Christianity Denominations Timeline

Eastern Orthodox Church

1054

Founder: Jesus Christ
Split from the Catholic Church
Reasons for split: dispute over papal authority

Eastern Orthodox Church

1054

Founder: Jesus Christ
The Great Schism split Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. disputes over papal authority—the Pope claimed he held authority over the four Eastern Greek-speaking patriarchs, and over the insertion of the Filioque clause into the Nicene Creed.

Lutheran Church

1517

Founder: Martin Luther
Split from Roman catholics
Reasons for split: denouncing the Catholic sale of indulgences

Lutheran Church

1517

Founder: Martin Luther
The split between the Lutheran church and the Roman catholics because Martin Luther pinned his 95 Theses to the door of his Catholic church, denouncing the Catholic sale of indulgences, pardons for sins, and questioning papal authority.

Church of England/Anglican

1534

Founder: Thomas Cranmer, Queen Anne's Bounty, Augustine of Canterbury, Ecclesiastical Commissioners
Split from the Roman Catholic Church
Reason for split: the Catholic church wouldn't allow Henry VIII to annul his marriage to his first wife

Church of England/Anglican

1534

Founders: Thomas Cranmer, Queen Anne's Bounty, Augustine of Canterbury, Ecclesiastical Commissioners
The Anglican Church originated when King Henry VIII split from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, when the pope refused to grant the king an annulment.

Baptist Church

1609

Founder: Roger Williams
The Baptists separated from the Church of England because they believed church membership should be voluntary and that only believers should be baptised.

Methodist

1784

Founder: John Wesley
In spite of Wesley's wish that the Methodist Society would never leave the Church of England, relations with Anglicans were often strained. In 1784, when there was a shortage of ordained ministers in America after the Revolution, the Bishop of London refused to ordain a Methodist for the United States.

Presbyterian

1811

Founder: John Calvin and John Knox
Presbyterians in the Southern United States split from the church of England because of disputes over slavery, politics, and theology precipitated by the American Civil War.

Uniting church

1977

Founder: Sharon Hollis

Hillsong Church

1983

Founder: Brian Houston