1. Burghers and antiburghers. In the Scottish church of the 18th and 19th centuries, a burgher was a member of the party among the seceders or secession which asserted the lawfulness of the burgess oath. The burgess oath was the oath a town burgess had to swear on taking office. The secession church in Scotland split in 1747 into Burghers and Anti-Burghers over the lawfulness of the forms of the oath then current, the contentious clause being that in which the burgess professed the true religion professed within the realm. John Brown of Haddington and Ebenezer Erskine were notable burghers.
2. Old Side and New Side. This controversy occurred within the Presbyterian Church in Colonial America and was part of the wider theological controversy surrounding the First Great Awakening. The Old and New Side Presbyterians existed as separate churches 1741-1758. The names Old Side and New Side usually refer specifically to Presbyterian churches.
3. Old Lights and New Lights. The terms were also first used during the First Great Awakening but been have used in other contexts to distinguish between groups initially the same but who have disagreed. The terms originated in the early 18th century from the split in theological approach among Calvinist denominations concerning the nature of conversion and salvation. Typically, if a denomination is changing, and some refuse to change, and the denomination splits, those who did not change are the "Old Lights" and the ones who changed are the "New Lights".
4. Jurors and non-jurors. The Nonjuring schism was a split in the established churches of England, Scotland and Ireland, following the deposition and exile of James II (and VII) in the 1688 Glorious Revolution. As a condition of office, clergy were required to swear allegiance to the ruling monarch; for various reasons, some refused to take the oath to his successors William and Mary. These individuals were referred to as Non-juring, from the Latin verb iūrō/jūrō, "to swear an oath".
5. Particular and General Baptists. Particular Baptists adhere to the doctrine of a particular atonement—that Christ died only for the elect. They are strongly Calvinist; the General Baptists hold to the doctrine of a general atonement - that Christ died for all people and not only for the elect. They represent what has been called the more moderate Calvinism of Arminianism. Also, the two currents differ in origin. The General Baptists emerged from the English Separatists, whereas the Particular Baptists had their roots in non-Separatist independency.
6. Strict and open Baptists. The term 'strict' refers to the strict or closed position held with regard to membership and communion. Some Particular Baptists take the view that only those baptised by immersion should be welcome to communion Open Baptists accept that in some circumsances communion should be open to those not so baptised.
7. Methodists and Primitive Methodists Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English and Welsh Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union of 1932. It emerged from a revival at Mow Cop, Staffordshire. Primitive meant "simple" or "relating to an original stage". The movement remained Wesleyan in theology but aimed for a simple worship and attracted mostly the lower classes.
8. Free Church of Scotland (Constitutional) and Free Church of Scotland (Continuing). Since 1900 the Free Church of Scotland remained outside the union with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and was a distinct Presbyterian denomination in Scotland. In January 2000 about 20% left to become what claims to be the true continuation of the Free Church of Scotland. The split came over the Donald Macleod affair.
9. Open Brethren and Excclusive Brethren. Open Brethren are a group of Evangelical Churches that arose in the late 1820s as part of the Assembly Movement within the Plymouth Brethren tradition. They originated in Ireland before spreading throughout the British Isles. Open Brethren form independent, autonomous assemblies, the name "Open" distinguishing them from "Exclusives", with whom they share historical roots. The division into Open and Exclusive took place in 1848. The Exclusive Brethren are now divided into a number of groups, most of which differ on minor points of doctrine or practice.
10. Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology and are composed of six autocephalous churches: the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the head of the Catholic Church - the pope - but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by them as primus inter pares. It is the primary religious denomination in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Greece, Belarus, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Georgia, North Macedonia, Cyprus and Montenegro.
1 comment:
This is a fascinating overview of major divisions in Christian church history. I particularly appreciated the discussion on the Great Schism of 1054. It's remarkable how political and cultural differences played such a significant role in the split between the Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman Catholic Christian churches. Understanding these historical contexts gives us a deeper appreciation of the complexities involved. Thank you for sharing this detailed analysis!
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