xBYThd.copy: Supplementary Lesson 1: Key Branches of the Church: 1. Three Main Branches

There are three basic branches of the Christian Church:

a. the Roman Catholic Church,
b. the Eastern Orthodox Church, and
c. the Protestant Church.

These three branches resulted from two main divisions.

1. The first division of the Church came in 1054, between the Eastern Church, with its base in Constantinople, and the Western Church with its base in Rome. Over the years, there were various ecclesiastical and theological differences, but one of the key causes of the division was the question of the authority of the Pope in Rome.

2. The second great division was the Reformation, which has as its key date the year 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his “Ninety Five Theses” to the church door in Wittenberg.

QUESTION:

Which of the following was a key cause of the first main division in the Church?

The question of the sale of indulgences.

The question of salvation by faith alone.

The question of the authority of the Pope in Rome.