Catholic
Church | (Assyrian) Church of
the East | Oriental
Orthodox | Eastern
Orthodox | Apostolic
Lutherans | Anglican
Communion | Independent Apostolic
Churches
The (extremely) Unofficial Home Page of: The One,
Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, or The
(almost) Total Catholic Home
Page
This page is an attempt to give an overview of the One, Holy, Catholic,
and Apostolic Church today, as it exists throughout the world in its
various parts. I've tried to be objective, although I'm sure my bias my
shows (in case it doesn't, I'm a "Roman" Catholic). I've kept to a
traditional interpretation of "Apostolic," in which I mean keeping the
historic Apostolic succession of ordination. The United Pentecostal Church
and other Pentecostal "Oneness" groups also use the name "Apostolic" as
well, so I apologize for any confusion this may cause. Also, because I
limit this to the Apostolic succession, many wonderful Christian
groups--Protestants, Charismatics, Pentecostals, Messianic Jews, etc. are
not described here. It's my prayer that someday, we all may be able to
join together in joyful intercommunion, testifying to the unity of our
faith in Christ. Come, Lord Jesus! Maranatha!
The history of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church
Welcome to the very unofficial homepage of The
Apostolic Church. Jesus Christ commissioned his twelve closest disciples
to be his representatives (Greek apostolos, "apostles"). The
apostles appointed successors in the various lands to which they went,
preaching the Word of God. In the West, the successors of the apostles are
called bishops (Greek, episkopos). For four centuries, the
United Church grew together, with the bishops supervising the local
churches, and ordaining priests and deacons (Greek,
presbyteros, diakonos), to serve neighborhood churches.
Occasionally, universal meetings of the bishops in Church Councils
(Jerusalem, AD 50; Nicea 329, etc.) were called to deal with important
issues of faith and doctrine. They appointed others to be bishops, which
created unbroken lines of transmitting the faith going back to Christ
himself. The Bishops of Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, and later,
Constantinople, were called Patriarchs. The Bishop of Rome
(successor of Peter) was considered to be the "first among equals," with a
special role leading the Church, based on several statements by Jesus to
Peter.
Common points of the
Apostolic Church:
- All hold the Nicene Creed to be the most
essential statement of Christian faith. Minute difference between
Western and Eastern versions. (A very few Independent
Apostolic Churches have describe themselves as "Gnostic"or
"Theosophical." I do not know if these adhere to the
Creed.)
- Churches are governed regionally and universally
by bishops (episkopos) in the lines of apostolic
succession. Bishops in higher administrative levels may have other
titles, such as: archbishop, metropolitan, pope, patriarch,
catholicos, etc. Priests (Greek presbyteros) are
ordained by bishops for the guidance of the faithful and
administering the sacraments. Catholics and some others also
ordain deacons (Greek diakonos).
- Churches hold that sacraments are visible
means in which God extends his grace. All Apostolic Churches agree
that Baptism and Eucharist (Lord's Supper) are sacraments.
All except Apostolic Lutherans also admit
Confirmation/Chrismation, Matrimony, Holy Orders/Ordination,
Penance/Reconciliation, and Unction/Anointing, although some
Churches recognizing these sacraments call them "rites."
- Churches have a traditional liturgy, which
changes somewhat throughout the liturgical year emphasizing
different aspects of Christ's life and Christian life in
Him.
- All Churches recognize the apostolic authority of
at least the Jerusalem Council of 50 AD, and the
first two Ecumenical Councils (gatherings of
apostles/bishops) of:
- Nicea 325 AD
- Constantinople 381 AD
All except the Church of the East also
recognize the Council of Ephesus, 431 AD.
The various churches differ greatly on how many of
the remaining councils (Chalcedon 459 AD, through Vatican II, AD
1965) they recognize.
- All except a few of the smaller independent
apostolic churches have communities for religious (monastic) life.
(Yes, even Anglicans and Lutherans.)
- Uphold the belief in the Real Presence of
Christ in the Eucharist.
- Baptize infants.
- Have funny hats for their bishops.
|
Splits within the Apostolic Church:
- the Council of Ephesus, 431 AD, where The
Assyrian Church of the East became separate from the other
bishops of the Church.
- At the Council of Chalcedon, in 459, a
disagreement developed between the majority of bishops and the
bishops of Ethiopia, Alexandria, Armenia, Syria and India, on
describing Christ's humanity and divinity. These have become known
as the Oriental Orthodox Church.
