pentecostal Church is a UK-based Pentecostal Christian denomination. George Jeffreys, a Welshman, founded the Elim Pentecostal Church in Monaghan, Jeffreys was an evangelist with a Welsh Congregational church background. He was converted at age 15 during the Welsh Revival of 1904, alexander A. Boddy, Vicar of All Saints, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland invited him to preach at his International Pentecostal Convention in Sunderland in May 1913. Between 1915 and 1934, Jeffreys was extremely active as a revivalist, the church was brought together, first as the Elim Evangelistic Band, but this was changed to Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance when the Deed Poll was registered in April 1934. This represented a place of refreshing and it was appropriate for a revival movement at that time. The presidency of Elim then passed to George Kingston, a businessman who had founded many of the Elim congregations in Essex. On the night of 23 June 1978, eight British missionaries, most of the women were raped. The baptism of believers by immersion and Communion are held to be ordinances, the Elim Pentecostal Church has experienced steady growth and now numbers 600 churches in the United Kingdom and almost 9000 worldwide. Kensington Temple of London is the largest church in the denomination, Elim Missions exist in 35 countries with hospitals, orphanages, and schools, although the denomination has churches in 50 countries. The church operates Regents Theological College in Malvern, Worcestershire, where the headquarters are also based. The authority of governance of the church is rested in the annual Conference, guidance of the denomination is placed in the National Leadership Team and the General Superintendent between sessions. Chris Cartwright has served as General Superintendent since 2016, superseding John Glass, Elim headquarters is in Malvern, alongside its Bible College. Elim became a member of the Pentecostal Churches of the United Kingdom in 1998. It has been a member of the Evangelical Alliance for many years, the standard hymnal of the Elim Church has been the Redemption Hymnal in the past. Today however, the music and worship is modern and contemporary worship songs with some traditional hymns alongside. Now Elim has its own Worship Department writing songs and training worship teams called Elim Sound
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Presbyterianism
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Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism which traces its origins to the British Isles, particularly Scotland. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the form of church government. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, Presbyterian church government was ensured in Scotland by the Acts of Union in 1707 which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. In fact, most Presbyterians found in England can trace a Scottish connection, the Presbyterian denominations in Scotland hold to the theology of John Calvin and his immediate successors, although there are a range of theological views within contemporary Presbyterianism. The roots of Presbyterianism lie in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, most Reformed churches which trace their history back to Scotland are either presbyterian or congregationalist in government. In the twentieth century, some Presbyterians played an important role in the ecumenical movement, many Presbyterian denominations have found ways of working together with other Reformed denominations and Christians of other traditions, especially in the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Some Presbyterian churches have entered into unions with other churches, such as Congregationalists, Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterian history is part of the history of Christianity, but the beginning of Presbyterianism as a distinct movement occurred during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. As the Catholic Church resisted the reformers, several different theological movements splintered from the Church, the Presbyterian church traces its ancestry back primarily to England and Scotland. In August 1560 the Parliament of Scotland adopted the Scots Confession as the creed of the Scottish Kingdom, Presbyterians distinguish themselves from other denominations by doctrine, institutional organization and worship, often using a Book of Order to regulate common practice and order. The origins of the Presbyterian churches are in Calvinism, many branches of Presbyterianism are remnants of previous splits from larger groups. Presbyterians place great importance upon education and lifelong learning, Presbyterian government is by councils of elders. Teaching and ruling elders are ordained and convene in the lowest council known as a session or consistory responsible for the discipline, nurture, teaching elders have responsibility for teaching, worship, and performing sacraments. Pastors are called by individual congregations, a congregation issues a call for the pastors service, but this call must be ratified by the local presbytery. Ruling elders are usually laymen who are elected by the congregation and ordained to serve with the elders, assuming responsibility for nurture. Often, especially in larger congregations, the elders delegate the practicalities of buildings, finance and this group may variously be known as a Deacon Board, Board of Deacons Diaconate, or Deacons Court. These are sometimes known as presbyters to the full congregation, above the sessions exist presbyteries, which have area responsibilities. These are composed of teaching elders and ruling elders from each of the constituent congregations, the presbytery sends representatives to a broader regional or national assembly, generally known as the General Assembly, although an intermediate level of a synod sometimes exists. The Church of Scotland abolished the Synod in 1993, Presbyterian governance is practised by Presbyterian denominations and also by many other Reformed churches
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Calvinism
