The Penguin History of the Church: The Reformation: Reformation v. 3 (Hist of the Church)

Reverend Owen Chadwick () was one of the foremost historians of church history. Reverend Chadwick's many notable publications include The.
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The council was "pastoral" in nature, emphasising and clarifying already defined dogma, revising liturgical practices, and providing guidance for articulating traditional Church teachings in contemporary times. The council is perhaps best known for its instructions that the Mass may be celebrated in the vernacular as well as in Latin.


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Orthodoxy was very strong in Russia , which had recently acquired an autocephalous status, and as the only part of the Orthodox communion which remained outside the control of the Ottoman Empire; Moscow called itself the Third Rome , as the heir of Constantinople. In Tsar Peter I abolished completely the patriarchate and so the Russian Orthodox Church effectively became a department of the government, ruled by a Most Holy Synod composed of senior bishops and lay bureaucrats appointed by the Tsar himself.

This continued until the 20th century. In , Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire. Under Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox Church acquired substantial power as an autonomous millet. The ecumenical patriarch was the religious and administrative ruler of the entire "Greek Orthodox nation" Ottoman administrative unit , which encompassed all the Eastern Orthodox subjects of the Empire.

As a result of the Ottoman conquest and the fall of Constantinople , the entire Orthodox communion of the Balkans and the Near East became suddenly isolated from the West. For the next four hundred years, it would be confined within a hostile Islamic world, with which it had little in common religiously or culturally. This is, in part, due to this geographical and intellectual confinement that the voice of Eastern Orthodoxy was not heard during the Reformation in sixteenth-century Europe.

As a result, this important theological debate often seems strange and distorted to the Orthodox. They never took part in it and thus neither Reformation nor Counter-Reformation is part of their theological framework. The new Ottoman government that arose from the ashes of Byzantine civilisation was neither primitive nor barbaric. Islam not only recognised Jesus as a great prophet, but tolerated Christians as another People of the Book.

As such, the Church was not extinguished nor was its canonical and hierarchical organisation significantly disrupted. Its administration continued to function. One of the first things that Mehmet the Conqueror did was to allow the Church to elect a new patriarch, Gennadius Scholarius. The Hagia Sophia and the Parthenon , which had been Christian churches for nearly a millennium were, admittedly, converted into mosques, yet countless other churches, both in Constantinople and elsewhere, remained in Christian hands. Moreover, it is striking that the patriarch's and the hierarchy's position was considerably strengthened and their power increased.

They were endowed with civil as well as ecclesiastical power over all Christians in Ottoman territories. Because Islamic law makes no distinction between nationality and religion, all Christians, regardless of their language or nationality, were considered a single millet , or nation. The patriarch, as the highest ranking hierarch, was thus invested with civil and religious authority and made ethnarch , head of the entire Christian Orthodox population.

Practically, this meant that all Orthodox Churches within Ottoman territory were under the control of Constantinople. Thus, the authority and jurisdictional frontiers of the patriarch were enormously enlarged. However, these rights and privileges see Dhimmitude , including freedom of worship and religious organisation, were often established in principle but seldom corresponded to reality. The legal privileges of the patriarch and the Church depended, in fact, on the whim and mercy of the Sultan and the Sublime Porte , while all Christians were viewed as little more than second-class citizens.

Moreover, Turkish corruption and brutality were not a myth. That it was the "infidel" Christian who experienced this more than anyone else is not in doubt. Nor were pogroms of Christians in these centuries unknown see Greco-Turkish relations. Missionary work among Moslems was dangerous and indeed impossible, whereas conversion to Islam was entirely legal and permissible.

Converts to Islam who returned to Orthodoxy were put to death as apostates. No new churches could be built and even the ringing of church bells was prohibited. Education of the clergy and the Christian population either ceased altogether or was reduced to the most rudimentary elements. The Orthodox Church found itself subject to the Turkish system of corruption. The patriarchal throne was frequently sold to the highest bidder, while new patriarchal investiture was accompanied by heavy payment to the government.

In order to recoup their losses, patriarchs and bishops taxed the local parishes and their clergy. Nor was the patriarchal throne ever secure. Few patriarchs between the fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries died a natural death while in office. The forced abdications, exiles, hangings, drownings, and poisonings of patriarchs are well documented. But if the patriarch's position was precarious so was the hierarchy's.