- The next significant split among the bishops
occurred in 1054, was even more injurious to Christian unity. It
was the result of centuries of cultural (and some theological)
differences between the Eastern and Western parts of the Church.
The Eastern Church is generally known as the Eastern Orthodox
Church.
- In the sixteenth century, the Protestant
Reformation swept Northern and Central Europe in several
directions:
- Calvinism,
- Anabaptism,
- Lutheranism, and the succession of
the
- Church of England (Anglicanism).
Of the four, only Anglicanism consistently
remains Apostolic, although in Sweden and Finland, Lutherans are also.
Spin-offs from Anglicanism and Calvinism have given rise to a
tremendous diversity of Protestant expressions (Methodist,
Holiness, Pentecostal, etc. from Anglicanism; Presbyterian,
Disciples, Baptist, etc. from Calvinism). Other Anglican spin-offs
remain Apostolic, like the Anglican Catholic Church. Anabaptist
and Lutheran streams have remained comparatively unified in belief
and practice. One very notable distinction between
Lutherans and the other Apostolic Churches is that the
former recognize only two sacraments.
Anglicans recognize all seven sacraments, but refer to the
Eucharist and Baptism as sacraments per se, and call the remaining
sacraments "rites."
Since then, many relatively small splits have
occurred in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican Churches
as well. I've put them under the category Independent Catholic,
Orthodox and Anglican Churches. Many of these Churches have
names which are easily confused with each other or even older
Apostolic
Churches. |
Below is an illustrative summary of the splits within the Apostolic
Church:
Organizational Differentiation of the One, Holy,
Catholic, and Apostolic Church
33 AD |
One Holy,
Catholic, and Apostolic Church |
431 AD |
(rest of)
One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church |
Church of the
East |
451 AD |
(rest of)
One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church |
Church of the
East |
Oriental
Orthodox |
1054 AD |
Catholic
Church |
Church of the
East |
Oriental
Orthodox |
Eastern Orthodox |
1517 AD |
Catholic
Church |
Church of the
East |
Oriental
Orthodox |
Eastern
Orthodox |
Apostolic Lutherans |
1534 AD |
Catholic
Church |
Church of the
East |
Oriental
Orthodox |
Eastern
Orthodox |
Apostolic
Lutherans |
Anglicans |
1732 AD |
Catholic
Church |
Church of the
East |
Oriental
Orthodox |
Eastern
Orthodox |
Apostolic
Lutherans |
Anglicans |
Independent Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican Churches |
Back to
top
Name: |
Catholic
Church (Alapadre's unofficial but very useful
site with 6,000 links.) |
Also known as: |
- "Roman" Catholic Church (should properly be
applied to only the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church; "Roman"
Catholic was first used in England to distinguish the Church of
Rome from the Church of England, or Anglo-Catholics.)
- Church of Rome
- The Western Church
|
Distinguishing Characteristics: |
- United with Eastern Church until 1054. Holds
Bishop of Rome (Pope) to be Supreme Pontiff.
- Overwhelmingly largest church in Christian world.
Many constituent, largely self-governing Churches called
"Rites."
- Latin Rite is overwhelmingly the largest
(98% of members) and is headed directly by the Pope, hence, the
name "Roman" Catholic Church, is often misleadingly applied to the
entire Catholic Church.
- Latin Rite of the Catholic Church is the only
branch of the Apostolic Church other than some (Independent
religious orders) which requires celibacy (non-marriage) of
priests. (Other Catholic Rites as well as other Apostolic branches
allow married clergy.)
- Church is only one which sees definition of
dogma as on-going.
- Church holds its spiritual leader as being
infallible in matters of faith and morals under certain strict
conditions.
- Truly worldwide. Members reside in every country.
Strongest in the Americas, Ireland, Southern and Eastern Europe,
sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, esp. The Philippines.
- Most monastic communities are organized into
religious orders, of which there are hundreds, working within a
particular flavor of Christian spirituality. This has contributed
to a tremendous variety of Christian experience within the
Church.
|
Ecumenical
Activity |
Actively engaged in ecumenism with
all the larger segments of the Apostolic Church. Ecumenical dialogue
is especially strong with the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodox,
Eastern Orthodox, and Old Catholics.
Recent documents have resolved the disputes which
occasioned the separation of the Church of the East, Oriental
Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran Churches |
Headquarters and "CEO" |
Vatican City, Rome, Italy Pope John Paul II (this is the official site, and,
although I hate to say it, a rather obtuse one) |
Constituent churches with estimated
membership. |
Total membership of the Catholic
Church is approximately 1,013,000,000 in 1998.