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Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice of John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. The term Calvinism can be misleading, because the tradition which it denotes has always been diverse. The movement was first called Calvinism by Lutherans who opposed it, early influential Reformed theologians include Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. In the twentieth century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B, Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, Karl Barth, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Cornelius Van Til, and Gordon Clark were influential. Contemporary Reformed theologians include J. I, sproul, Timothy J. Keller, John Piper, David Wells, and Michael Horton. Reformed churches may exercise several forms of polity, most are presbyterian or congregationalist. Calvinism is largely represented by Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions, the biggest Reformed association is the World Communion of Reformed Churches with more than 80 million members in 211 member denominations around the world. There are more conservative Reformed federations such as the World Reformed Fellowship, Calvinism is named after John Calvin. It was first used by a Lutheran theologian in 1552 and it was a common practice of the Catholic Church to name what they perceived to be heresy after its founder. Nevertheless, the term first came out of Lutheran circles, Calvin denounced the designation himself, They could attach us no greater insult than this word, Calvinism. It is not hard to guess where such a deadly hatred comes from that they hold against me, despite its negative connotation, this designation became increasingly popular in order to distinguish Calvinists from Lutherans and from newer Protestant branches that emerged later. Moreover, these churches claim to be—in accordance with John Calvins own words—renewed accordingly with the order of gospel. Since the Arminian controversy, the Reformed tradition—as a branch of Protestantism distinguished from Lutheranism—divided into two groups, Arminians and Calvinists. However, it is now rare to call Arminians a part of the Reformed tradition, some have also argued that Calvinism as a whole stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things including salvation. First-generation Reformed theologians include Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, John Oecolampadius, scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lords Supper as visible signs of the covenant of grace. Another Reformed distinctive present in these theologians was their denial of the presence of Christ in the Lords supper. Each of these also understood salvation to be by grace alone. Martin Luther and his successor Philipp Melanchthon were undoubtedly significant influences on these theologians, the doctrine of justification by faith alone was a direct inheritance from Luther
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Associated Presbyterian Churches
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The Associated Presbyterian Churches is a Scottish Christian denomination, formed in 1989 from part of the community of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. As Mackay was Lord Advocate for Scotland, it was expected that he attend the funeral of a member of the judiciary. However, Mackay was also an elder in the Free Presbyterian Church, and its leadership found his attendance intolerable, as it regards Catholicism as spurious, as a result, Mackay was suspended from office. Some in the church disagreed with this punishment and a split ensued, not only over the Mackay affair, the Associated Churches website states, We believe that it is correct to allow Christians to make their own decisions on matters that are not fundamental to the faith. The church has eight congregations in Scotland and a single congregation in New Westminster. The denomination claims a further nine churches, however, these congregations do not hold services, associate Presbyterian Church is a member of the World Reformed Fellowship. Associated Churches website Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland
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Church of Scotland
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The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is the national church of Scotland. Protestant and Presbyterian, its decision to respect liberty of opinion in points which do not enter into the substance of the Faith. Means it is tolerant of a variety of theological positions, including those who would term themselves conservative and liberal in their doctrine, ethics. The Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland, while the Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the earliest Christians in Scotland, its identity was principally shaped by the Scottish Reformation of 1560. At that point, many in the church in Scotland broke with Rome, in a process of Protestant reform led, among others. It reformed its doctrines and government, drawing on the principles of John Calvin which Knox had been exposed to living in Geneva. The 1560 Reformation Settlement was not ratified by the crown, as the monarch, Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, refused to do so, and the question of church government also remained unresolved. In 1572 the acts of 1560 were finally approved by the young King James VI, the son of Queen Mary, melville and his supporters enjoyed some temporary successes—most notably in the Golden Act of 1592, which gave parliamentary approval to Presbyterian courts. By the time he died in 1625, the Church of Scotland had a panel of bishops and archbishops. General Assemblies met only at times and places approved by the Crown, Charles I inherited a settlement in Scotland based on a balanced compromise between Calvinist doctrine and episcopal practice. Lacking the political judgement of his father, he began to upset this by moving into dangerous areas. Disapproving of the plainness of the Scottish service he, together with his Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, the centrepiece of this new strategy was the Prayer Book of 1637, a slightly modified version of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Although this was devised by a panel of Scottish bishops, Charles insistence that it be drawn up in secret, when the Prayer Book was finally introduced at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh in mid-1637 it caused an outbreak of rioting, which spread across Scotland. In November 1638, the General Assembly in Glasgow, the first to meet for twenty years, not only declared the Prayer Book unlawful, the Church of Scotland was then established on a Presbyterian basis. Charles attempt at resistance to these developments led to the outbreak of the Bishops Wars, in the ensuing civil wars, the Scots Covenanters at one point made common cause with the English parliamentarians—resulting in the Westminster Confession of Faith being agreed by both. This document remains the standard of the Church of Scotland. Episcopacy was reintroduced to Scotland after the Restoration, the cause of discontent, especially in the south-west of the country. To reduce their influence the Scots Parliament guaranteed Presbyterian governance of the Church by law, controversy still surrounded the relationship between the Church of Scotlands independence and the civil law of Scotland
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