Catholic~33 AD
Roman Catholic
📍 Jerusalem, Roman Empire
The original apostolic church. Centred on the Eucharist, the papacy, and sacred tradition.
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.
Catholic~1724 (formal union with Rome)
Melkite Greek Catholic
📍 Syria, Lebanon, Palestine
Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine rite in full communion with Rome.
Learn moreCatholic~5th century (St Maron); continuous communion with Rome
Maronite
📍 Syria / Lebanon (Mount Lebanon)
Lebanon's ancient mountain church - never separated from Rome.
Learn moreOrthodox~1054 (Great Schism formalised)
Eastern Orthodox
📍 Byzantine Empire (Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria)
Ancient Christianity preserved in the East. Deep liturgy, icons, and theosis.
Learn moreOrthodox~42 AD
Coptic Orthodox
📍 Alexandria, Egypt
Egypt's ancient apostolic church, founded by the Apostle Mark.
Learn moreOrthodox~301 AD (state church)
Armenian Apostolic
📍 Armenia (modern Turkey/Armenia)
The world's oldest national church, founded by Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew.
Learn moreOrthodox~37 AD (Antioch); Jacobite identity ~543 AD
Syriac Orthodox (Jacobite)
📍 Antioch, Syria
Ancient Aramaic church tracing origins to Antioch and the Apostle Peter.
Learn moreOrthodox~1st–2nd century AD
Church of the East (Assyrian)
📍 Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Iran)
The ancient Eastern church of Mesopotamia - Christianity in the Persian Empire.
Learn moreOrthodox~330 AD (state church)
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
📍 Axum, Ethiopia
Africa's ancient apostolic church - 81-book canon, Ge'ez liturgy, and the Ark of the Covenant.
Learn moreOrthodox1666–1667 (Great Schism from Russian Orthodoxy)
Old Believers (Raskolniki)
📍 Russia
Preserving the pre-Nikonian Russian Orthodox rites against all reform.
Learn moreProtestant1517
Lutheran
📍 Wittenberg, Germany
Born from Martin Luther's reformation. Salvation by grace through faith alone.
Learn moreProtestant1536–1560
Reformed / Presbyterian
📍 Geneva, Switzerland; Scotland
Calvin's legacy: God's sovereignty, covenant theology, and Presbyterian governance.
Learn moreProtestant1738 (Wesley's conversion); formally 1784
Methodist
📍 England
John Wesley's movement of grace, holiness, and social action.
Learn moreProtestant1525
Mennonite
📍 Zurich, Switzerland
Radical Reformation heirs: peace, believers' baptism, and simple discipleship.
Learn moreProtestant1693
Amish
📍 Alsace (France/Germany border); now primarily Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, USA
Radical separation from the world: horse and buggy, plain dress, and Gelassenheit.
Learn moreProtestant1647–1652
Quaker (Religious Society of Friends)
📍 England (Midlands and North)
Silent waiting on God: no clergy, no creed, no sacraments.
Learn moreProtestant1832
Disciples of Christ
📍 American frontier (Kentucky and Virginia)
Unity, freedom, and weekly communion - the moderate Stone-Campbell tradition.
Learn moreProtestant~1173
Waldensian
📍 Lyon, France; Piedmont valleys, Italy
Medieval proto-Reformers who survived centuries of persecution in the Alpine valleys.
Learn moreProtestant~1415
Hussite / Czech Brethren
📍 Bohemia (Czech Republic)
Jan Hus's reform movement - the first to break with Rome before Luther.
Learn moreProtestant1457 (Unitas Fratrum); renewed 1722 (Herrnhut)
Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum)
📍 Bohemia (Czech Republic); renewed at Herrnhut, Saxony
The Renewed Brethren: mission, joy, and the Lamb of God.
Learn moreProtestant1843
Free Church of Scotland
📍 Scotland
The Disruption of 1843: when Scottish ministers chose conscience over Crown.
Learn moreAnglican1534
Anglican / Episcopal
📍 England
The via media - a comprehensive church bridging Catholic tradition and Protestant theology.
Learn moreEvangelical~1609
Baptist
📍 Amsterdam, Netherlands (English Separatists); spread to England and America
Scripture alone, believer's baptism by immersion, congregational governance.
Learn moreEvangelical1863
Seventh-day Adventist
📍 Battle Creek, Michigan, USA
Saturday Sabbath, healthy living, and the imminent return of Christ.
Learn moreEvangelical~1906 (formal separation)
Churches of Christ (a cappella)
📍 Southern USA (Tennessee, Texas)
Scripture only: no instruments in worship, no creed, believer's baptism for salvation.
Learn moreEvangelical~1927 (identified as distinct body)
Christian Churches (Independent)
📍 USA (Midwest)
Instrumental Stone-Campbell conservatives: direct New Testament Christianity.
Learn moreEvangelical~1860s
Stundists
📍 Ukraine (Odessa region), Russian Empire
Ukrainian Protestant movement born from German pietist Bible hours.
Learn moreEvangelical~1970s–present
Non-denominational Evangelical
📍 USA (primarily); now global
Bible-believing, Jesus-centred Christianity without traditional denominational labels.