(Roughly 1/6 of world
population)
- Latin Rite, "Roman" Catholic Church c.
997,000,000
Eastern Churches, Eastern Rites, Greek Catholics,
"Uniate" Churches c. 16,700,000
combined
- Alexandrian Rites
- Coptic Catholic Church c.192,955
- Ethiopian Catholic Church c.192,110
- Antiochene Rites
- Syrian Catholic Church 109,547
- Maronite Catholic Church 2,948,949
- Syro-Malankar 322,988
- Armenian Rite
- Armenian Catholic Church 334,860
- Chaldean Rites
- Chaldean Catholic Church 308,409
- Syro-Malabarese Catholic Church
3,280,586
- Byzantine
Rites
- Albanian Catholic Church 1,405
- Belarussian Catholic Church c. 30,000
- Bulgarian Catholic Church c. 20,000
- Czech Catholic Church ?
- Krizevei Catholic Church 48,937
- Greek Catholic Church 2,300
- Hungarian Catholic Church 280,750
- Italo-Albanian Catholic Church 61,597
- Melkite Catholic Church 1,073,340
- Romanian Catholic Church 1,423,800
- Russian Catholic Church 4,000
- Ruthenian (Carpatho-Ruthenian) Catholic Church
495,888
- Slovakian Catholic Church 229,190
- Ukrainian Catholic Church 5,323,841
|
Notable newer
Churches which have become distinct from this Church
since 1550: |
- Old Catholics
- White-Robed Monks of St. Benedict
- Polish National Catholic Church
- American Catholic Church
- Apostolic Catholic Orthodox Church
- Liberal Catholics
- Society of St. Pius X
- True Catholic
|
back to
top
Name: |
Church of the
East (Do not confuse this Apostolic Church
with the Gnostic "Church of the
East") |
Also known as: |
- Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Assyrian Church of the
East
- Assyrian Church
- Assyrian Church of the East
- "Aturai" or Ashurai Church of the East
- "Nestorian" Church (somewhat inaccurate,
sometimes derogatory)
|
Distinguishing
Characteristics: |
- Identity became separate in 431 when refused to
attend Council of Ephesus in protest of "Nestorian
controversy"
- Believes that its Aramaic manuscript of the
Bible, is the most reliable text.
- Calls Mary "Mother of Christ" instead of "Mother
of God." (But affirms Christ's divinity).
- Greatest concentration in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq,
Iran.
|
Ecumenical
Activity: |
Very strong with Catholics,
Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Most theological
differences have been resolved. |
Headquarters
and "CEO": |
Chicago, Illinois, USA
(official site) Catholicos Patriarch,
Mar Dinkha IV |
Constituent
churches with
estimated membership: |
No self-governing constituent
churches. Dioceses are world-wide. c.
300,000 |
Notable newer
Churches which have become distinct from this Church
since 1550: |
None, although approximately half
of the Church became the Chaldean Catholic Church, an Eastern Rite
of the Catholic
Church, in 1553. |
back to
top
Name: |
Oriental Orthodox
Church |
Also known as: |
- Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox
- "Monophysite"Churches (inaccurate and usually
derogatory. "Henophysite" is the term they feel most accurately
describes their Christology.)
- Jacobite (used for the Syrian Church, especially.
Inaccurate and someimes derogatory.)
|
Distinguishing Characteristics: |
- Little-known to most Westerners, but a
fascinating Church. Practice remains similar to fifth century. Was
part of united church until 459 Council of Chalcedon. Split over
semantics in describing the nature(s) of Christ.
- Hold the first three ecumenical councils as
authoritative.
- Constituent churches are equals, except Indian
Orthodox which is under the administration of the Syrian
Orthodox Church. A newcomer, the British Orthodox
Church, has accepted the guidance of the Coptic
Patriarch.
- Dioceses are world-wide. Greatest concentrations
in Middle East (especially Syria and Egypt), Ethiopia, Armenia,
and Kerala, India.
