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No central authority

Christianity

around 2.4 billion adherents worldwide.

Estimate from Pew Research Center — The Future of World Religions.

Overview

Christians have traditionally insisted that they worship a single God, while simultaneously identifying that God with a trinity comprised of three numerically distinct, fully divine persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.1 They have also asserted that a human man, Jesus of Nazareth, is also God-the-Son, the second person of that trinity.2

History and origins

In the earliest years of Christianity, running roughly from the second to the seventh centuries CE and often called the Patristic period, the emerging Christian Church faced the task of defining doctrinal orthodoxy in the face of internal and external challenges.3 The councils of that period — among them Nicaea in 325 CE, Constantinople in 381 and Chalcedon in 451 — established the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity and its corollary, the doctrine of the Incarnation.4

In its early centuries Christianity was regarded as the “true philosophy”, set against the false philosophical schools associated with pagan thought.5

Over the course of that period, as the early Church established its own intellectual framework, it formally defined the boundaries of Christian orthodoxy through a series of ecumenical councils.6 Theologians continued to answer those questions using the best philosophy of their day — from Scholastic Aristotelianism in the medieval period to analytic metaphysics today.7

The creeds

The Holy See states that the Niceno-Constantinopolitan, or Nicene, Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical councils.8 It records that the Creed is divided into three parts, the first speaking of the first divine Person and the work of creation.9 It is also customary, the same text says, to reckon the articles of the Creed as twelve, symbolising the fullness of the apostolic faith.10

Christianity today

The World Council of Churches describes itself as the broadest and most inclusive among the many organised expressions of the modern ecumenical movement.11 The Pew Research Center projects that over the next four decades Christians will remain the largest religious group, but that Islam will grow faster than any other major religion.12

References

  1. “Christians have traditionally insisted that they worship a single God, while simultaneously identifying that God with a trinity comprised of three numerically distinct, fully divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Christian Theology and Philosophy, source page
  2. “Christians have also asserted that a human man, Jesus of Nazareth, is also God-the-Son, the second person of the divine trinity.” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Christian Theology and Philosophy, source page
  3. “In the earliest years of Christianity, running roughly from the second to the seventh centuries CE, and often called the “Patristic” period, the emerging Christian Church faced the daunting task of defining doctrinal orthodoxy in the face of internal and external challenges.” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Christian Theology and Philosophy, source page
  4. “the Councils of Nicaea (325 CE), Constantinople (381), and Chalcedon (451)—established the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity and its corollary, the doctrine of the Incarnation” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Christian Theology and Philosophy, source page
  5. “Christianity was regarded as the “true philosophy” over against the false philosophical schools associated with pagan thought.” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Christian Theology and Philosophy, source page
  6. “as the early Church successfully established its own intellectual framework, it formally defined the boundaries of Christian orthodoxy through a series of ecumenical councils” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Christian Theology and Philosophy, source page
  7. “using the best philosophy of their day—from Scholastic Aristotelianism in the Medieval period to analytic metaphysics today” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Christian Theology and Philosophy, source page
  8. “The Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils (in 325 and 381).” — The Holy See, source page
  9. “the Creed is divided into three parts: "the first part speaks of the first divine Person and the wonderful work of creation; the next speaks of the second divine Person and the mystery of his redemption of men; the final part speaks of the third divine Person, the origin and source of our sanctification."” — The Holy See, source page
  10. “it is also customary to reckon the articles of the Creed as twelve, thus symbolizing the fullness of the apostolic faith by the number of the apostles.” — The Holy See, source page
  11. “The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement, a movement whose goal is Christian unity.” — World Council of Churches, source page
  12. “Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion.” — Pew Research Center — The Future of World Religions, source page

Individual sourced statements

Statements recorded one at a time, each shown with the words it rests on. They sit alongside the account above rather than beneath it.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states that its first article of faith is “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”

“The Church’s first article of faith states, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.””
In their own wordsSource: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states that its view of the Godhead corresponds in some ways with that of other Christians but differs significantly.

