Christian Denominations Family Tree (Simplified Version)

Christianity began with Jesus of Nazareth, who lived approximately from 4 BCE to 30 CE. Jesus was Jewish, and his earliest followers came from several branches of Second Temple Judaism.

The earliest Christians were known as followers of “the Way.” Christianity initially existed as a movement within Judaism rather than as a separate religion.

Christianity gradually became a distinct religion as increasing numbers of non-Jews joined. The movement expanded beyond its original Jewish community and developed an identity separate from Judaism.

Early Christianity attracted many Greeks and Romans known as God-fearers. These individuals were interested in Jewish religious beliefs but were reluctant to convert fully because of Judaism's religious requirements.

Christianity offered fewer requirements for conversion than Judaism. In particular, converts were not required to undergo circumcision or observe Jewish dietary restrictions. This made Christianity more accessible to Gentiles and helped its expansion.

Christianity developed from Jewish religious traditions while also absorbing ideas from Greek philosophy. Its early theology was shaped by both intellectual traditions rather than exclusively by Jewish teachings.

Early Christianity consisted of multiple competing movements rather than one unified church. Different groups held conflicting beliefs about Jesus, his nature, and the meaning of his teachings.

Proto-Orthodox Christianity eventually became the dominant movement. From its perspective, competing Christian interpretations were heresies that needed to be eliminated.

Gnosticism was one of the major alternatives to Proto-Orthodox Christianity. Although Gnostic Christian movements eventually disappeared, their ideas influenced other religious traditions, particularly Manichaeism and Mandaeism.

The Ebionites and Nazarenes represented forms of Jewish Christianity. They recognized Jesus as the Messiah but did not consider him to be God, distinguishing their beliefs from those that became dominant in Christianity.

The Ebionites and Nazarenes eventually disappeared as distinct movements but may have influenced Islam. Baker presents their possible influence on Islamic beliefs about Jesus as a historical connection rather than a certainty.

Arianism taught that Jesus was a created being who had been elevated to divine status. This contradicted the developing orthodox position that Jesus was eternally divine.

The controversy over Arianism led to the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. The council rejected Arianism and established a formal statement of Christian belief associated with the Nicene Creed.

Nicene Christianity affirmed that Jesus and God the Father were co-equal and co-eternal. This became a defining theological position separating Nicene Christianity from movements that understood Jesus as subordinate to or created by God.

Nicene Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 CE. This gave the Nicene tradition a central institutional position within the empire and helped establish it as the dominant form of Christianity.

Christian communities also existed beyond the Roman Empire, particularly within the Sasanian Persian Empire. Christianity's geographical expansion meant that not all Christians belonged to institutions operating under Roman imperial authority.

The Church of the East emerged as a distinct Christian tradition around this period. Its development was associated with Christian communities east of the Roman Empire, particularly those living under Persian rule.

Christianity within the Roman Empire developed a structure centered on five major patriarchates. These were Rome, Constantinople, Antioch in Syria, Jerusalem, and Alexandria in Egypt.

The five patriarchates became important centers of Christian religious authority. Their geographical separation and developing theological disagreements contributed to later divisions within Christianity.

A major theological dispute concerned whether Jesus possessed one nature or two. The disagreement divided churches that accepted the Council of Chalcedon's theological definition from those that rejected it.

The Chalcedonian position affirmed that Jesus possessed two distinct natures, one divine and one human. Baker associates the acceptance of this doctrine particularly with Rome and Constantinople.

Non-Chalcedonian Christians maintained that Christ's divinity and humanity were united in one nature. Baker associates this position with the Christian traditions of Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria, contrasting it with the Chalcedonian definition.

The non-Chalcedonian churches became known collectively as Oriental Orthodox Christianity. Their rejection of Chalcedonian theology established a lasting division from the churches associated with Rome and Constantinople.

The spread of Islam intensified the separation between the major Christian traditions. Muslim conquests brought territories associated with Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria under Islamic rule, while Christianity continued there as a minority religion.

The Syriac Orthodox Church preserves a Christian tradition associated with the ancient patriarchate of Antioch. Baker identifies it as one of the surviving branches of non-Chalcedonian Christianity.

