Contrasting Mainline Protestant Denominations

1 Presentation Outline – Part 1

• What’s the purpose? • Where did it all start? • Seven ecumenical councils of the early church • Brief history of the five denominational families • Forms of church governments • Views of Sacraments and ordinances

2 What’s the Purpose?

Is this it?

NO!

Most Christians are not aware of their own church’s doctrines, let alone their denomination’s doctrines! The purpose of this presentation is to present a history of mainline Protestant denominations and their doctrines so we can relate to other Christians we meet.

3 Where Did It All Start?

4 5 Seven Ecumenical Councils

1) First Council of Nicaea, 325 – Eastern and Western churches*debated whether Jesus was created or begotten by God the Father, drafted the Nicene Creed, and established the date for Easter 2) First Council of Constantinople, 381 – revised the Nicene Creed to remove controversial language, and asserted “primacy” to the Bishop of Constantinople to be second only to the pope in Rome 3) Council of Ephesus, 431 – confirmed the Nicene Creed and that Mary was the “God-bearer,” and condemned the heresy of Nestorius; the resulting Nestorian schism caused the Assyrian Orthodox separation 4) Council of Chalcedon, 451 – attempted to eliminate heresies caused by an improperly convened “Second Council of Ephesus” in 449 and affirm the dual human and divine nature of Jesus, and issued 28 canons regarding church discipline and administration; the Chalcedon schism caused the Oriental Orthodox separation 5) Second Council of Constantinople, 553 – attempted to mend the Chalcedon schism that had resulted between those who believed Jesus, at his incarnation, had a single divine nature or a synthesis of divine and human (monophysitism), and those who believed Jesus had a separate divine and human nature (dyophysitism) 6) Third Council of Constantinople, 680 – attempted again to mend the Chalcedon schism by taking the focus off of the single/dual nature of Jesus and instead asserting that Jesus had one energy (monoenergism) and one will (monothelitism), but this proposal was ultimately condemned as heresy; reaffirmed the first five councils 7) Second Council of Nicaea, 787 – attempted to reunite the Eastern and Western churches by affirming veneration and worship of icons (previously heretical to the Western Church, but practiced by the Eastern church); at that time, Islamists actively sought out and destroyed icons in early Christian churches *Due to its size, Roman Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into East and West in 285 – Eastern Roman Empire was governed from Byzantium (later Constantinople, i.e., Istanbul, Turkey) – Western Roman Empire was governed from Rome

6 Five Denominational Families

Denominations were formed because of political and/or theological disagreements or, in some cases, simply for convenience • Assyrian Orthodox • Oriental Orthodox • Eastern Orthodox • Western Orthodox (Roman Catholic) • Reformation Churches

7 Assyrian Orthodox

• Formed by Nestorius resulting from the Nestorian Schism of 431 during the Council of Ephesus • Nestorius refused the title for Mary of Theotokos, “God- bearer,” and insisted on Christotokos, “Christ-bearer,” and asserted the non-united distinctiveness of the human and divine natures of Jesus • Nestorian doctrine was condemned at the First Council of Ephesus in 431, and was reiterated as heresy at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 • Encompasses ancient Assyria (northern Iraq) and regions throughout Asia

8 Oriental Orthodox

• Formed as a result of the Council of Chalcedon, 451 • Did not agree with the defined dual nature of Jesus because they saw it as the heretical teaching of Nestorius • Oriental Orthodox churches include – Coptic Christians in Egypt (10–20% of the population of Egypt; severely persecuted by Muslims) – Church of India (established by the Apostle Thomas) – Armenian Orthodox (Turkey, Armenia, and southeast Russia) – Ethiopian Orthodox (North Africa; possibly from the Biblical encounter between the Apostle Philip and the influential Ethiopian eunuch as presented in Acts 8)

9 Eastern and Western Orthodox

• Eastern and Western churches separated as a result of the great East-West Schism of 1054, although issues between the two churches had occurred for centuries • Two theological issues were the perceived reasons – Whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father or from the Father and the Son, and – Whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist • Two political issues were the actual reasons – The Western church sought to strengthen papal authority with the Pope asserting absolute rule over the entire church – The Eastern church sought autonomy of governance and rejected papal claims to absolute rule

10 Reformation Churches

• Significant earlier attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church occurred before Luther, such as those of Peter Waldo, Jan Hus, and John Wycliffe, i.e., “Pre-Reformers” • Formally initiated by Martin Luther, and continued by John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other early Protestant Reformers in 16th century Europe • Protestant denominations spawned as a direct result of the Protestant Reformation – Lutherans – Anabaptists – Anglicans (Church of England) – Calvinists (Reformed)

11 Pre-Reformers

• Waldensians – Founded by Frenchman Peter Waldo in 1182 – Decried the lavish lifestyle of monks and priests while the common people starved – Petitioned Pope Alexander III that the Scriptures and church services use French (common people’s language) instead of Latin (educated people’s language) – Persecuted by Rome for challenging the Pope’s authority • Moravians (Unity of the Brethren) – Founded by Czech John Hus in 1457 – Persecuted by Rome for using the reformed teachings of John Wycliffe and for rejecting papal authority 12 Lutherans (Evangelicals)