The hanging of patriarch Gregory V from the gate of the patriarchate on Easter Sunday was accompanied by the execution of two metropolitans and twelve bishops. Devshirmeh was the system of the collection of young boys from conquered Christian lands by the Ottoman sultans as a form of regular taxation in order to build a loyal army formerly largely composed of war captives and the class of military administrators called the " Janissaries ", or other servants such as tellak in hamams. At the same time, it was placed under the control of the Tsar by the Church reform of Peter I in the 18th century.

Its governing body was Most Holy Synod , which was run by an official titled Ober-Procurator appointed by the Tsar himself. The church was involved in the various campaigns of russification , [21] and accused of the involvement in anti-Jewish pogroms. The Church was allowed to impose taxes on the peasants. The Church, like the Tsarist state was seen as an enemy of the people by the Bolsheviks and other Russian revolutionaries. This may have further strengthened the Bolshevik animus against the church. After the October Revolution of 7 November October 25 Old Calendar there was a movement within the Soviet Union to unite all of the people of the world under Communist rule see Communist International.

This included the Eastern European bloc countries as well as the Balkan States. Since some of these Slavic states tied their ethnic heritage to their ethnic churches, both the peoples and their church where targeted by the Soviet. The Soviet Union was the first state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion. Toward that end, the Communist regime confiscated church property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in the schools.

Actions toward particular religions, however, were determined by State interests, and most organised religions were never outlawed. Some actions against Orthodox priests and believers along with execution included torture being sent to prison camps , labour camps or mental hospitals.

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In the first five years after the Bolshevik revolution, 28 bishops and 1, priests were executed. They were herded into the forest, pushed into an abandoned mineshaft and grenades were then hurled into the mineshaft. Her remains were buried in Jerusalem , in the Church of Maria Magdalene. The main target of the anti-religious campaign in the s and s was the Russian Orthodox Church, which had the largest number of faithful. Nearly its entire clergy, and many of its believers, were shot or sent to labor camps.

Theological schools were closed, and church publications were prohibited. In the period between and , the number of Orthodox Churches in the Russian Republic fell from 29, to less than Between and , , Orthodox priests were arrested. Of these, 95, were put to death, executed by firing squad. By about 22, Russian Orthodox churches had become active. But in Nikita Khrushchev initiated his own campaign against the Russian Orthodox Church and forced the closure of about 12, churches.

They disagreed with one another concerning the presence of Christ and his body and blood in Holy Communion. In the late s, Arnold of Brescia , an Italian canon regular became one of the first theologians to attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church. After his death, his teachings on apostolic poverty gained currency among Arnoldists , and later more widely among Waldensians and the Spiritual Franciscans , though no written word of his has survived the official condemnation. In the early s, Peter Waldo founded the Waldensians. He advocated an interpretation of the Gospel that led to conflicts with the Roman Catholic Church.

By , the Waldensians were declared heretical and subject to persecution. Despite that, the movement continues to exist to this day in Italy, as a part of the wider Reformed tradition. In the s, John Wycliffe —later dubbed the "Morning Star of Reformation"—started his activity as an English reformer. He rejected papal authority over secular power, translated the Bible into vernacular English , and preached anticlerical and biblically-centred reforms.

Beginning in the first decade of the 15th century, Jan Hus —a Roman Catholic priest, Czech reformist and professor—influenced by John Wycliffe's writings, founded the Hussite movement. He strongly advocated his reformist Bohemian religious denomination. He was excommunicated and burned at the stake in Constance , Bishopric of Constance in by secular authorities for unrepentant and persistent heresy.

After his execution, a revolt erupted. Hussites defeated five continuous crusades proclaimed against them by the Pope. Later on, theological disputes caused a split within the Hussite movement. Utraquists maintained that both the bread and the wine should be administered to the people during the Eucharist. Another major faction were the Taborites , who opposed the Utraquists in the Battle of Lipany during the Hussite Wars.

There were two separate parties among the Hussites: Tensions arose as the Thirty Years' War reached Bohemia in Both moderate and radical Hussitism was increasingly persecuted by Catholics and Holy Roman Emperor's armies. Starting in , an Italian Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola was calling for a Christian renewal. Later on, Martin Luther himself read some of the friar's writings and praised him as a martyr and forerunner whose ideas on faith and grace anticipated Luther's own doctrine of justification by faith alone. The theses debated and criticized many aspects of the Church and the papacy, including the practice of purgatory , particular judgment , and the authority of the pope.

Luther would later write works against the Catholic devotion to Virgin Mary , the intercession of and devotion to the saints, mandatory clerical celibacy, monasticism, the authority of the pope, the ecclesiastical law, censure and excommunication, the role of secular rulers in religious matters, the relationship between Christianity and the law, good works, and the sacraments. The Reformation was a triumph of literacy and the new printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg.