- These churches seem to make unusually good and
informative Web sites!
|
Ecumenical Activity: |
Very actively engaged in
ecumenism, especially with the Eastern Orthodox Church, and also
with the Catholic Church. |
Headquarters and
"CEO": |
Damascus, Syria
--Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Mor Ignatius Zakka I
Iwas Alexandria, Egypt--Pope and
Patriarch of Alexandria, Shenouda III Echmiadzin, Armenia--Catholicos and Patriarch of All
Armenians, Kerakin I Addis
Adaba, Ethiopia --? |
Constituent churches with
estimated membership: |
Together, the Oriental
Orthodox Churches have about 36,000,000 members.
|
Notable
newer Churches which have
become distinct from this
Church since 1550*: |
In addition, many other self-governing Apostolic
Churches hare succession through Bishop Rene Vilatte, who was
consecrated "Mar Timotheos" in the the Syrian Orthodox
line. |
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Name: |
Eastern Orthodox
Church (unofficial, but very informative site) |
Also known as: |
- "Greek Orthodox" This name can cause as much
confusion as "Roman Catholic" can for the Catholic Church. (Does
one mean the Eastern Orthodox Church as a whole, or specifically
the Church of Greece, which happens to be Orthodox, or any of the
jurisdictions directly administered by the Ecumenical Patriarch
which have the words "Greek Orthodox" in their
names?)
- The Eastern Church
- Orthodox Catholic Church
- Chalcedonian Orthodox
- Rum Orthodox
|
Distinguishing
Characteristics: |
- United with Western Church till 1054 when Bishop
of Rome and Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated each other.
Practice little-changed since 11th century.
- Very rich, elaborate liturgy.
- Tremendous revival of activity since the downfall
of Soviet Communism.
- Priests and bishops wear beards.
- Hold the first seven ecumenical councils as
authoritative.
- Greatest concentrations in Eastern Europe, Russia
and other formerly Soviet countries, and the Middle East.
- Ecumenical Patriarch is now considered "first
among equals."
|
Ecumenical
Activity: |
Ecumenical (Head) Patriarch is
actively engaged in ecumenism, but some constituent churches are
much more reticent, e.g. the Russian Church. |
Headquarters
and "CEO": |
Istanbul, Turkey
(offical site) Ecumenical
Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I |
Constituent
churches with
estimated membership: |
Total membership may exceed
220,000,000. Second-largest Christian denomination in the
world.
Autocephalic Churches
Autonomous Churches:
|
Notable newer
Churches which have become distinct from this Church
since 1550: |
- Old Calendarists
- True Orthodox
- Free Orthodox
|
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top
Name: |
Apostolic Lutheran Churches (here I am
concerned only with the two Lutheran churches which kept the
historic Apostolic succession: The Church of
Sweden and the Evangelical-Lutheran
Church of Finland. |
Also known as: |
- The Swedish Lutheran Church
- The Finnish Lutheran Church
- "Apostolic Lutherans" (my phrase)
|
Distinguishing
Characteristics: |
- Product of the Protestant Reformation and
Lutheran theology. Most Lutheran Churches made no attempt to keep
the Apostolic Succession, but the Swedish and Finnish Lutherans
did.
- Augsburg Confession outlines distinctives of
Lutheran theology.
- Only Lutheran churches where clergy are called
"priests." Lutheran theology recognizes only two sacraments, Holy
Communion and Baptism.
- Women may be ordained as priests and
bishops.
|
Ecumenical
Activity: |
Very strong ecumenical activity
with other Scandinavian and Baltic Lutheran churches and the
Anglican Churches of the British Isles. (the Parvoo
Communion). Also with the Catholic Church.
(Note: in many areas of the world, non-Apostolic
Lutherans are seeking intercommunion with Anglicans and to slowly
reestablish apostolic succession by having all new ministers
ordained by Anglican bishops as well as Lutheran bishops. A similar
motion recently passed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
in 1999.) |
Headquarters
and "CEO": |
Stockholm, Sweden (Church is
governed by a Synod) Helsinki, Finland
(Church is governed by a Synod) |
Constituent
churches with
estimated membership: |
Church of Sweden
--7,600,000 Evangelical -Lutheran
Church of Finland--4,400,000 |
Notable newer
Churches which have become distinct from this Church
since 1550: |
none. |
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to top
Name: |
Anglican Communion
(unofficial site, but very informative) |
Also known as: |
- Anglicans
- Church of England (now properly refers to one
province of the Anglican Communion)
- Episcopalians Note:(most constituent churches do
not bear "Anglican" or "Episcopalian" in their title. E.g.,
"Church of Ireland")
|
Distinguishing
Characteristics: |
- Identity became separate in 16th century by
King Henry VIII of England.
- Founding document of 39 articles outlines
differences between Church of England and Church of Rome.
- Because of concerns about an invalid Apostolic
succession concerning certain bishops, all Anglican ordinations
are performed today by three bishops present, to ensure that
should one line of succession be invalid, the other two will be
valid.
