Home›Christianity›Ordination Practice›No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole bodyBrowse ByNo ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole bodyThis page groups denominations by how they recognize a member as a minister. Wikipedia notes that Jehovah's Witnesses "consider an adherent's qualified baptism to constitute his ordination as a minister," a markedly different practice from a seminary-trained clergy. Browsing this way lets a visitor compare how differently denominations of the same religion set someone apart for ministry.FactsLearn MoreNo ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole bodySourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe branches of Christianity, divided chiefly over authority - who may define doctrine - and over the sacraments, the ordering of ministry and the reading of scripture. The main fault lines are the Christological divisions of the fifth century, the East-West schism conventionally dated 1054, and the sixteenth-century Reformation. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedContested: denomination arose in English-speaking Protestantism for bodies that recognise one another as legitimately named parts of one church. The Catholic and Orthodox churches do not accept it as a description of themselves. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDenominations 1AttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedThe first enduring divisions date from the Christological controversies of the fifth century, at Ephesus in 431 and Chalcedon in 451, and not from the Reformation. 2Learn MoreThe Branches of Christianity This group gathers the denominations of Christianity, the world's largest religion, whose two-thousand-year history has produced a wide family of churches divided by doctrine, authority, liturgy and history. The major fault lines are the split between the Eastern and Western churches (traditionally dated 1054) and the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The browser will find the great communions, Roman Catholicism, the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the many Protestant families (Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal and more), together with older and smaller bodies. The entries describe each branch's distinctive teachings and origins without treating any one as the standard against which the others are measured.Unity and division Christian denominations share the core confession of Jesus Christ while differing over questions such as church authority, the sacraments, the role of scripture and tradition, and the path of salvation. Some divisions are ancient and doctrinal; others are national, cultural or the result of later revival and reform. The atlas presents each denomination in its own terms, noting where it stands on the questions that separate it from others and how it understands its relation to the wider Christian body, from claims of unique continuity to the ecumenical movement that seeks reunion.No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole bodyFilter Results3 entriesSizeAll25,000 to 380,000 (1)PolityAllCentralised Corporate Polity (1)Consensus Meeting Polity (2)Originated InAllEngland (1)United States (1)Origin EraAll1647 (1)1848 (1)1866 (1)Parent DenominationAllProtestantism (1)Parent ReligionAllChristianity (3)Founded ByAllGeorge Fox (1)Mary Baker Eddy (1)Establishment StatusAllNo Establishment (3)Marriage PositionAllNo single uniform teaching on marriage's terms holds across the body (1)Practice StatusAllDissolved; the community wound itself up (1)Living tradition, practised today (2)Sexuality PositionAllThe body holds no single settled position; the question is actively and openly contested within it (1)Church FamilyAllQuaker Churches (1)Liturgical LanguageAllVernacular Language (3)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 3Christian ScienceNo ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole bodyOneida CommunityNo ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole bodyQuakerism (Religious Society of Friends)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole bodySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 1Category: Denominations2. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editiontier 1F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2005What Defines This Grouping: The branches of Christianity, divided chiefly over authority - who may define doctrine - and over the sacraments, the ordering of ministry and the reading of scripture. The main fault lines are the Christological divisions of the fifth century, the East-West schism conventionally dated 1054, and the sixteenth-century Reformation.Era of Attestation: The first enduring divisions date from the Christological controversies of the fifth century, at Ephesus in 431 and Chalcedon in 451, and not from the Reformation.Standing as a Comparative Category: Contested: denomination arose in English-speaking Protestantism for bodies that recognise one another as legitimately named parts of one church. The Catholic and Orthodox churches do not accept it as a description of themselves.View the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.