From onward, religious pamphlets flooded much of Europe. Following the excommunication of Luther and condemnation of the Reformation by the Pope, the work and writings of John Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various groups in Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary, Germany and elsewhere. After the expulsion of its Bishop in , and the unsuccessful attempts of the Bern reformer William Farel , Calvin was asked to use the organisational skill he had gathered as a student of law to discipline the city of Geneva.

His Ordinances of involved a collaboration of Church affairs with the City council and consistory to bring morality to all areas of life. After the establishment of the Geneva academy in , Geneva became the unofficial capital of the Protestant movement, providing refuge for Protestant exiles from all over Europe and educating them as Calvinist missionaries. The faith continued to spread after Calvin's death in Protestantism also spread from the German lands into France, where the Protestants were nicknamed Huguenots. Calvin continued to take an interest in the French religious affairs from his base in Geneva.

He regularly trained pastors to lead congregations there. Despite heavy persecution, the Reformed tradition made steady progress across large sections of the nation, appealing to people alienated by the obduracy and the complacency of the Catholic establishment.

French Protestantism came to acquire a distinctly political character, made all the more obvious by the conversions of nobles during the s. This established the preconditions for a series of conflicts, known as the French Wars of Religion. The civil wars gained impetus with the sudden death of Henry II of France in Atrocity and outrage became the defining characteristics of the time, illustrated at their most intense in the St.

Bartholomew's Day massacre of August , when the Roman Catholic party annihilated between 30, and , Huguenots across France. The wars only concluded when Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes , promising official toleration of the Protestant minority, but under highly restricted conditions. Roman Catholicism remained the official state religion , and the fortunes of French Protestants gradually declined over the next century, culminating in Louis XIV's Edict of Fontainebleau which revoked the Edict of Nantes and made Roman Catholicism the sole legal religion once again.

In the late 17th century many Huguenots fled to England, the Netherlands, Prussia, Switzerland, and the English and Dutch overseas colonies. Parallel to events in Germany, a movement began in Switzerland under the leadership of Huldrych Zwingli. Zwingli was a scholar and preacher, who in moved to Zurich. Although the two movements agreed on many issues of theology, some unresolved differences kept them separate. A long-standing resentment between the German states and the Swiss Confederation led to heated debate over how much Zwingli owed his ideas to Lutheranism.

A meeting was held in his castle in , now known as the Colloquy of Marburg , which has become infamous for its failure. The two men could not come to any agreement due to their disputation over one key doctrine. In , King Henry VIII put an end to all papal jurisdiction in England , after the Pope failed to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon ; [36] this opened the door to reformational ideas.

Reformers in the Church of England alternated between sympathies for ancient Catholic tradition and more Reformed principles, gradually developing into a tradition considered a middle way via media between the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. The English Reformation followed a particular course. The different character of the English Reformation came primarily from the fact that it was driven initially by the political necessities of Henry VIII.

King Henry decided to remove the Church of England from the authority of Rome. Between and , under Thomas Cromwell , the policy known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries was put into effect. Following a brief Roman Catholic restoration during the reign of Mary I, a loose consensus developed during the reign of Elizabeth I. The Elizabethan Religious Settlement largely formed Anglicanism into a distinctive church tradition.

The Penguin History of the Church, The Reformation by Owen Chadwick

The compromise was uneasy and was capable of veering between extreme Calvinism on the one hand and Roman Catholicism on the other. The success of the Counter-Reformation on the Continent and the growth of a Puritan party dedicated to further Protestant reform polarised the Elizabethan Age. The early Puritan movement was a movement for reform in the Church of England. The desire was for the Church of England to resemble more closely the Protestant churches of Europe, especially Geneva. The later Puritan movement, often referred to as dissenters and nonconformists , eventually led to the formation of various Reformed denominations.

The Scottish Reformation of decisively shaped the Church of Scotland. John Knox is regarded as the leader of the Scottish Reformation. The Scottish Reformation Parliament of repudiated the pope's authority by the Papal Jurisdiction Act , forbade the celebration of the Mass and approved a Protestant Confession of Faith. It was made possible by a revolution against French hegemony under the regime of the regent Mary of Guise , who had governed Scotland in the name of her absent daughter. In the course of this religious upheaval, the German Peasants' War of —25 swept through the Bavarian , Thuringian and Swabian principalities.

