The Coles Notes Story of Christianity

Let me know what you think of my quick and dirty summary of some of the major Christian groups through history.


Christianity (1st century) - apostles, church fathers, councils, bishops. Later called the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Assyrian Church of the East (431) - Separated because they offered protection to followers of the Nestorian heresy.
Oriental Orthodoxy (451) - Council of Chalcedon declared their Monophysite view as heresy. Syrian and Coptic churches.
Roman Catholicism (1054) - Gradual East/West Schism of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that became final in 1054 primarily over the authority of the bishop of Rome (Pope). Latin.
Eastern Orthodoxy (1054) - Same as above. Greek.

Pre-Reformational Protestants
Waldensians (1173) - Peter Waldo. Lyon France. Emphasized poverty. Persecuted in Albegensian Crusade.
Lollards (1350s) - John Wyclif. An anticlerical movement. England.
Hussites (1415) - Jan Hus' execution caused Czech people to revolt eventually becoming Unity of the Brethren and Moravians.

Protestant Reformation (1500s) - Europe
Lutheran (1519) - Martin Luther. First church of the Protestant Reformation. Germany. Three Solas (Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone)
Reformed (1525) - John Calvin. Huldrych Zwingli. Second church of the Protestant Reformation. Switzerland. Calvinism (predestination).
Anabaptists (1525) - Reject infant baptism. Persecuted by Catholics and Reformers. Modern day Mennonites, Amish, Hutterites, Brethren.
Hutterites (1529) - Jacob Hutter. Anabaptist. Communal living. Pacifist.
Anglican (1534) - Henry VIII was not granted an annulment and split the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.
Mennonite (1537) - Menno Simons. Anabaptist. Holland/Germany. Pacifism. Some groups reject modern technology.
Presbyterian (1560) - John Knox. Scotland. Part of the Reformed churches. Calvinistic.

Puritan Movement (1600s) - England
Baptist (1609) - John Smyth. England. Separatist puritans that emphasize believer's baptism and congregationalism.
Congregationalists (1633) - John Cotton. Massachusetts. Separatist puritans that emphasize the autonomy of the local church.
Quakers/Religious Society of Friends (1647) - George Fox. England. Separatists puritans that emphasize peace and communal decisions.
Amish (1693) - Jacob Amman felt Mennonites were not strict enough and separated. Communal life. Avoid modernisms.
Schwarzenau Brethren (1708) - Alexander Mack. Dunkers. Germany to Holland to Pennsylvania. Anabaptist.
Great Awakening (1730s) - United States. Jonathan Edwards. George Whitefield. Sermon based revival of American protestants.
Methodist (1738) - John Wesley. England. Methodical bible study movement in the Anglican church. Arminian.
Episcopal (1784) - Anglican Church in the US. Recently appointed a gay bishop.

Restoration and Holiness Movements (1800s) - United States
Campbellites (1826) - Alexander Campbell. Product of the Restoration Movement that tried to remove denominational barriers.
Millerites (1830s) - William Miller. Predicted the date of the 2nd coming in 1844 until the Great Disappointment.
Messianic Judaism (1850s) - Jewish Christians who have retained their cultural and ethnic identity.
Seventh Day Adventists (1863) - Ellen G. White. Millerite origin. Worship on Saturday.
Salvation Army (1878) - William Booth. England. Methodist origin. Emphasis on social service.
Church of the Nazarene (1895) - Product of the Holiness movement initiated by Methodists. Merging many Holiness churches.
Christian and Missionary Alliance (1897) - Albert Simpson. Part of the Holiness movement. Focus on evangelism and missions.
Pentecostal (1901) - Charles Fox Parham. William Seymour. Asuza Street Revival. Influenced by the Holiness movment. Speaking in tongues.
Disciples of Christ (1906) - Arose as a split in the Campbellite churches over liberal/conservative theologies. Became the moderate/liberal wing.
Church of Christ (1906) - Same as above. Tries to mimic early church. Non-instrumental. Conservative/fundamentalist wing.
Assemblies of God (1914) - An organization of Pentecostal churches.

Liberals, Evangelicals and Fundamentalists (1900s) - United States
United Church of Canada (1925) - Merger of Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregationalist and Evangelical United Brethren churches in Canada.
Worldwide Church of God (1933) - Herbert Armstrong. Millerite origin. 1986 turnaround to evangelical theology.
Evangelical Free Church of America (1950) - Merger of Scandanavian based churches. Chuck Swindoll is a member.
United Church of Christ (1956) - Merger of congregationalist and reformed churches. Liberal theology.
Calvary Chapel (1965) - Chuck Smith. Non-denominational denomination that came out of the Jesus Movement.
Word of Faith (1967) - Kenneth Haggin. Controversial Pentecostal movement that emphasizes receiving things from the Holy Spirit. Benny Hinn. Yonggi Cho.
Willow Creek Community Church (1975) - Bill Hybels. Chicago. Non-denominational seeker-senstive megachurch with affiliates.
International Churches of Christ (1979) - Kip McKean. Controversial Boston movement split from the Church of Christ. Cult-like discipleship model.
Saddleback Church (1980) - Rick Warren. California. Seeker-sensitive Southern Baptist megachurch with affiliates. Purpose Driven series.
Vineyard (1982) - John Wimber split from Calvary Chapel. Charismatic.

