Traditions and movements: a plain glossary
Short, neutral descriptions of the labels used to organize reporting. They are navigation aids, not rankings or doctrinal judgments.
Broad family
- Eastern Orthodox · Tradition discussed →
- Churches of the Byzantine tradition that share communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, such as the Greek, Russian and Serbian Orthodox churches.
- Oriental Orthodox · Tradition discussed →
- Ancient churches that did not accept the Council of Chalcedon: Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Armenian Apostolic, Syriac and Malankara.
- Protestant · Tradition discussed →
- Churches that grew from or alongside the sixteenth-century Reformation and later movements, including Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist and others.
- Several traditions (ecumenical) · Tradition discussed →
- The article explicitly discusses cooperation among several Christian traditions.
Denomination
- Anglican · Tradition discussed →
- Churches of the Anglican Communion.
- Lutheran · Tradition discussed →
- Churches that follow the teaching of Martin Luther.
- Reformed / Presbyterian · Tradition discussed →
- Churches in the Calvinist Reformed and Presbyterian family.
- Baptist · Tradition discussed →
- Churches that practice believer’s baptism and congregational governance.
- Methodist / Wesleyan · Tradition discussed →
- Churches in the tradition of John and Charles Wesley.
- Adventist · Tradition discussed →
- Churches such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Movement (can overlap)
- Evangelical · Tradition discussed →
- A movement across denominations that stresses the Bible, personal faith in Jesus and sharing the Gospel. It overlaps with other families.
- Pentecostal / Charismatic · Tradition discussed →
- Movements that emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts. They overlap with other families.
- Non-denominational · Tradition discussed →
- Congregations that describe themselves as independent of any denomination.
A person reviewed these labels. Each one rests on an explicit mention in the article, quoted below. A label describes what the article discusses, not what any person in it, or its author, believes.