Church of Ireland

The Great Awakenings were periods of rapid and dramatic religious revival in Anglo-American religious history. The First Great Awakening was an evangelical and revitalization movement that swept through Protestant Europe and British America , especially the American colonies in the s and s, leaving a permanent impact on American Protestantism. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of deep personal revelation of their need of salvation by Jesus Christ.

Pulling away from ritual, ceremony, sacramentalism and hierarchy, it made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual conviction and redemption, and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to a new standard of personal morality. The Second Great Awakening began around It gained momentum by After , membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations, whose preachers led the movement. It was past its peak by the late s.

It has been described as a reaction against skepticism, deism , and rationalism , although why those forces became pressing enough at the time to spark revivals is not fully understood. The Third Great Awakening refers to a hypothetical historical period that was marked by religious activism in American history and spans the late s to the early 20th century.

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It was affiliated with the Social Gospel Movement, which applied Christianity to social issues and gained its force from the Awakening, as did the worldwide missionary movement. New groupings emerged, such as the Holiness , Nazarene , and Christian Science movements. The Fourth Great Awakening was a Christian religious awakening that some scholars—most notably, Robert Fogel —say took place in the United States in the late s and early s, while others look at the era following World War II. The terminology is controversial. Thus, the idea of a Fourth Great Awakening itself has not been generally accepted.

In , a Protestant revival in Wales had tremendous impact on the local population. A part of British modernization, it drew many people to churches, especially Methodist and Baptist ones. A noteworthy development in 20th-century Protestant Christianity was the rise of the modern Pentecostal movement. Sprung from Methodist and Wesleyan roots, it arose out of meetings at an urban mission on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. From there it spread around the world, carried by those who experienced what they believed to be miraculous moves of God there. These Pentecost-like manifestations have steadily been in evidence throughout the history, such as seen in the two Great Awakenings.

Pentecostalism, which in turn birthed the Charismatic movement within already established denominations, continues to be an important force in Western Christianity. In the United States and elsewhere in the world, there has been a marked rise in the evangelical wing of Protestant denominations, especially those that are more exclusively evangelical, and a corresponding decline in the mainstream liberal churches. In the post— World War I era, Liberal Christianity was on the rise, and a considerable number of seminaries held and taught from a liberal perspective as well.

In the post— World War II era, the trend began to swing back towards the conservative camp in America's seminaries and church structures. In Europe, there has been a general move away from religious observance and belief in Christian teachings and a move towards secularism. The Enlightenment is largely responsible for the spread of secularism. Several scholars have argued for a link between the rise of secularism and Protestantism, attributing it to the wide-ranging freedom in the Protestant-majority countries. United States remains particularly religious in comparison to other developed countries.

South America, historically Roman Catholic, has experienced a large Evangelical and Pentecostal infusion in the 20th and 21st centuries. Unlike mainstream Lutheran , Calvinist and Zwinglian movements, the Radical Reformation , which had no state sponsorship, generally abandoned the idea of the "Church visible" as distinct from the "Church invisible". It was a rational extension of the state-approved Protestant dissent, which took the value of independence from constituted authority a step further, arguing the same for the civic realm.

The Radical Reformation was non-mainstream, though in parts of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, a majority would sympathize with the Radical Reformation despite the intense persecution it faced from both Roman Catholics and Magisterial Protestants. The early Anabaptists believed that their reformation must purify not only theology but also the actual lives of Christians, especially their political and social relationships. This was not a doctrine new to the reformers, but was taught by earlier groups, such as the Albigenses in Though most of the Radical Reformers were Anabaptist, some did not identify themselves with the mainstream Anabaptist tradition.

Andreas Karlstadt disagreed theologically with Huldrych Zwingli and Martin Luther, teaching nonviolence and refusing to baptize infants while not rebaptizing adult believers. In the view of many associated with the Radical Reformation, the Magisterial Reformation had not gone far enough. Radical Reformer, Andreas von Bodenstein Karlstadt , for example, referred to the Lutheran theologians at Wittenberg as the "new papists". This is made evident in the prominence of Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli as leaders of the reform movements in their respective areas of ministry. Because of their authority, they were often criticized by Radical Reformers as being too much like the Roman Popes.

A more political side of the Radical Reformation can be seen in the thought and practice of Hans Hut , although typically Anabaptism has been associated with pacifism. Anabaptism in shape of its various diversification such as the Amish , Mennonites and Hutterites came out of the Radical Reformation. Protestants refer to specific groupings of congregations or churches that share in common foundational doctrines and the name of their groups as denominations. An example this is no universal way to classify Protestant churches, as these may sometimes vary broadly in their structures to show the difference:.

