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The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. [1] [2] In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity.
The Eastern Orthodox Church is decentralised, having no central authority, earthly head or a single bishop in a leadership role. Thus, the Eastern Orthodox use a synodical system canonically, which is significantly different from the hierarchical organisation of the Catholic Church that follows the doctrine of papal supremacy. [6]
A church (or local church) is a religious organization or congregation that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws , maintain offices, are served by clergy or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek non-profit corporate status.
The list includes the Catholic Church (including Eastern Catholic Churches), Protestant denominations with at least 0.2 million members, the Eastern Orthodox Church (and its offshoots), Oriental Orthodox Churches (and their offshoots), Nontrinitarian Restorationism, independent Catholic denominations, Nestorianism and all the other Christian ...
The Catholic Church, or Roman Catholic Church, is composed of 24 autonomous sui iuris particular churches: the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. It considers itself the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church that Christ founded, [64] and which Saint Peter initiated along with the missionary work of Saint Paul and others. As ...
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worship style and, sometimes, a founder. It is a secular and neutral term, generally used to denote any ...
Ecclesiastical polity is the government of a church. There are local (congregational) forms of organization as well as denominational. A church's polity may describe its ministerial offices or an authority structure between churches. Polity relates closely to ecclesiology, the theological study of the church.
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod declares that the Christian Church, properly speaking, consists only of those who have faith in the gospel (i.e., the forgiveness of sins which Christ gained for all people), even if they are in church bodies that teach error, but excluding those who do not have such faith, even if they belong to a church or ...