Christianity in a Postmodern World (2000s)
Transformationalism (1990s) - Transformation of individuals, institutions and relationships through "Marketplace Ministers". Vineyard influence.
Emerging Church (1990s) - Brian McLaren. Rethinking Christianity in the Postmodern context. Narratives.

Philip said:

Pretty good and useful reference.

Some comments:

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Thanks for the comments.

Philip said:

Both Orthodox and Catholics would object to the listing of the date AD 1054 as their origin. Both consider themselves to be continuations of the orginial Church.

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I am aware of that and this is why I chose the wording that I did. That the 1054 was the final step of a gradual schism of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church mentioned in the first entry.

Philip said:

Why do you end the discription of Orthodoxy with 'Greek'? We are much more than Greek.

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I am aware that EO is much more than just Greek, but that was the one difference from the description of the RCC above it. Trying to keep things in one line, I didn't want to list all the distinctions. The follow through links would do that.

Philip said:

The Church of England is not properly called a Protestant Church. It was not part of the Reformation that occurred on Continental Europe.

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Yes. The bolded headings shouldn't necessarily be seen as a category heading that all the groups below it identify with. They are merely the major movements of that time period followed by a list of churches that arose during that same time period, not necessarily under those major movements. Thanks for the clarification.

I think the above version is too detailed for the average person (too many groups) so I'm posting here an abridged version that only includes the more popular Christian groups.

Christianity (1st century) - apostles, church fathers, councils, bishops. Later called the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Roman Catholicism (1054) - Gradual East/West Schism of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that became final in 1054 primarily over the authority of the bishop of Rome (Pope). Latin.
Eastern Orthodoxy (1054) - Same as above. Greek.

Lutheran (1519) - Martin Luther. First church of the Protestant Reformation. Germany. Three Solas (Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone)
Reformed (1525) - John Calvin. Huldrych Zwingli. Second church of the Protestant Reformation. Switzerland. Calvinism (predestination).
Anabaptists (1525) - Rejected infant baptism. Persecuted by Catholics and Reformers. Modern day Mennonites, Amish, Hutterites, Brethren.
Anglican (1534) - Henry VIII was not granted an annulment and split the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.
Mennonite (1537) - Menno Simons. Anabaptist. Holland/Germany. Pacifism. Some groups reject modern technology.
Presbyterian (1560) - John Knox. Scotland. Part of the Reformed churches. Calvinistic.
Baptist (1609) - John Smyth. England. Separatist puritans that emphasize believer's baptism and congregationalism.
Quakers/Religious Society of Friends (1647) - George Fox. England. Separatists puritans that emphasize peace and communal decisions.
Methodist (1738) - John Wesley. England. Methodical bible study movement in the Anglican church. Arminian.
Episcopal (1784) - Anglican Church in the US. Recently appointed a gay bishop.

Campbellites (1826) - Alexander Campbell. Product of the Restoration Movement that tried to remove denominational barriers.
Millerites (1830s) - William Miller. Predicted the date of the 2nd coming in 1844 until the Great Disappointment.
Messianic Judaism (1850s) - Jewish Christians who have retained their cultural and ethnic identity.
Seventh Day Adventists (1863) - Ellen G. White. Millerite origin. Worship on Saturday.
Salvation Army (1878) - William Booth. England. Methodist origin. Emphasis on social service.
Pentecostal (1901) - Charles Fox Parham. William Seymour. Asuza Street Revival. Influenced by the Holiness movment. Speaking in tongues.
Disciples of Christ (1906) - Arose as a split in the Campbellite churches over liberal/conservative theologies. Became the moderate/liberal wing.
Church of Christ (1906) - Same as above. Tries to mimic early church. Non-instrumental. Conservative/fundamentalist wing.
Assemblies of God (1914) - An organization of Pentecostal churches.
United Church of Christ (1956) - Merger of congregationalist and reformed churches. Liberal theology.
Calvary Chapel (1965) - Chuck Smith. Non-denominational denomination that came out of the Jesus Movement.
Word of Faith (1967) - A controversial Pentecostal movement that emphasizes receiving things from the Holy Spirit. Benny Hinn. Yonggi Cho.
Willow Creek Community Church (1975) - Bill Hybels. Chicago. Non-denominational seeker-senstive megachurch with affiliates.