Protestants reject the Roman Catholic Church's doctrine that it is the one true church , believing in the invisible church , which consists of all who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Individual denominations also have formed over very subtle theological differences. Other denominations are simply regional or ethnic expressions of the same beliefs. Because the five solas are the main tenets of the Protestant faith, non-denominational groups and organizations are also considered Protestant.

Various ecumenical movements have attempted cooperation or reorganization of the various divided Protestant denominations, according to various models of union, but divisions continue to outpace unions, as there is no overarching authority to which any of the churches owe allegiance, which can authoritatively define the faith.

Most denominations share common beliefs in the major aspects of the Christian faith while differing in many secondary doctrines, although what is major and what is secondary is a matter of idiosyncratic belief. Several countries have established their national churches , linking the ecclesiastical structure with the state.

Jurisdictions where a Protestant denomination has been established as a state religion include several Nordic countries ; Denmark including Greenland , [54] the Faroe Islands its church being independent since , [55] Iceland [56] and Norway [57] [58] [59] have established Evangelical Lutheran churches. Tuvalu has the only established church in Reformed tradition in the world, while Tonga — in the Methodist tradition. In , Finland was the first Nordic country to disestablish its Evangelical Lutheran church by introducing the Church Act.

United and uniting churches are churches formed from the merger or other form of union of two or more different Protestant denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state, usually in order to have a stricter control over the religious sphere of its people, but also other organizational reasons. As modern Christian ecumenism progresses, unions between various Protestant traditions are becoming more and more common, resulting in a growing number of united and uniting churches.

As mainline Protestantism shrinks in Europe and North America due to the rise of secularism , Reformed and Lutheran denominations merge, often creating large nationwide denominations. The phenomenon is much less common among evangelical , nondenominational and charismatic churches as new ones arise and plenty of them remain independent of each other.

Perhaps the oldest official united church is found in Germany , where the Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran , United Prussian Union and Reformed churches , a union dating back to The first of the series of unions was at a synod in Idstein to form the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau in August , commemorated in naming the church of Idstein Unionskirche one hundred years later.

Around the world, each united or uniting church comprises a different mix of predecessor Protestant denominations. Trends are visible, however, as most united and uniting churches have one or more predecessors with heritage in the Reformed tradition and many are members of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Protestants can be differentiated according to how they have been influenced by important movements since the Reformation, today regarded as branches.

Some of these movements have a common lineage, sometimes directly spawning individual denominations. Due to the earlier stated multitude of denominations , this section discusses only the largest denominational families, or branches, widely considered to be a part of Protestantism.

These are, in alphabetical order: A small but historically significant Anabaptist branch is also discussed. The chart below shows the mutual relations and historical origins of the main Protestant denominational families, or their parts. Adventism began in the 19th century in the context of the Second Great Awakening revival in the United States. William Miller started the Adventist movement in the s. His followers became known as Millerites. Although the Adventist churches hold much in common, their theologies differ on whether the intermediate state is unconscious sleep or consciousness, whether the ultimate punishment of the wicked is annihilation or eternal torment, the nature of immortality, whether or not the wicked are resurrected after the millennium, and whether the sanctuary of Daniel 8 refers to the one in heaven or one on earth.

The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has compiled that church's core beliefs in the 28 Fundamental Beliefs and , which use Biblical references as justification. In , Adventism claimed some 22 million believers scattered in various independent churches. James Springer White and his wife, Ellen G. White founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church. An Adventist pastor baptizes a young man in Mozambique.

Anabaptism traces its origins to the Radical Reformation. Anabaptists believe in delaying baptism until the candidate confesses his or her faith. Although some consider this movement to be an offshoot of Protestantism, others see it as a distinct one. Schwarzenau Brethren , Bruderhof , and the Apostolic Christian Church are considered later developments among the Anabaptists. The name Anabaptist , meaning "one who baptizes again", was given them by their persecutors in reference to the practice of re-baptizing converts who already had been baptized as infants.

The early members of this movement did not accept the name Anabaptist , claiming that since infant baptism was unscriptural and null and void, the baptizing of believers was not a re-baptism but in fact their first real baptism. As a result of their views on the nature of baptism and other issues, Anabaptists were heavily persecuted during the 16th century and into the 17th by both Magisterial Protestants and Roman Catholics. Anabaptist reformers of the Radical Reformation are divided into Radical and the so-called Second Front.

Balthasar Hubmaier , one of the earliest and most prominent Anabaptist theologians. Anglicanism comprises the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs, worship practices and church structures. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority, since each national or regional church has full autonomy. As the name suggests, the communion is an association of churches in full communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. The great majority of Anglicans are members of churches which are part of the international Anglican Communion , [73] which has 85 million adherents.

