Other1787
Swedenborgian (New Jerusalem Church)
📍 England (organised); Sweden (Swedenborg's origins)
Heaven opened: Swedenborg's visionary theology of correspondences.
Learn moreFree Resource
Denomination Explorer
Christianity is not one tradition. It is a family shaped by centuries of faith, geography, and the many ways people have met God. Explore the full family here. All branches. No judgment.
Other1838
Christadelphian
📍 England / USA
No immortal soul, no Trinity: Bible truth as first-century Christians understood it.
Learn moreOther1747 (England); 1774 (USA)
Shakers (United Society of Believers)
📍 Manchester, England; then New England, USA
Celibacy, communal life, and worship through ecstatic dance and craftsmanship.
Learn moreOther1785
Rappites (Harmonists)
📍 Württemberg, Germany; Pennsylvania and Indiana, USA
German perfectionist communalists who built Harmony, Pennsylvania.
Learn moreOther~1750s
Doukhobors
📍 Russia (Ukraine, Caucasus); emigrated to Canada 1899
Spirit-wrestlers: inner light, pacifism, and rejection of all external authority.
Learn moreOther~1765
Molokans
📍 Volga region and Caucasus, Russia; later California and Armenia
Russian milk-drinkers: Bible alone, no clergy, no fasting rules.
Learn moreOther1945
United Pentecostal Church International (Oneness)
📍 Hazelwood, Missouri, USA
Jesus Only: one God, baptism in Jesus's name, and the fullness of the Spirit.
Learn moreOther1863
New Apostolic Church
📍 Hamburg, Germany
The restored apostolic office: a living Chief Apostle as God's mouthpiece on earth.
Learn moreOther~1884–1910 (various founders)
African Zionist / Independent Churches (AICs)
📍 South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya, East Africa
The largest African Christian movement: Spirit, healing, prophecy, and indigenous worship.
Learn moreOther1848
Exclusive Brethren (Plymouth Brethren II / PBCC)
📍 England (J.N. Darby's breakaway from Plymouth)
Absolute separation: no fellowship, eating, or worship with those outside the circle.
Learn more⛪
Molokans
Other~1765
📍 Volga region and Caucasus, Russia; later California and Armenia
🌍 ~200,000–300,000
Origin
Molokans ('milk-drinkers' - a derogatory term for those who drank milk during Orthodox fasting periods) emerged in 18th-century Russia rejecting the Orthodox Church under the influence of Simeon Uklein. They held the Bible alone as authority and rejected icons, clergy, sacraments, and external fasting rules. Exiled to the Caucasus by the Tsar, many emigrated to California and other countries.
Core beliefs
- Scripture alone as authority (rationalist and spiritual reading)
- No ordained clergy; all believers are equal
- No icons, sacraments, or external fasting disciplines
- Pacifism (in most groups)
- Spiritual gifts and prophecy (in Pryguny/Jumping groups)
Worship style
Simple Scripture reading, singing of psalms and hymns, prayer, and testimony. Some Pryguny ('Jumping') Molokans have ecstatic worship with singing and jumping. No clergy-led liturgy.
Key scriptures
- John 4:24
- 2 Timothy 3:16–17
- Acts 2:17–18
- Romans 3:28
Relationship to other denominations
Similar to Doukhobors in rejecting Orthodox externals but more Bible-centred. Large communities in Los Angeles, California and in Armenia.