1. Christian Divisions & Denominations
Year 11 General
Religion & Life

2. Divisions & denominations
A close look at any of the major religions in the world will show a range of different groupings within each religion. Such groupings can be the result of such things as different priorities, interpretations of belief, different approaches to leadership, history, culture, and practices of the faith.
Typically when a distinct religious grouping exists within a major religion such groupings are referred to as religious ‘divisions’, ‘denominations’ or ‘sects’.

3. Christian denominations
Within Christianity there are many different denominations. Some of the main denominations include Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. Within each of these further divisions can often be identified.
Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox
Roman Catholic Church
Anglican, Baptist, Amish, Presbyterian, Mormon, Uniting
Etc.
Each of the major divisions or denominations within Christianity has its own characteristics, which help identify and describe what is particular about the denomination.

4. Why do divisions exist?
One of the most important contributors to divisions within Christianity has been history. During the course of its history, Christianity has experienced a number of divisions, some of which have been ongoing and led to the creation of different denominations of Christianity.
During the course of this history, a number of factors contributed to the division of Christianity. These factors include such things as disputes about Christian beliefs, observance of traditions and practices, who led and how much authority leaders of the Church have, what rules were important, and how Christian teachings were to be applied and interpreted.
Contributing to these factors have been cultural and historical differences between different communities of Christians.

5. Major denominations of Christianity

6. Division One: East-West Schism 1054

7. East-West Schism of 1054 Split Christianity into two branches:
Roman Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

8. Reasons for the East-West Schism
Roman Empire had become increasingly divided into ‘East’ (centred around Constantinople) and ‘West’ (centred around Rome)

9. Reasons for the East-West Schism
Geography
Constantine had established Constantinople as the new capital of the Empire in this caused difficulties for Christians in the West
Such a huge area to try to control - problems were bound to happen
Politics
The Roman Empire was essentially split in two, ruled by two different Emperors (one in Rome, one in Constantinople)

10. Reasons for the East-West Schism
Culture and language
The East spoke Greek and had an understanding of Greek philosophy that affected the Church
The West spoke Latin and followed Roman Law
Communication and unity was difficult
Economics
The East was flourishing, due to its geographical location (close to Asia) and trade
The West was declining, partly due to invasion from Germanic tribes

11. Reasons for the East-West Schism
Differences within the Church
Leavened bread (East) vs unleavened bread (West)
Disagreements about the Holy Spirit
Emphasis on Jesus’ divinity (East) vs Jesus’ humanity (West)
Papal authority
Bishops in the East disagreed with the Bishop of Rome’s (Pope’s) power and authority
Eastern Emperor Cerularius declared himself ‘universal patriarch’ (both Emperor and Pope)
Patriarch of Rome (Pope Leo IX) and Patriarch of Constantinople (Michael Cerularius) excommunicate each other in 1054
This is the official ‘split’ or ‘schism’ between the two churches

12. Impact of the East-West Schism
Split has never been healed - Christianity would no longer be one universal Church
Dialogues in the twentieth century led to the Catholic-Orthodox Joint Declaration of It withdrew the excommunications of 1054 but stopped short of resolving the Schism. Rather, it expressed a desire for greater reconciliation between the two Churches, represented at the time by Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I.
In 1999, Pope John Paul II visited Romania - the first time a Pope had visited an Eastern Orthodox country since 1054

13. Questions Define the term 'denomination'.
List four religious denominations, and the world religion to which they belong.
Why is the conversion of Emperor Constantine so important in the history of Christianity?
Outline the reasons behind the East-West Schism.
What was the outcome of the East-West Schism?

14. Division Two: Protestant Reformation 1500s

15. Protestant Reformation
Splits from the Roman Catholic Church into various ‘protestant’ branches
Lutheran
Anglican (Church of England)
Calvinist
And later, many others (Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc.)

16. Protestant Reformation
In 16th century northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice.
They argued for a religious and political redistribution of power into the hands of Bible- and pamphlet-reading pastors and princes.
The disruption triggered wars, persecutions and the so-called Counter- Reformation, the Catholic Church’s delayed but forceful response to the Protestants.