These reforms were understood by one of those most responsible for them, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer , as navigating a middle way between two of the emerging Protestant traditions, namely Lutheranism and Calvinism. Unique to Anglicanism is the Book of Common Prayer , the collection of services that worshippers in most Anglican churches used for centuries.

While it has since undergone many revisions and Anglican churches in different countries have developed other service books, the Book of Common Prayer is still acknowledged as one of the ties that bind the Anglican Communion together. Thomas Cranmer , one of the most influential figures in shaping Anglican theology and self-identity. The various editions of the Book of Common Prayer contain the words of structured services of worship in the Anglican Church. British coronations are held in Westminster Abbey , a royal peculiar under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch.

Baptists subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers believer's baptism , as opposed to infant baptism , and that it must be done by complete immersion as opposed to affusion or sprinkling.

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Other tenets of Baptist churches include soul competency liberty , 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, pastors and deacons. Baptist churches are widely considered to be Protestant churches, though some Baptists disavow this identity.

Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship. Historians trace the earliest church labeled Baptist back to in Amsterdam , with English Separatist John Smyth as its pastor. Baptist missionaries have spread their church to every continent. Roger Williams was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. Baptists subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers.

The First Baptist Church in America. Baptists are roughly one-third of U. Calvinism, also called the Reformed tradition, was advanced by several theologians such as Martin Bucer , Heinrich Bullinger , Peter Martyr Vermigli , and Huldrych Zwingli, but this branch of Christianity bears the name of the French reformer John Calvin because of his prominent influence on it and because of his role in the confessional and ecclesiastical debates throughout the 16th century.

Today, this term also refers to the doctrines and practices of the Reformed churches of which Calvin was an early leader. Less commonly, it can refer to the individual teaching of Calvin himself. The particulars of Calvinist theology may be stated in a number of ways. Perhaps the best known summary is contained in the five points of Calvinism , though these points identify the Calvinist view on soteriology rather than summarizing the system as a whole.

Broadly speaking, Calvinism stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things—in salvation but also in all of life. This concept is seen clearly in the doctrines of predestination and total depravity. The biggest Reformed association is the World Communion of Reformed Churches with more than 80 million members in member denominations around the world. John Calvin 's theological thought influenced a variety of Congregational , Continental Reformed , United , Presbyterian , and other Reformed churches. Lutheranism identifies with the theology of Martin Luther—a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer, and theologian.

Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone ", the doctrine that scripture is the final authority on all matters of faith, denying the belief of the Catholic Church defined at the Council of Trent concerning authority coming from both the Scriptures and Tradition.

Unlike the Reformed tradition, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist , or Lord's Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology , the purpose of God's Law , the divine grace , the concept of perseverance of the saints , and predestination. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism. With approximately 80 million adherents, [89] it constitutes the third most common Protestant confession after historically Pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism.

Martin Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation in Philip Melanchthon , the co-founder of Lutheranism, baptizing an infant. Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-five Theses to the main door of the Schlosskirche. Methodism identifies principally with the theology of John Wesley —an Anglican priest and evangelist. This evangelical movement originated as a revival within the 18th-century Church of England and became a separate Church following Wesley's death.

Because of vigorous missionary activity, the movement spread throughout the British Empire , the United States, and beyond, today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide. Soteriologically , most Methodists are Arminian , emphasizing that Christ accomplished salvation for every human being, and that humans must exercise an act of the will to receive it as opposed to the traditional Calvinist doctrine of monergism.

Methodism is traditionally low church in liturgy, although this varies greatly between individual congregations; the Wesleys themselves greatly valued the Anglican liturgy and tradition. Methodism is known for its rich musical tradition; John Wesley's brother, Charles , was instrumental in writing much of the hymnody of the Methodist Church, [92] and many other eminent hymn writers come from the Methodist tradition. John Wesley , the primary founder of the Methodism. A United Methodist elder celebrating the Eucharist.

Methodist Central Hall in Westminster , London. Pentecostalism is a movement that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ , as described in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. This branch of Protestantism is distinguished by belief in the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an experience separate from conversion that enables a Christian to live a Holy Spirit—filled and empowered life. This empowerment includes the use of spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and divine healing —two other defining characteristics of Pentecostalism.