The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt traces its roots to ancient Alexandrian Christianity. It represents another major surviving Oriental Orthodox tradition.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church also belongs to the Oriental Orthodox tradition. Baker connects its historical development to the non-Chalcedonian churches associated with the eastern Mediterranean and northeastern Africa.

Rome and Constantinople remained the principal centers of Christianity in regions where the religion continued to predominate. Their religious institutions retained considerable importance after Christianity became a minority faith in several other ancient patriarchal territories.

The churches associated with Rome and Constantinople remained united for several centuries before separating. Their eventual division produced the two major traditions now commonly distinguished as Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

The Catholic Church developed from the Christian tradition under Rome's jurisdiction. Its leader remains the Bishop or Patriarch of Rome, more commonly known as the Pope.

The Eastern Orthodox Church developed from the tradition associated with Constantinople. The Patriarch of Constantinople retains a leading historical position within Eastern Orthodoxy, which consists of multiple churches rather than a single institution governed like the Catholic Church.

The Russian Orthodox Church became the largest individual branch of Eastern Orthodoxy. Its size illustrates how Orthodox Christianity expanded well beyond its original centers in the eastern Roman Empire.

The Russian Orthodox Church severed ties with Constantinople in 2018. This modern rupture demonstrates that institutional disagreements continue within Eastern Orthodoxy despite its shared historical and theological foundations.

The Protestant Reformation began in 1517 as an effort to reform the Catholic Church. What started as an internal reform movement eventually produced several distinct Christian traditions.

The Reformation's three principal early branches were Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Anglicanism. Their development was closely connected to the political and territorial divisions of European states.

Lutheranism developed from the teachings of Martin Luther. It became dominant in numerous German states and across much of Scandinavia.

Calvinism developed from the teachings of John Calvin. It became especially influential in the Dutch Republic and Scotland.

Calvinism is also known as the Reformed tradition. This alternative name remains important because many churches identify themselves as Reformed rather than Calvinist.

Presbyterian churches developed primarily from the Scottish branch of the Reformed tradition. Their historical roots connect them to Calvinism and the religious developments of Scotland.

Anglicanism became the dominant Protestant tradition in England. Unlike some other Protestant movements, it retained many institutional features associated with Catholicism.

Anabaptism emerged as a fourth major early Protestant movement with more radical religious positions. Anabaptists challenged established practices concerning baptism and church membership.

Anabaptists rejected the idea that infant baptism alone was sufficient. They advocated baptism based on personal belief, which led to the practice of baptizing adults who had already been baptized as infants.

The Mennonites, Amish, and certain Brethren traditions trace their historical roots to Anabaptism. These communities represent enduring descendants of the radical wing of the Reformation.

Later developments in Protestant Christianity increasingly centered on the English-speaking world. Baker's account moves from Great Britain to the United States, where many additional denominations emerged.

Anglicanism retained a relatively centralized, hierarchical structure resembling Catholicism. Its institutional organization helped motivate the formation of alternative Protestant communities seeking different forms of church governance.

English Separatists emerged as Christians who wanted greater independence from established religious institutions. They formed smaller religious communities that were often more loosely organized than the Anglican Church.

Many English Separatists migrated to the Americas in search of greater religious freedom. Their migration helped transfer England's religious disagreements to colonial North America, where new communities and denominations developed.

Several early English Separatist movements, including the Puritans, eventually declined as distinct religious identities. Their influence nevertheless formed part of the background from which later Protestant traditions emerged.

The Quakers and Baptists survived as important religious traditions associated with English Separatism. Unlike several earlier movements, they continued to maintain recognizable denominational identities.

Congregationalism developed around the independence of individual church congregations. Rather than placing all churches under a centralized religious hierarchy, Congregationalists emphasized local congregational autonomy.

The Great Awakenings were three major periods of intensified religious activity that contributed to the growth and diversification of American Protestantism. They encouraged religious conversions, reorganized existing communities, and helped produce new denominations.

The Baptist tradition existed before the First Great Awakening but expanded significantly during it. The revival movement increased Baptist membership and influence.

Many Congregationalists became Baptists during the First Great Awakening. Heightened religious enthusiasm encouraged individuals and congregations to change their denominational affiliations.

