Are all branches of today's Christianity based upon the Roman Catholic Church?

Answer 1

Most of Christianity is actually based upon Paganism.

Answer 2

It depends on what you mean by "based upon." All Christian denominations are based on the teachings of Jesus Christ has handed down through tradition and scripture. Along the way, groups broke away from what was considered the "prevailing church" of the time. (Broadly worded to include many splits and schisms over the centuries.) So what you are asking is whether or not that "prevailing church" is what we today call the Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church will say they are the ones who have stayed constant over the centuries (not that that was always a good thing, mind you) and that others have broken off from it. Did groups like those who left during the Reformation have it "right" all along and were only putting things back on track? Or did they split away from the Roman Cathoic Church in an attempt to do things they way they should have been done? Depends on who you ask. I think both points of view have some validity.

I will say this - there were times when all Christians fell under the edict of the Pope. Whether they agreed/followed along or not is another question; the point is, if you use the papacy to trace the pre-Reformation Church, you are looking at what people call the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

EDIT - my apologies for leaving out the Coptic and Orthodox churches... it is pretty accurate to say that no, they never were part of the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer 3

Absolutely not. The Roman Catholic Church is a deviation from Christianity. It developed during the 5th to 16th centuries into something the apostles would never have recognized. The Reformers brought their churches at least part way back, in doctrine anyway. But all along there had been dissident groups (such as the Valdenses). The Anabaptist movement had no historical relationship with the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer 4

No, the Eastern Orthodox Church (Russian, Greek, Serbian, Syrian/Lebanese, etc) do not have an origin in Roman Catholicism. In fact, of the five historic patriarchates (centers) of Christianity - Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem - only Rome espoused the teaching that the bishop of Rome (Pope) had authority over the other patriarchs and also deleted a critical phrase from the Nicene Creed unilaterally. In 1056, the split between Rome and the other four patriarchates became more pronounced. The other patriarchs continue to teach the apostolic faith unadulterated by later Roman additions. Protestant reformationists rejected many Roman teachings but did not fully recover the original apostolic teaching preserved in the Christian East.
The most pronounced difference for me is the legalist approach of the Western churches and the more wholistic, medical approach to man's sinful condition as taught by the Eastern Church.
Blessed Pascha to all (Holy Saturday 4/7/07)

Answer 5

I would say many, but not all. The Roman Catholic church did not become a formalized entity until Constantine became the emperor and issued the edict of toleration. The church had already begun a slide from the teachings of the apostles in that many bishops had become power hungry and title bearing in direct opposition to what Jesus taught about titular recognition and authority. That said, Constantine convening the councils was a political attempt to solidfy his power and keep the empire from crumbling. Most denominations can trace doctrinal roots back to decisions handed down at that time, particularly the doctrine of the trinity and the anathema pronounced by the council to anyone who rejected it. Not all churches then or now hold to the trinity.

In short, this was an empirial intrusion into a spiritual matter that eventually led to the creation of the monster of Rome.

Blessings all!
Tom

Answer 6

No. The Eastern Orthodox Church was never a part of the Roman Church. They were both a part of the "catholic" Church but there were 6 other patriarchs. The bishop of Rome was considered the "first among equals" because of Rome's centrality in the early church and Roman empire. Thee was a breaking apart of the Eastern and western churches after Rome fell. Issues such as the filoque clause and a the differing cultures left the churches estranged.

Anabaptists broke completely with the Roman church primarily, but they indeed were like other protestant churches the offspring of the Roman church.

Answer 7

Well, all of what we call "Christianity" is, there's still some Gnostics around, which is a more ancient form of Christianity... And the various Orthodox Christian Churches are the least based upon it (they were a part of the Roman Catholic Church as it was developing, but established far away, so they more had constant differences rather than being one part then splitting off)

Answer 8

No, actually the first Christian church was the Orthodox. The Roman Catholic Church came next. Different branches of the Orthodox church are everywhere. ie Eastern, Greek & Russian.

Answer 9

Heck no. A lot of Roman Catholics will say yes but, that is because their religion won't teach them the truth.

The truth is that Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ and has survived because of his works which inspired his disciples and others to follow. Christianity grew in it's numbers and thrived throughout Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch and when Constantine declared it a crime to persecute Christians, Constantinople. The Romans were big on murdering Christians since Christianity officially began in the year 33 A.D. It wasn't until Constantine protected Christians from persecution in 331 A.D. that it became illegal for the Romans to kill Christians. For 298 years the Romans killed, murdered and persecuted Christians. Two years after Constantine's protection law Rome officially embraced Christianity in the year 333 A.D. Rome became a Christian nation 300 years after Christianity began. There is no way Christianity could have began in Rome. Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Constantinople were the major cities where Christianity thrived even while they were being persecuted. Rome was the "Johnny Come Lately" 300 years later. It wasn't until the year 1054 A.D. that Rome broke away from the 4 Christian Churches of Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch and Constantinople. Why? Rome no longer wanted a Synod of Counselors (the church leaders, Metropolitan, Archbishops and Bishops) that kept each other in check from greed. Instead, Rome created the papacy (one man rules) and their first pope was Gregory. The original Churches which were Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch and Constantinople, rejected the pope and the papacy because it was not part of the original church and they never believed in a "one man rule." The Roman Catholics can say all they want about Peter but historically, even Peter was kept in check by the other disciples i.e. Paul and Peter's face off. If you want to read about this history the Roman Catholics don't want you to know then read about "The Great Schism." I suggest finding a NON-Catholic reference for this history. As for the original church it survived and is known today as Orthodox Christianity. If you've heard of Orthodontist or Orthopedist meaning "correct teeth" and "correct feet", it is the same with Orthodoxy, which means "Correct Way." These names come from the Greek language.

P.S. Jesus Christ is the father of Gnosticism which was denied by the Roman Catholic Church (they regarded it as heresy). Orthodox Christianity accepts many of the concepts and ideas of Gnosticism but not all.

Answer 10

the catholic church formalized the bible in the 4th century. the roman catholic church is based on Tradition, Scripture and the Magisterium (teaching office). 1100 years later was the protestant movement. all of the protestant branches, while they use the bible the catholics formalized (less a few books), don't use the catholic tradition and catholic magisterium. since, there is no common teaching office outside of the catholic church, every time there is a new thought or a disagreement in some interpretation of scripture, there is a new denomination of Christianity.

Answer 11

Yes. The Council of Nicea decided which books were going to be in the New Testament for the Church of Rome. So today's Protestants who believe that only the Bible should dictate faith are actually using a Bible that was decided upon by the Catholic Church!!!

I'm a Catholic, but my theological beliefs are probably closer to mainline Protestants like Episcopaleans. I don't think there's a "right" church. You can find God in all of them. But I do think that the Catholic Church goes back to the early Church fathers, and the Protestants can't really say that.