Because of their commitment to biblical authority, spiritual gifts, and the miraculous, Pentecostals tend to see their movement as reflecting the same kind of spiritual power and teachings that were found in the Apostolic Age of the early church. For this reason, some Pentecostals also use the term Apostolic or Full Gospel to describe their movement. Pentecostalism eventually spawned hundreds of new denominations, including large groups such as the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ, both in the United States and elsewhere.

There are over million Pentecostals worldwide, and the movement is growing in many parts of the world, especially the global South. Since the s, Pentecostalism has increasingly gained acceptance from other Christian traditions, and Pentecostal beliefs concerning Spirit baptism and spiritual gifts have been embraced by non-Pentecostal Christians in Protestant and Catholic churches through the Charismatic Movement.

Together, Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity numbers over million adherents. Charles Fox Parham , who associated glossolalia with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. A Pentecostal church in Ravensburg, Germany. Officially abandoned after the accession of King James VI and I in , the practice persisted in both England and Ireland under the guise of 'occasional conformity' well into the midth century. This was continued after his death in by his assistant, John Kearny, and Nehemiah Donnellan , Archbishop of Tuam , completed by Donnellan's successor William Daniel and printed in A translation of the Old Testament was prepared by William Bedel, Bishop of Kilmore — , but not published until in a revised version by Narcissus Marsh — , Archbishop of Dublin.

Despite these efforts, the Church was largely confined to the English-speaking minority in The Pale ; Scots settlers in the Plantation of Ulster were predominantly Presbyterian while the Irish-speaking majority retained their loyalty to the Holy See. Instead, clergy were imported from England and Scotland; the Scots influence resulted in the adoption of the Irish Articles, largely the work of James Ussher , later Archbishop of Armagh.

Superficially resembling the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, these are more detailed, less ambiguous and often explicitly Calvinist. After the Restoration of , the Thirty-Nine Articles were retained and remained the official doctrine of the Church of Ireland even after disestablishment. Under Charles I of England , one school of thought in the Church of Ireland claimed that rather than being a product of the Reformation, it was the original and universal church of Ireland, the Papacy itself being an innovation; this provided the supremacy of Apostolic succession because of the unbroken continuity of the episcopal hierarchy.

During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , nearly two-thirds of Ireland was controlled by the Confederacy , which was generally Royalist in sympathy. In , Giovanni Battista Rinuccini was appointed Papal nuncio to Ireland but he failed to appreciate that though dominated by Catholics, the Confederacy also contained many Royalist members of the Church of Ireland. Unlike Rome, Irish Catholicism had greater tolerance for Protestants and a dislike or even hostility to ritual; Rinuccini's refusal to compromise with the Church of Ireland and attempts to re-introduce ceremonies such as foot washing divided the Confederacy and led to its rapid collapse in the Cromwell's re-conquest of Ireland.

At the same time, one archbishop and three bishops from Ireland selected by rotation were given seats in the House of Lords at Westminster, joining the two archbishops and twenty-four bishops from the Church of England. In , the British Government introduced the Irish Church Temporalities Bill which proposed the administrative and financial restructuring of the church. The bill sought to reduce the number of both bishoprics and archbishoprics from 22 to 12, to change the structure of the leases of church lands and to apply the revenues saved by these changes for the use of parishes.

The bill, not only had implications for the future political trajectory of the Whigs and Tories but also sparked the generation of the Oxford Movement , [ citation needed ] which was to have wide repercussions for the Anglican Communion. As the official established church, the Church of Ireland was mainly funded by tithes imposed on all Irish subjects of the Crown. Irrespective of the fact that the adherents of the church were never more than a small minority of the populace, the population at large was expected to pay for its upkeep.

Following the defeat of Roman Catholic arms in , no armed resistance was to be expected to this discriminatory policy. Nevertheless, peasant resentment of the tithes occasionally boiled over, as in the " Tithe War " of — Eventually, the tithes were ended, replaced with a lower levy called the tithe rent charge.

The last remnant of the tithes was not abolished until disestablishment in The Irish Church Act which took effect on 1 January finally ended the role of the Church of Ireland as the state church. Disestablishment terminated both state support and parliament's role in its governance, but also took into government ownership much church property.

At the establishment of the state church, no compensation had been given to Roman Catholic clergy who suffered loss in the seizure of church property by the state; at its disestablishment, compensation was provided to clergy by the state. With disestablishment, the church's representation in the House of Lords also ceased. The head of the Church of Ireland is, ex officio , the Archbishop of Armagh. In , immediately prior to its disestablishment, the Church provided for its internal government, led by a General Synod, and with financial and administrative support by a Representative Church Body.