Methodism became another major tradition associated with the First Great Awakening. It grew primarily from Anglican religious circles rather than from an entirely separate Christian background.

John Wesley was the central figure in the development of Methodism. His leadership helped establish a movement that grew beyond its Anglican origins into a distinct and influential Protestant tradition.

The Second Great Awakening began approximately 80 years after the First Great Awakening. Baker describes this later revival as an American religious movement rather than one spanning both Britain and North America.

The Second Great Awakening drew heavily from Congregationalists, Baptists, and Methodists. These existing Protestant traditions supplied many of the participants who subsequently joined or established new religious movements.

The Second Great Awakening reorganized parts of American Protestantism into additional denominations. Religious revival did not simply increase membership in existing churches; it also encouraged the formation of competing religious identities.

The Disciples of Christ emerged as one of the denominations associated with the Second Great Awakening. Their development illustrates the period's tendency to produce new church movements from established Protestant communities.

The Plymouth Brethren are also identified as a movement associated with this period of religious change. Despite sharing the name Brethren, their historical development is distinct from that of the earlier Anabaptist Brethren traditions.

The Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormons, were three major religious movements Baker connects to the Second Great Awakening. He distinguishes them from conventional Protestant denominations because of their different doctrinal developments.

Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter-day Saints departed from traditional Nicene Christianity. Their teachings differ from the Nicene understanding of God and Jesus that became foundational to Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant churches.

Seventh-day Adventism also emerged from a religious movement that departed from traditional Christian assumptions, but subsequently adopted beliefs closer to Nicene Christianity. Baker therefore distinguishes its later theological development from that of Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter-day Saints.

The Third Great Awakening initially developed through religious activity associated with Methodism. It extended revivalist traditions already established within American Protestantism.

The Holiness movement emerged from Methodist religious circles during the Third Great Awakening. Its development produced new churches that emphasized holiness as a central feature of Christian religious life.

The Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles was a major turning point in the development of Pentecostal Christianity. Baker identifies the revival as a central event connecting the Third Great Awakening with the emergence of the Pentecostal movement.

Pentecostalism became one of the most consequential religious movements to emerge from this revivalist tradition. It developed into a distinct stream of Christianity associated with particular forms of spiritual experience and worship.

The Charismatic movement developed from the broader Pentecostal tradition. Its emergence extended Pentecostal-style spiritual practices into additional Christian communities.

Speaking in tongues became an important characteristic of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity. Baker identifies the practice as one of the clearest shared features linking these movements.

Christian fundamentalism also rose during the era associated with the Third Great Awakening. The movement emphasized highly literal interpretations of scripture and strongly conservative religious positions.

Fundamentalism is not a separate Christian denomination. It is a religious orientation that can exist within several established Protestant traditions rather than a single church with its own unified institutional structure.

Fundamentalist beliefs became particularly influential among many Baptists and Pentecostals. Their presence across these traditions demonstrates that denominational identity and theological outlook do not always correspond to separate organizational branches.

The United Church of Christ represents a more liberal tradition within American Protestantism. Baker places it toward the opposite end of the theological spectrum from conservative fundamentalist movements.

The United Church of Christ traces important parts of its ancestry to early American Congregationalism. Its historical roots connect it to the independent congregations that developed during the early settlement and religious expansion of North America.

American Christianity became increasingly diverse through repeated cycles of religious revival and denominational change. The three Great Awakenings contributed to the expansion of existing churches, the movement of believers between traditions, and the establishment of entirely new denominations.

Christian denominations developed through several different kinds of division rather than a single continuous process. Early disagreements concerned Jesus' divinity, later disputes concerned his divine and human natures, the Catholic–Orthodox division involved competing centers of church authority, and the Reformation and American revivals produced additional theological and institutional differences.

Geography and political authority repeatedly shaped the development of Christian denominations. Roman and Persian imperial boundaries, Islamic conquests, European state divisions, English migration to America, and the growth of religious movements in the United States all influenced where different Christian traditions emerged and survived.

The modern Christian family tree contains both institutional divisions and differences in belief that cross denominational boundaries. Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the major Protestant traditions developed as identifiable church families, while movements such as fundamentalism and Charismatic Christianity spread across existing denominational lines.