- Women may be ordained as priests, and in some
provinces, bishops.
|
Ecumenical
Activity: |
Very strong ecumenical activity
worldwide, with various denominations, especially with Lutherans,
the Catholic Church, and the Orthodox Church.
In the Indian subcontinent, Anglicans merged with
non-Apostolic Protestant denominations to form four united Churches,
the Church of North India, and the Church of South India, the Church
of Pakistan, and the Church of Bangladesh. New ministers in
these churches have been ordained into the historic Apostolic
succession, and they are overwhelmingly Apostolic now, although they
are not particularly "Anglican," but "united." They are part
of the Anglican Communion, although usually not described with the
word "Anglican."
Other Churches listed as being "In Communion,",
although though separate from the Anglican Communion, are the
"Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the Philippine Independent
Church, and some Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches in Europe. The
Church in China is known as a 'post denominational' Church whose
formation included Anglicans in the Holy Catholic Church in China."
|
Headquarters
and "CEO": |
Canterbury, England, UK,
(official site) Archbishop of
Canterbury, George Carey |
Constituent
churches with
estimated membership: |
Links below are to pages of the
Official site of the Anglican Communion.
Some appear to need updating. Total membership is estimated at about
70,000,000.
|
Notable newer
Churches which have become distinct from this Church
since 1550: |
|
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to top
Introduction: |
Newer Self-Governing Churches with
Apostolic Succession:
Since the mid-sixteenth century, several hundred
smaller (some as small as a single bishop) new denominations have
appeared in the Apostolic Church. Creating this catch-all category
was solely for practical reasons. For instance, many of these
churches have a "cross-pollination" of Apostolic streams. The
Anglican Catholic Church is Orthodox as regarding their
theology, but Anglican as to their heritage. The Charismatic
Episcopal Church began from an non-apostolic pastor was ordained
simultaneously by bishops in the Orthodox, Anglican and Old Catholic
apostolic successions. This is just the barest sampling of how
difficult it is to categorize many of the newer, smaller,
expressions of the Apostolic Church. Hence, this "independent"
category. |
Also known as: |
Independent or Autocephalic or
Self-governing Catholic or Orthodox or Anglican Churches
It should be noted that some of these churches may object
to the use of the word "Independent" to describe them, although that
word is in common use in other sites dealing with the newer
Apostolic churches. Some may even see themselves as the true
church, and the older body from which they separated as
heterodox. |
Distinguishing Characteristics: |
- To the best of my knowledge, all of these
Churches still uphold the common points of the Apostolic Church
mentioned above, Apostolic succession (historic episcopate), and
the overwhelming majority hold the Nicene Creed as the prime
statement of faith, except for a few embracing
Gnosticism/Theosophy.
- Otherwise, the Churches vary greatly in
viewpoints and disciplines
|
Ecumenical Activity: |
Ecumenical activity
varies very strongly among different denominations. Some are
relatively happy with their status as separate jurisdictions, others
are greatly pained by it. |
Some of my
favorite Web sites of
Independent Apostolic
Churches and Orders |
- Knights of Notre Dame
- Christian psychiatric/mental health ministry, in
the spirit of the Crusaders(!)
- Friends Catholic Communion
- Independent Quaker-Catholics
- Orthodox Catholic Church in America
- Another trove of information
- White-Robed Monks of St.
Benedict
Old Catholic succession, Benedictine spirituality, Zen meditation
practice! |
Links
to Independent Churches from the
Catholic/Orthodox/Anglican streams: |
Ind-Movement.org is Fr. Tony
Begonja's excellent and comprehensive site dealing in greater detail
with the newer Apostolic Churches. |
A few possible groupings in the maze of newer
Apostolic Churches: |
This is in no way
intended to be exhaustive, but merely a sampling of some of the
many newer self-governing churches with Apostolic succession.
Furthermore, the groupings represent nothing more than my perception
of some possible streams of spiritual kinship among these
Independent Churches. These are my impressions from available
information only and do not necessarily represent the views of these
Churches:
Anglican stream (Most links from Anglican Online)
Celtic stream
Charismatic stream:
(Very, very, very) Conservative Catholic
stream:
Conservative Orthodox stream: (in
progress)
Duarte-Costa stream:
Old Catholic stream:
South Indian stream*:
Vilatte stream:
|
*Note: Links to
the Mar Thoma Orthodox Church Outside India have been removed
at their request. I regret this omission of a significant body and
the resulting diminution in the comprehensiveness of the list.
Last updated: August
31, 2002

|