Like other Irish churches, the Church of Ireland did not divide when Ireland was partitioned in the s and it continues to be governed on an all-Ireland basis. The polity of the Church of Ireland is episcopal church governance , as in other Anglican churches. The church maintains the traditional structure dating to pre-Reformation times, a system of geographical parishes organised into dioceses.

There were more than 30 of these historically, grouped into four provinces; today, after consolidation over the centuries, there are 12 Church of Ireland dioceses or united dioceses , each headed by a bishop and belonging to one of two surviving provinces. The leader of the southern province is the Archbishop of Dublin , at present Michael Jackson ; that of the northern province is the Archbishop of Armagh , at present Richard Clarke.

These two archbishops are styled Primate of Ireland and Primate of All Ireland respectively, suggesting the ultimate seniority of the latter. Although he has relatively little absolute authority, the Archbishop of Armagh is respected as the church's general leader and spokesman, and is elected in a process different from those for all other bishops. Doctrine, canon law, church governance, church policy, and liturgical matters are decided by the church's General Synod.

The House of Bishops includes the 10 diocesan bishops and two archbishops, forming one order. The House of Representatives is made up of two orders, clergy and laity. The order of clergy holds one third of the seats while the laity holds two thirds of the seats. The General Synod meets annually, and special meetings can be called by the leading bishop or one third of any of its orders. Changes in policy must be passed by a simple majority of both the House of Bishops and the House of Representatives. Changes to doctrine, for example the decision to ordain women as priests, must be passed by a two thirds majority of both Houses.

The two Houses sit together for general deliberations but separate for some discussions and for voting. While the House of Representatives always votes publicly, often by orders, the House of Bishops has tended to vote in private, coming to a decision before matters reach the floor of the synod.

This practice has been broken only once when, in , the House of Bishops voted unanimously in public to endorse the efforts of the Archbishop of Armagh, the Diocese of Armagh and the Standing Committee of the General Synod in their attempts to resolve the crisis at the Church of the Ascension at Drumcree near Portadown. The Church's internal laws are formulated as bills proposed to the Houses of the General Synod, which when passed become Statutes. The Church's governing document, the Constitution, is modified, consolidated and published by way of Statute also, the most recent edition, the 13th, being so published in The Representative Body of the Church of Ireland, often called the "Representative Church Body" RCB , is the corporate trustee of the church, as established by law, and much of the church's property is vested in it.

The members of the RCB are the bishops plus diocesan delegates and twelve co-opted members, and it meets at least four times a year. The staff of the Representative Body are analogous to clerical civil servants, and among other duties they oversee property, including church buildings, cemeteries and investments, administer some salaries and pensions, and manage the church library. While parishes, dioceses, and other parts of the church structure care for their particular properties, this is often subject to RCB rules. The Church of Ireland embraces three orders of ministry: These orders are distinct from positions such as rector , vicar or canon.

Each diocese or united diocese is led by its Ordinary, one of the ten bishops and two archbishops, and the Ordinary may have one or more Archdeacons to support them, along with a Rural Dean for each group of parishes. There is a Diocescan Synod for each diocese; there may be separate synods for historic dioceses now in unions.

These synods comprise the bishop along with clergy and lay representatives from the parishes, and subject to the laws of the Church, and the work of the General Synod and its committees and the Representative Church Body and its committees, oversee the operation of the diocese. Each diocesan synod in turn appoints a Diocesan Council to which it can delegate powers.

Each parish has a presiding member of the clergy, assisted by two churchwardens and often also two glebewardens, one of each type of warden being appointed by the clerical incumbent, and one by popular vote. All qualified adult members of the parish comprise the General Vestry, which meets annually, within 20 days each side of Easter, as the Easter Vestry. There is also a Select Vestry for the parish, or sometimes for each active church in a parish, comprising the presiding cleric and any curate assistants, along with relevant churchwardens and glebewardens and a number of members elected at the Easter Vestry meeting.

The Select Vestry assists in the care and operation of the parish and one or more church buildings. Special provisions apply to the management and operation of five key cathedrals, in Dublin, Armagh, Down and Belfast. The Church has disciplinary and appeals tribunals, and diocesan courts, and a Court of the General Synod. The Church of Ireland has two cathedrals in Dublin: Patrick's Cathedral , which the church designated as the National Cathedral for Ireland in Cathedrals also exist in the other dioceses. The church's central offices are in Rathmines , adjacent to the former Church of Ireland College of Education , and the Church's library is in Churchtown.

The church operates a seminary, the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, in Rathgar , in the south inner suburbs of Dublin.