The 4 branches of Christianity (and how they differ)

Christianity is the religion with the largest number of followers in the world, a fact that is linked to the appearance of different branches of this religion, which share common characteristics but with visible differences. As main and shared features, Christianity is presented as a monotheistic religion, which believes in one God, represented by the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and based on the faith.

The holy scripture is the Bible and a doctrine and rules of life are followed with the purpose of reaching heaven. The 4 main branches of Christianity, which stand out for the number of believers are: the Catholic Church, with the Pope as head of the church and based in the Vatican; the Protestant Church started in the 16th century by Martin Luther with the Protestant Reformation; the Orthodox Church, founded in the 11th century after the separation of the Church of the West and East; and the Anglican Church, started in the 16th century and with the Archbishop of Canterbury as the highest representative of the church. In this article we will talk about the Christian religion, its main characteristics and the different branches that exist.

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What is Christianity?

Christianity is a monotheistic religion, which believes in the existence of one God.. It is the most widespread religion with 2.4 billion believers worldwide. It raises the existence of the Holy Trinity, which represents the figure of God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Its sacred book is the Bible, divided into the old testament that tells the story before the arrival of Christ to Earth and the new testament that tells the story of Christ's life and after his death and Resurrection. Christianity was established as a religion in the 1st century AD. c. starting from the already existing Jewish religion.

A belief displayed by the different branches of the Christian religion is faith, which is defined as the non-rational conviction that a superior being exists. In other words, it consists of believing in something that we cannot prove objectively or scientifically. Likewise, we will see how each Church sets standards of behavior and life that must be met by its followers.

The Christian religion believes in the existence of heaven, understood as the place of salvation, paradise and the place where purified souls ascend and from hell, understood as the place where people who have not repented of their sins go. Another state is purgatory, which is the previous purification period before reaching heaven, although this phase is not supported by all branches of Christianity.

One of the most recognized acts of the Christian Church is the celebration of the mass, which consists of a weekly worship where believers usually attend on Sundays. In this service, a reading of the writings is carried out; a sermon, which is a speech on a religious theme; a communal prayer and giving thanks; the Eucharist, where the body and blood of Christ are eaten and drunk; and the offerings.

Major Christian Doctrines

Being such a widespread and ancient religion, different branches have emerged, each contributing modifications and distinctive characteristics, despite maintaining the same basic beliefs. Below we will mention the main branches of this religion taking into account the number of believers that each one brings together.

1. Catholicism

The Catholic Church is the branch of Christianity that has the largest number of believers. His followers believe that it is the only true church, it was Christ who commissioned the apostle Peter to build it. The highest current representative of God on earth is the Pope, considered the head of the Catholic Church and the Bishop of Rome, who resides in the Vatican, the Holy See.

It is also considered apostolic, since the apostles were in charge of transmitting knowledge, thus representing the union between the divine and the human. One of the most important acts is the mass, where the Eucharist is celebrated, which represents the last supper and the bread and wine that are the body and blood of Christ are distributed.

They believe in the Virgin Mary, mother of God and in the Salvation of the soul through faith in God and the performance of good works. There are 7 sacraments that were rites founded by Jesus, through which divine life is transmitted to all humans, these are: the Baptism is the first sacrament and supposes your union to the Church, representing the liberation of sins and the establishment as children of God; confirmation consists of a reaffirmation of baptism and a closer union with the Church; the Eucharist, where the body and blood of Christ are received.

After celebrating the sacraments of initiation into the Catholic religion, there are others such as: penance, where believers can ask forgiveness for their sins; the anointing of the sick, received by the sick and elderly with the purpose of facilitating their encounter and union with God; the priestly order that consists in dedicating yourself fully to serving God and the Church, this sacrament can only be received by men, who must maintain celibacy and cannot marry; and marriage where the union of women and men is celebrated before the eyes of God.

2. Protestantism

The Protestant Church was founded in the sixteenth century driven by Martin Luther and culminated in the Protestant Reformation which would mean the division of Christianity, thus separating from the Catholic Church. As main differences of Catholicism, Protestantism does not believe that there is a single valid Church, is not considered apostolic and as such denies the role of Peter as head of the Church and the figure of the Dad. They affirm that the only leader of the Church is God.

They do not give importance to good works and believe that faith is the only one that can save the human soul. Only the sacrament of baptism and communion are realized and believed to be true. In the same way, they do not practice the forgiveness of sins through the confession made by the priest, nor in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which frees her from original sin. The Protestant church gives less importance to the figure of Mary and avoids calling her the Mother of God.

Likewise, during the mass, God is not represented by bread and wine, also rejecting any worship or veneration of religious images or figures. Nor does he believe in the existence of purgatory, period where the dead must be purified to achieve salvation and eternal life, heaven.

3. Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church has its origin in the eleventh century as a consequence of the "Schism of East and West". The Orthodox were against the new reforms proposed by the Roman Church, thus deciding to separate and constitute the Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church, made up of different independent Churches, each with its own bishop.

It shows many similarities with Catholicism, they believe in the importance of the apostles as followers of the message of Jesus and in the Holy Trinity, which affirms the existence of a single God represented by three persons, Father, Son and Spirit Holy. Instead, he denies the existence of purgatory, just as Protestants do, neither believe in the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, that is, Jesus was the only one conceived without sin.

Unlike Catholicism, they do not believe in original sin, performed by Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden tree, but in the ancestral sin, which affirms that God made us free from choose between good and evil and that we are not responsible for the mistakes of others, therefore original sin does not belongs.

4. Anglican church

The Anglican Church has the largest representation in England and in parts of the United States. It was created in the sixteenth century from the Reformation of England, which is part of the reform Protestant and whose purpose was to emancipate and eliminate many restrictions made by the Catholic Church.

The main seat of anglicism is in the city of Canterbury, in England and has the Archbishop of Canterbury as the highest representative, who is the spiritual leader of this church, thus denying the authority of the Pope of Catholicism.

Despite being able to choose celibacy, Anglican priests can marry and have children. Just as some branches of Anglicanism accept that women serve as priests. In the same way, that the Protestant Church only believes in the existence of two sacraments, although in this case they are baptism and the Eucharist; in faith in God as the only way of salvation for men and without paying homage to religious images.

The bases of the doctrine of the Anglican Church are the Bible, as we have already seen in other Christian religions, but also The 39 Articles and the Book of Common Prayer, which bring together the beliefs of this branch of Christianity. Another noteworthy point is that they accept the free interpretation of sacred writing, that is, they believe valid the possibility that each subject interpreter and draw their own conclusions from the texts of the Bible.