“Latter-day Saints view the members of the Godhead in a manner that corresponds in a number of ways with the views of others in the Christian world, but with significant differences.”
In their own wordsSource: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils, in 325 and 381.

“The Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils (in 325 and 381).”
In their own wordsSource: The Holy See

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that it is customary to reckon the articles of the Creed as twelve, thus symbolizing the fullness of the apostolic faith by the number of the apostles.

“it is also customary to reckon the articles of the Creed as twelve, thus symbolizing the fullness of the apostolic faith by the number of the apostles.”
In their own wordsSource: The Holy See

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Creed is divided into three parts, the first speaking of the first divine Person and the work of creation, the next of the second divine Person and the mystery of redemption, and the final part of the third divine Person, the origin and source of sanctification.

“the Creed is divided into three parts: "the first part speaks of the first divine Person and the wonderful work of creation; the next speaks of the second divine Person and the mystery of his redemption of men; the final part speaks of the third divine Person, the origin and source of our sanctification."”
In their own wordsSource: The Holy See

The World Council of Churches states that it is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organised expressions of the modern ecumenical movement, a movement whose goal is Christian unity.

“The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement, a movement whose goal is Christian unity.”
In their own wordsSource: World Council of Churches

The Pew Research Center projects that over the next four decades Christians will remain the largest religious group, but that Islam will grow faster than any other major religion.

“Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion.”
Described by othersSource: Pew Research Center — The Future of World Religions

Every quotation above was checked against its source on 5 September 2026.

Authority

Christianity has no central authority.

No body speaks for all Christians. The Holy See governs the Catholic Church only; the Orthodox communions are self-governing; Protestant bodies are independent of one another.

Denominations

Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

Oriental Orthodox Churches

Anglican Communion

Lutheran churches

Reformed and Presbyterian churches

Baptist churches

Methodist churches

Pentecostal and Charismatic churches

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Church of the East

How these dates are worked out

This is the part that decides whether a date in your rota is right. Every observance below is computed from a published rule rather than copied from anyone’s list, and the rule is what explains why a date moves, why two calendars can disagree, and how far ahead you can safely plan.

Fixed in the Gregorian calendar

What sets the date
The date is the same every year in the calendar most of the world uses for civil purposes.
Why it falls where it does
Nothing about it depends on the moon, the sun's position or an announcement, so it cannot move.
What that means for planning
These are the only dates that can be put in a rota years ahead without any caveat. The day of the week changes; the date does not.

Counted from Easter

What sets the date
Easter is the Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon falling on or after 21 March. Everything from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost is counted forwards or backwards from it.
Why it falls where it does
The ecclesiastical full moon is not the moon in the sky. It comes from a table built in the early church and kept for continuity, so the date is a computation rather than an observation. Churches using the Gregorian calendar and churches using the Julian calendar run the same computation over different calendars, which is why Easter often falls on two different Sundays in the same year, sometimes weeks apart.
What that means for planning
The date is knowable centuries ahead, but it swings across more than a month, so a fixed annual slot in a school or shift calendar will collide with it eventually.

Observances in 2026

ObservanceDatesHow certain
Epiphany6 January 2026Fixed date
Christmas Day (Julian calendar churches)7 January 2026Fixed date
Ash Wednesday18 February 2026Calculated
Palm Sunday29 March 2026Calculated
Maundy Thursday2 April 2026Calculated
Good Friday3 April 2026Calculated
Easter Sunday5 April 2026Calculated
Easter Monday6 April 2026Calculated
Great Friday (Orthodox)10 April 2026Calculated
Pascha (Orthodox Easter)12 April 2026Calculated
Ascension Day14 May 2026Calculated
Pentecost24 May 2026Calculated
All Saints' Day1 November 2026Fixed date
Christmas Day25 December 2026Fixed date

Sources

No expert review. Accuracy here rests on continuous machine verification of every quotation against its source. Spotted an error? Corrections are answered within five working days.