17. Overview of the Protestant Reformation

18. Reasons for the Protestant Reformation
For about a thousand years the Church fluctuated in popularity and power through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It saw periods of abusing power and corruption.
In 1517 a Catholic monk named Martin Luther published 95 Theses to the bishops, protesting many Catholic doctrines including the sale of indulgences, an expensive “ticket into heaven”.
This lead to larger and more widespread “protests to reform” and thus caused the Protestant Reformation.

19. Reasons for the Protestant Reformation
In England, the Reformation began with Henry VIII’s quest for a male heir. When the Pope refused to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could remarry, the English king declared in 1534 that he alone should be the final authority in matters relating to the English church.
Henry dissolved England’s monasteries to confiscate their wealth and worked to place the Bible in the hands of the people.
In 1559 Elizabeth I took the throne and, during her 44-year reign, cast the Church of England as a “middle way” between Calvinism and Catholicism, with vernacular (English) worship and a revised Book of Common Prayer.

21. Impact of the Protestant Reformation
By the end of the Reformation, Lutheranism had become the state religion throughout much of Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltics.
In Switzerland, John Calvin’s Geneva became a hotbed for Protestant exiles, and his doctrines quickly spread to Scotland, France, Transylvania and the Low Countries, where Dutch Calvinism became a religious and economic force for the next 400 years.
The Catholic Church was slow to respond systematically to the theological and publicity innovations of Luther and the other reformers. The Council of Trent, which met off and on from 1545 through 1563, articulated the Church’s answer to the problems that triggered the Reformation and to the reformers themselves.

22. Impact of the Protestant Reformation
The Catholic Church of the Counter-Reformation era grew more spiritual, more literate and more educated. New religious orders, notably the Jesuits, combined rigorous spirituality with a globally minded intellectualism. Inquisitions, both in Spain and in Rome, were reorganized to fight the threat of Protestant heresy.
Along with the religious consequences of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation came deep and lasting political changes. Northern Europe’s new religious and political freedoms came at a great cost, with decades of rebellions, wars and bloody persecutions. The Thirty Years’ War alone may have cost Germany 40 percent of its population.
But the Reformation’s positive repercussions can be seen in the intellectual and cultural flourishing it inspired on all sides of the split - it the strengthened universities of Europe, the Lutheran church music of J.S. Bach, the baroque altarpieces of Pieter Paul Rubens and even the capitalism of Dutch Calvinist merchants.

23. The Council of Trent & Counter-Reformation
In 1545, the leaders of the Catholic Church gathered in the Northern Italian city of Trent for an emergency conference. Their aim was to reclaim the moral high ground, and the superiority of the Holy Mother Church, in the wake of the Protestant challenge.
This period saw a renewal in the Church by changing many of the teachings and going back to the scriptural ideas of Jesus.
It was the new and improved Catholic Church. The Church began the work we see today in areas such as secondary and tertiary education, health, research, etc.
A major emphasis of the Counter-Reformation was an ongoing missionary endeavour in parts of the world that had been colonized by predominantly Roman Catholic countries. The work of such men as Francis Xavier and others in Asia and of missionaries in the New World was rewarded with millions of baptisms, if not true conversions. There were also attempts to reconvert areas of the world that had once been Roman Catholic—e.g., England and Sweden.

24. Questions Outline the reasons behind the Protestant Reformation.
Explain the importance of Martin Luther and King Henry VIII in the history of Christianity.
What was the outcome of the Protestant Reformation?
Explain three major differences in belief between Catholics and Protestants.
What was the purpose of the Council of Trent?

25. What denomination am I?
My name is Mary and I go to church every Sunday. I belong to the largest Christian church in the world. The Pope is the head of my church.
My name is Fred and I think that the Bible is very important. The minister at my church is going to baptize me when I am an adult.
My name is Clare. I am a priest at my local church. I look up to the Archbishop of Canterbury as he is a very important person in my church.

