The modern Christian family tree: What exists today and where did it come from?

Christianity today is often presented as a bewildering collection of denominations whose relationships are obscured by shared names, overlapping doctrines, disputed succession claims, mergers, missionary transplantation, revival networks, and independent ministries. This chapter reconstructs the modern Christian family tree as a historical genealogy rather than a catalogue. Drawing on conciliar records, confessions, denominational histories, official contemporary sources, and specialist scholarship, it distinguishes direct institutional descent from schism, reform, renewal, restoration, merger, influence, parallel development, and new religious formation. The synthesis begins with the apostolic root and the emergence of ancient communions, then traces the East Syriac, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic families; the Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian, Anglican, Anabaptist, Congregational, Baptist and Quaker trajectories; Wesleyan, Holiness, restorationist, Adventist, Pentecostal, charismatic and independent-network developments; and Christian-derived movements whose additional scriptures, non-Nicene doctrines, or alternative authority structures require separate classification. Particular attention is given to Africa and other regions where imported, indigenous, revivalist and transnational streams have recombined in ways that resist a simple European tree. The chapter argues that institutional ancestry and doctrinal continuity are related but never identical: ancient pedigree does not prove apostolic fidelity, while recent origin does not by itself prove error. A Sola Scriptura assessment therefore uses the historical tree to clarify, rather than predetermine, theological judgment. The result is a layered master genealogy showing not only where contemporary Christian bodies came from, but also why religious family trees must represent multiple kinds of relationship if they are to remain historically defensible and biblically useful.

Keywords: Christian genealogy; denominations; ancient communions; Protestantism; restorationism; Pentecostalism; independent churches; Christian-derived religions