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
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Welsh Church". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "