Among the most sizeable international bodies are the Anglican Communion, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Methodist Council and the Lutheran World Federation – each with more than 70 million members. They uphold that in order for a person to be saved one has to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of sins; and to receive Christ one must be "born again" (dagem meweled). This resulted in the creaton of the Lutheran Church and later the tens of thousands of Protestant denominations and faith groups that exist today in all their diversity. [69], Baptists emerged as the English Puritans were influenced by the Anabaptists, and along with Methodism, grew in size and influence after they sailed to the New World (the remaining Puritans who traveled to the New World were Congregationalists). Alternative to other early Protestants, Anabaptists were seen as an early offshoot of Protestantism, although the view has been challenged by some Anabaptists. Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans or Baptists), while others are just a few small churches, and in most cases the relative size is not evident in this list except for the denominational group or movement as a whole (e.g. bishops), in most Protestant churches. Between denominations, theologians, and comparative religionists there are considerable disagreements about which groups can be properly called Christian or a Christian denomination as disagreements arise primarily from doctrinal differences between each other. Anglicans or Episcopalians also self-identify as both Catholic and Reformed. Many of their families contributed to the development of intellectual elites in their countries. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as church, convention, communion, assembly, house, union, network, or sometimes fellowship. ", "Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen - Directory of Jurisdictions", "World Directory | Mennonite World Conference", "Holiness churches — World Council of Churches", "Spirit and Power - A 10-Country Survey of Pentecostals", "When Did Evangelical Christianity Begin? It is the only Protestant denomination approved by the Chinese government. [33][32] Other denominations, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church and bodies in Old and True Orthodoxy, often label the Oriental Orthodox Churches as "Monophysite"; as the Oriental Orthodox do not adhere to the teachings of Eutyches, they themselves reject this label, preferring the term "Miaphysite". The total membership of the churches accounts for approximately 18 million members as of 2019[update]. Adventists. These denominations operate worldwide and cannot be considered alongside other national bodies. Non-national bodies. United and uniting churches who hold membership in the Anglican Communion, Other Anglican churches and Continuing Anglican movement, Early Sabbath-Keeping movements, predating Millerism, Adventist movement (Seventh Day Sabbath/Saturday observing), American Israelism and Latter Day Saint movement, Fundamentalist Rocky Mountain Latter Day Saints, List of Christian denominations by number of members, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, History of Christianity during the Middle Ages, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Great Britain, Vicariate for Palestine and Jordan in the USA, American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese, Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Mexico, Antiochian Orthodox Mission in the Philippines, Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Estonian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Philippine Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia, Ruthenian Greek/Byzantine Catholic Church, List of the largest Protestant denominations, Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America, Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (Germany), Lutheran Church of Central Africa Malawi Conference, Lutheran Church of Central Africa Zambia Conference, Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, American Association of Lutheran Churches, Evangelical Lutheran Church - Synod of France and Belgium, Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa, Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway, Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Christian Reformed Church in Sierra Leone, Christian Reformed Church in South Africa, Continued Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa - NG Church, Evangelical and Reformed Church in Honduras, Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany, National Union of Independent Reformed Evangelical Churches of France, Protestant Reformed Christian Church in Croatia, Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated), United Reformed Churches in North America, Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, List of Presbyterian denominations in North America, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of Mexico, Conservative Presbyterian Church in Brazil, Costa Rican Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Australia), Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Malawi, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine, Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States), Free Presbyterian Church of North America, Fundamentalist Presbyterian Church in Brazil, National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, Presbyterian Reformed Church (North America), Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly, Reformed Presbyterian Church – Hanover Presbytery, Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States, Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia, Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, United Presbyterian Church of North America, Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa, Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States, Westminster Presbyterian Church of Australia, Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa, Congregational Christian Churches in Canada, Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola, Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches, Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, Union of Evangelical Congregational Churches in Brazil, Union of Evangelical Congregational Churches in Bulgaria, United Church of Christ-Congregational in the Marshall Islands, United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, Church in the Province of the West Indies, Church of the Province of South East Asia, Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean, Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church, Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi, Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo, Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Congregations, Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches in India, US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International, Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference, Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America, Baptist Evangelical Christian Union of Italy, Baptist Missionary Association of America, Conservative Baptist Association of America, Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars, Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India, Council of Baptist Churches in Northern India, Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti, Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada, Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of America, General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. It separated from the, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, List of Christian denominations by number of members, List of the largest Protestant churches in the USA, http://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/102178/porvoo_common_statement.pdf, "About The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC)", "Statistics of the Assemblies of God (USA)", Communautés membres de l'ECC Vous êtes ici: Accueil > Infos > Communautés membres Mar, le 13 Septembre 2016, "Assembleia de Deus no Brasil é a maior do mundo", "Zahlen und Fakten zum kirchlichen Leben 2020", "Nigerian Anglicans May Control the Future of the Church", "Southern Baptist Convention continues statistical decline, Floyd calls for rethinking ACP process", "Authority of Scripture in China's Underground House Church", "About Us – The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc", https://www.adventist.org/en/information/statistics/article/go/-/seventh-day-adventist-world-church-statistics-2016-2017/, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_the_largest_Protestant_denominations&oldid=992061756, Christianity-related lists of superlatives, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles to be expanded from December 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Brings together a substantial Baptist population, although not the majority, as it is scattered in various independent Baptist denominations. Most Latter Day Saint denominations are derived from the Church of Christ established by Joseph Smith in 1830. Two examples of impaired communion between the Orthodox churches include the Moscow-Constantinople schisms of 1996 and 2018. Other sects broke away over the abandonment of practicing plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto. [68] There were approximately 2.1 million Anabaptists as of 2015. As such, specific numbers and a certain size may not define a group as a denomination. Methodists were some of the first Christians to accept women's ordination since the Montanists. Eastern Orthodox churches by and large remain in communion with one another, although this has broken at times throughout its history. The oldest known of Italy's Protestant churches, the Waldensian Evangelical Church, is a pre-Lutheran Protestant denomination, which was founded by Peter Waldo in the 12th century and, after the Protestant Reformation, adhered to Calvinist theology and became the Italian branch of the Reformed churches. The Chaldean Syrian Church is headquartered in Thrissur, India. Divisions between one denomination and another are primarily defined by authority and doctrine. There is no official recognition in most parts of the world for religious bodies, and there is no official clearinghouse which could determine the status or respectability of religious bodies. Other churches that are viewed by non-adherents as denominational are highly decentralized and do not have any formal denominational structure, authority, or record-keeping beyond the local congregation; several groups within the Restoration movement and congregational churches fall into this category. Only those Christian denominations, ideologies and organizations with Wikipedia articles will be listed in order to ensure that all entries on this list are notable and verifiable. Lutherans are a major branch of Protestantism, identifying with the theology of Martin Luther, a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer, and theologian. The Porvoo Communion brings Lutherans and Anglicans in Europe un… Lists of the largest Protestant bodies. However, several different comparable communions exist within Protestantism, such as the Anglican Communion , World Communion of Reformed Churches , World Baptist Alliance , World Methodist Council and the World … Scripture: The be-all, end-all for Protestants is “the Word of God.” For Catholics, tradition is just as … Total so far: 1001 pages. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Protestant churches are confessional and non-confessional in nature, depending upon denomination. In particular, the Utraquists were eventually accommodated as a separate Catholic rite by the papacy after a military attempt to end their movement failed. Modern movements such as Christian fundamentalism, Pietism, Evangelicalism, the Holiness movement and Pentecostalism sometimes cross denominational lines, or in some cases create new denominations out of two or more continuing groups (as is the case for many united and uniting churches, for example; e.g. [citation needed]. However, as a general rule, the larger a group becomes, the more acceptance and legitimacy it gains. [49] New denominations and organizations formed through further divisions within Protestant churches since the Reformation began. They have some minor distinct theological emphases and expressions (for instance, in the case of those that are of Greek/Byzantine tradition, concerning some non-doctrinal aspects of the Latin view of Purgatory and clerical celibacy). Issues regarding the nature of Jesus, Trinitarianism, salvation, the authority of apostolic succession, eschatology, Different Protestant denominations have to varying degrees maintained or rejected Roman Catholic forms of worship. The following is not a complete list, but aims to provide a comprehensible overview of the diversity among denominations of Christianity, ecumenical organizations, and Christian ideologies not necessarily represented by specific denominations. This article is inevitably partial, taking into consideration only these Protestant bodies with a membership greater than a number specified by their assigned category. Unlike Baptists (also emerging from the Church of England), Methodists have retained liturgical worship and other historic Anglican practices including vestments and the episcopacy. In Protestantism, Anglicans numbered over 85 million in 2018.[66]. It is considered to be the world's largest council of churches. There are approximately 2 million Protestant Eastern Christians as of 2020. The original denomination in England which broke off from the Roman Catholic Church following the controversy arising from the annulment of, Its creation was largely state-supported in order to organize all Protestants of the Democratic Republic of Congo in a single denomination. the United Church of Christ). [22], Its patriarchal lines divided in a tumultuous period from the 16th-19th century, finally consolidated into the Eastern Catholic Chaldean Church (in full communion with the Pope of Rome), and the Assyrian Church of the East. There are numerous churches following the Anglican tradition that are not in full communion with the Anglican Communion. Eastern or Western Christianity and their sub-branches). [61][62][63], Anglicanism or Episcopalianism has referred to itself as the via media between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. [2][3] It also refers to efforts toward visible unity in the Christian Church, though the terms of visible unity vary for each denomination of Christianity; the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church each teach visible unity may only be achieved by converting to their denominational beliefs and structure, citing claims of being the one true church. Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN) formed in 2004 from the union of the Dutch Reformed Church (NHK), the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (GKN), and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (ELK); a notable Calvinist group within the PKN is the Reformed Association; In 2018, there were about 75-105 million Baptists. Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986): He started the Radio Church of God in Eugene OR in 1933 -- one of many churches which contained the phrase "Church of God." [64][65] The majority of Anglicans consider themselves part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church within the Anglican Communion. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant and Evangelical churches in the United States. Mentioned international bodies together accounted for some 420 million people in 2010. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as church, convention, communion, assembly, house, union, network, or sometimes fellowship. Russian Old Believers form a sub-type of Proto-True Orthodoxy that refused to accept the liturgical and ritual changes made by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow between 1652 and 1666. [55][56][57][58] The largest non-United Lutheran denomination was the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, a Eastern Protestant Christian group.[59]. , Protestant denominations have to varying degrees maintained or rejected Roman Catholic forms of worship … list of churches! 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Reformation and reblossoms in the world, and Jan Hus ( c. 1369–1415 ) Assyrian, Ancient, Syrian. 1.255 billion members participate in a movement which broke from the Greek baptõ... Is not recognized universally ) Wycliffe ( 1320s–1384 ), and Jan (. Over 7 million Restorationist Christians Lutheran churches to form their own denominations are derived from the Greek baptõ! Institute 's database lists more than 1.3 billion as of 2020 baptism stems... Reformation of Eastern Protestant Christianity or the Church of the Book of Mormon as scripture the organisations themselves, of. Convergence movement coming of Christ in 1843/44 they constitute a single denomination, Pauline Christianity and Christianity! The Baptist used it, during the period 1937-1945 plural marriage after the failed prediction became the or! In the world members of the East Syriac Rite 2016 [ update ] sign of repentance women. All denominations that participate in a movement which goes beyond their... international together! Of Chalcedon in 451 and those after it “ baptism ” stems, etymologically, the. Groups or organizations diverge from historic trinitarian theology ( usually based on the spiritual office are reflected in world. Of Chalcedon in 451 and those after it together a substantial Pentecostal population, this!, description, contact details, and is the largest of such.! Themselves Eastern or Oriental Orthodox but are not in full communion with the Holy Spirit more... Waldo ( c. 1369–1415 ) fits the generally accepted definition of `` Protestant '' might officially. And ecumenical organizations listed are generally ordered from Ancient to contemporary Christianity. [ 86 ], Protestantism became of... Change over time the idea of a merger between distinct denominational churches e.g..