26. What denomination am I?
My name is Andrew. I am Greek and so have followed my family roots in becoming this type of Christian. Our Church is well decorated with icons.
My name is Rachel. I love going to church, as it is such a pretty place to pray. I am about to begin fasting for Lent. I believe that fasting is very important as it helps to show my commitment to God.
My name is James. Going to church is very important to me. I know if I have done something wrong, I can confess my sins in church and seek forgiveness.

27. Ecumenism

28. What is ecumenism?
Understanding why these divisions occurred is important for understanding each Christian denomination. However, more importantly for Christians of all denominations, the existence of divisions within Christianity is seen as contrary to the teachings of Christ.
The challenge for Christianity as a whole and for each Christian denomination is to understand why these divisions came about and how to work towards healing these divisions. The movement that addresses this important concern is called Ecumenism.
Particularly in recent centuries, many Christians have realised the need to heal the divisions between different groups of Christians and to work toward a meaningful form of Christian unity. Working through these challenges is the task of the Ecumenical movement.

29. What is ecumenism?
The movement for Church unity began as Churches entered into dialogue. Over time, ecumenical movements have gained momentum. Churches recognised that they have much in common, while there still remain important areas of sincere disagreement that need to be prayed about and resolved.
Non-Catholic churches formed together the World Council of Churches (1948). Within the Catholic Church, the major thrust for ecumenism came from the Second Vatican Council ( ).
The word ‘ecumenical’ derives from a Greek word meaning ‘of the whole world.’ An ecumenical movement aims to bring the separated Christian Churches together.

30. The Catholic ecumenical movement
Churches, moved by the Holy Spirit, work together to find unity
The Churches today are working together to find ways to become one again as Jesus intends. This movement is called ecumenism or the ecumenical movement. The stimulus for this movement is the Holy Spirit.
Christ is the source of Christian unity
Christ is the source of Christian unity. So any true ecumenism has to begin by focusing upon him. Only Christ and the Holy Spirit can re-unite the different Christian Churches. Ecumenism, therefore, requires personal conversion and prayer leading to overcoming prejudice and forgiving past hurts.

31. The Catholic ecumenical movement
Dialogue with the Orthodox Churches
Dating from the Second Vatican Council ( ) there have been a number of meetings between the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The Patriarch of Constantinople holds an honorary position of ‘first among equals’ with the Patriarchs of the Churches of the East. Common ground continues to be discovered beneath the different language and cultural expressions of Christian faith.
The Churches of the West
There is not the same degree of reunification between the Reformation (Protestant) Churches and the Catholic Churches. This is largely because the differences between them are more significant. For example, unlike the eastern Orthodox Churches, those of the west stopped celebrating some of the sacraments. Some stopped celebrating all the sacraments.

32. The Catholic ecumenical movement
Baptism
Catholic understanding and belief holds that all Christians who receive valid Baptism are baptised into imperfect, but real, spiritual union with the Catholic Church. In Australia the Catholic, Anglican, Uniting and Lutheran Churches issue a common baptismal certificate recognising the authenticity of each other’s baptism. For this reason such Christians, who wish to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church, are never rebaptised.
The Eucharist
Neither Catholics nor Christians from other denominations can truly receive Holy Communion in each other’s Churches. Over recent years a new practice has developed and been adopted in many parts of Australia. This is the practice of those who are not Catholics and who are present at a Mass receiving a blessing from the celebrant at Holy Communion time.

33. Questions Define ‘ecumenism’ Why should Christians work for ecumenism?
Briefly outline the success of ecumenism between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches.
Briefly outline the success of ecumenism between the Catholic Church and the western (Protestant) churches.
Explain why baptism is important in the ecumenical movement.

34. Summary The Catholic Church is a denomination of Christianity
The Catholic denomination exists for many reasons, including:
East-West Schism of 1054
Split Christianity into Catholic and Eastern Orthodox
Protestant Reformation of 1500s
Reformers split away from the Catholic Church into various ‘protestant’ denominations
Ecumenism is the movement that works towards healing these divisions in the Christian faith - to bring about Christian unity