• Founded by German Martin Luther in 1522 after penning his “Ninety- five Theses” in 1517 based on his objection to the Catholic Church’s practice of the sale of indulgences (money paid to the Church to reduce or eliminate the “purifying punishment” in purgatory due to unrepentant sin as a means to “achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven”) • Luther initiated the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (scripture alone) • Advocated the doctrine of justification “by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone” rather than Sacramental observation and adherence to Church authority • Eliminated veneration and worship of icons • Still retained many liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the Roman Catholic Church • No other denominations came from the Lutheran movement

13 Anabaptists

• Founded by Swiss Georg Blaurock, Conrad Grebel, and Felix Manz in 1525 • Rejected infant baptism • Rejected Luther’s salvation doctrine of justification by grace alone; asserted that true disciples hear and obey the Word • Emphasized the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, separation of Church and State, believer’s baptism, freedom of conscience, and holiness of life • Strict adherence to a literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount that precluded taking oaths, participating in military actions, and participating in civil government • Mennonites, Hutterites, and the Amish came from the Anabaptist movement

14 Anglicans (Church of England)

• Founded by King Henry VIII in 1534 to attain a divorce from Catherine of Aragon; the Pope refused to grant his divorce so he could marry Anne Boleyn – The king made himself “supreme head” of the church – Catherine’s daughter, Mary Tudor, ascended the throne in 1553 and returned England back to Catholicism, killing all who opposed her; more than 300 died at her hand – Anne Boleyn’s daughter, Elizabeth, ascended the throne in 1558 and restored the Protestant Church of England • Upholds the Roman Catholic doctrine of Prima Scriptura (divine revelation through Scripture and Church traditions) • Episcopalians came from the Anglican Church, with the first church service in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607

15 Calvinists (Reformed)

• Founded by Swiss Ulrich Zwingli in 1522 • Advanced the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, i.e., “Divine Law” over “Man’s Law” • Disagreed with Luther over the Eucharist; believed the elements to be symbolic rather than transformative • Frenchman John Calvin furthered Reformation in 1553 by advancing the doctrine of predestination, i.e., the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins based on Jesus’ teaching in John 6:65 that “…no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father” • Presbyterians, Church of Scotland, and Evangelical Free churches came from the Reformed Church

16 Church Governments

• Jesus chose his Apostles who, in turn, appointed elders at the various churches; this is the basic model • Three general forms of Protestant church government, from most structured to least structured, are – Episcopal: hierarchical in structure with authority over a local church resting in a bishop – Presbyterian: hierarchical structure of representatives – Congregational: church congregations are independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, and autonomous

17 Episcopal Government

• Highly hierarchical structure • Bishops ordain and govern rectors and priests • Many have an archbishop with authority over bishops • Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Methodist, and most Lutherans

Archbishop

Bishop Bishop

Rector/Priest Rector/Priest Rector/Priest Rector/Priest

Congregation Congregation Congregation Congregation 18 Presbyterian Government

• Hierarchical structure of representatives • General Assembly has authority over all churches • Presbyteries have responsibility and authority over a geographical region • Session (elders) are elected that represent each congregation • Pastors are also elders of equal standing in the session, but are members of the presbytery, not the church

General Assembly

Presbytery Presbytery

Session Session Session Session

Congregation Congregation Congregation Congregation 19 Congregational Government

• Church congregations are independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, and autonomous • Final governing authority resides within the congregation • The congregation elects an elder (or several elders) and/or deacons to govern the church • Churches may form associations with other like churches • Congregational governments are the most common

20 View of Sacraments and Ordinances

• Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Episcopalian, and most Orthodox churches recognize seven Sacraments: Baptism (also known as Christening), Confirmation, Eucharist (or Holy Communion), Reconciliation (Penance or Confession), Anointing of the Sick, Marriage, and Holy Orders; some churches recognize more than seven • Protestant churches that recognize Water Baptism and the Eucharist as Sacraments include Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists, Adventists, and Reformed • Protestant churches that recognize Water baptism and the Eucharist as ordinances, not Sacraments, include Baptists, Churches of Christ, Pentecostals, Disciples of Christ, and Mennonites

21 Protestant View of Water Baptism

• Two types of baptism – Credobaptism • Also known as the believer’s baptism, i.e., an “active” act based on a person’s profession of faith • Practiced by churches who view baptism as an ordinance • Usually water baptism by full immersion – Pedobaptism • Also known as infant (or child) baptism, i.e., a “passive” act performed by an ordained pastor; viewed as a work of God • Practiced by churches who view baptism as a Sacrament • Usually water baptism by sprinkling or pouring • Most churches require baptism for church membership

22 Protestant View of the Eucharist

• Three views of the Eucharist (Latin eucharistia; thanksgiving) – Consubstantiation: For Lutherans, Christ’s body and blood are present “in, with, and under” the forms of bread and wine; from the teachings of Martin Luther – Receptionism: For Presbyterian and Reformed, Christ is not present literally in the elements, but he is spiritually present; from the teachings of John Calvin – Memorialism: For Baptists and many others, the Lord's supper is symbolic, i.e., a remembrance of Christ’s suffering and a reminder of his power to overcome sin and death; from the teachings of Ulrich Zwingli • Anglican and Methodist Churches have a wide variety of views • Many churches do not require membership for the Eucharist

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