Learn moreEvangelical1831
Plymouth Brethren
📍 Plymouth, England; Dublin, Ireland
No clergy, no creed: just the Lord's Table and Scripture exposition.
Learn moreEvangelical1908
Church of the Nazarene (Holiness)
📍 Pilot Point, Texas, USA
Entire sanctification: Wesley's second blessing in the American heartland.
Learn moreEvangelical1865
Salvation Army
📍 East London, England
An army for God: evangelism, soup kitchens, and no sacraments.
Learn morePentecostal1901–1906 (Azusa Street Revival); Assemblies of God 1914
Pentecostal (Assemblies of God)
📍 Topeka, Kansas; Los Angeles, USA
Spirit baptism, speaking in tongues, healing, and revival fire.
Learn moreOther1787
Swedenborgian (New Jerusalem Church)
📍 England (organised); Sweden (Swedenborg's origins)
Heaven opened: Swedenborg's visionary theology of correspondences.
Learn moreOther1838
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 moreProtestant1528
Hutterite
📍 Moravia (Czech Republic); now South Dakota, Alberta, Manitoba
Radical communalism: all things held in common on farming colonies across North America.
Learn moreProtestant1708
Church of the Brethren (Dunkers)
📍 Schwarzenau, Germany; emigrated to Pennsylvania 1719–1729
Triple-immersion baptism, love feasts, and Anabaptist-Pietist pacifism.
Learn moreEvangelical1827
Primitive Baptist
📍 Southern USA
Old-school Calvinist Baptists: no Sunday schools, no paid ministers, no instruments.
Learn moreProtestant1620 (Pilgrim roots); UCC formed 1957
Congregationalist (United Church of Christ)
📍 England; Plymouth Colony, New England, USA
Puritan covenant theology, Mayflower pilgrims, and locally governed churches.
Learn moreEvangelical1860
Free Methodist Church
📍 Pekin, New York, USA
Free pews, free slaves, free grace - the abolitionist breakaway from Methodism.
Learn moreEvangelical1968 (merger); roots in 1843
Wesleyan Church
📍 Indiana, USA
Holiness, social action, and entire sanctification in the Wesleyan tradition.
Learn moreEvangelical1881
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)
📍 Anderson, Indiana, USA
No membership roll, no creed - just the restored New Testament Church.
Learn moreEvangelical1887
Christian Missionary Alliance (C&MA)
📍 New York City, USA
A.B. Simpson's Fourfold Gospel: Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer, Coming King.
Learn moreEvangelical~1770s
Brethren in Christ
📍 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA
Where Anabaptist, Pietist, and Holiness streams converge.
Learn moreProtestant1628
Reformed Church in America
📍 New Amsterdam (New York City), Dutch colony
America's oldest Protestant denomination - Dutch Calvinist since 1628.
Learn morePentecostal1897
Church of God in Christ (COGIC)
📍 Memphis, Tennessee, USA
The largest Black Pentecostal church: holiness, healing, and the Holy Ghost.
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 morePentecostal1974 (Kenn Gulliksen); expanded 1982 (John Wimber)
Vineyard Churches
📍 Southern California, USA
Third Wave charismatic: healing, words of knowledge, and the Kingdom breaking in.
Learn morePentecostal1923
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
📍 Los Angeles, California, USA
Aimee Semple McPherson's Foursquare Gospel: Saviour, Baptiser, Healer, Coming King.
Learn moreOther1863
New Apostolic Church
📍 Hamburg, Germany
The restored apostolic office: a living Chief Apostle as God's mouthpiece on earth.
Learn moreOrthodox~52 AD (apostolic tradition); reformed 1836
Mar Thoma Church (Thomas Christians)
📍 Kerala, India
St Thomas's ancient Indian church meets the Protestant Reformation.
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 moreProtestant1811
Primitive Methodist
📍 Mow Cop, Staffordshire, England
Camp meetings, outdoor preaching, and the religion of the common worker.
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 morePentecostal1886
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
📍 Cherokee County, North Carolina; Cleveland, Tennessee, USA
America's oldest Pentecostal denomination: holiness, tongues, and divine healing.
Learn more⛪
Salvation Army
Evangelical1865
📍 East London, England
🌍 ~1.7 million members; operates in 130+ countries
Origin
William Booth (1829–1912) and his wife Catherine founded the Christian Mission in East London's slums. Organised on military lines with ranks, uniforms, and a General, the Army combined energetic evangelism with social care for the poorest. Uniquely, the Salvation Army observes no sacraments, believing outward rites are less important than inward grace.
Core beliefs
- Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ
- No sacraments: baptism and communion are inward, not outward
- Social service as an expression of the gospel
- Military-style organisation for mission
- Wesleyan-Holiness theology
Worship style
Brass bands, testimony meetings, uniform wearing, and energetic evangelistic worship. Strong emphasis on practical service - soup kitchens, disaster relief, rehabilitation programmes. Corps meetings are open and welcoming.
Key scriptures
- Matthew 25:35–40
- Romans 1:16
- Luke 4:18
- 1 Corinthians 1:18
Relationship to other denominations
Emerged from Methodism and the Holiness movement. Unique for rejecting all sacraments. Ecumenical in social work and one of the world's most recognised charitable organisations.