Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

who we are - archive

member churches

 

Schools admission policies
We get many enquiries relating to the membership number of a particular church, usually in relation to school admissions - please see our Notes on admissions to Church Schools.

These are external links to the websites of the relevant churches: 

African-instituted churches
Churches formed in Africa during the twentieth century and embodying many aspects of African culture.

Anglican churches
Churches with origins in the sixteenth century split between Rome and the English Crown and in the restoration settlement of the seventeenth century. Each is a self-governing church forming part of the world-wide Anglican Communion, in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Under the Porvoo Agreement, these four Anglican churches are also in full communion with Scandinavian Lutheran churches.

Baptistic Churches
Denominations which, though they may differ on other things, have in common that they undertake 'Believers' Baptism. 

Bodies that group churches across different traditions
Each of these groups cuts across the confessional categories already listed, but brings churches together around some other common feature or community. The German speaking churches include both Lutheran and Reformed. The Council of African and Caribbean Churches includes both Pentecostal and African-initated. The Free Churches Group includes a wide range of protestant Churches in England and Wales that have in common being 'free' of the State.    

Congregational churches
Denominations where each local congregation is independent and self-governing. Regional and national bodies are voluntary groupings of local congregations coming together for solidarity and common action.  Churches in this group practise infant baptism. 

Lutheran Churches
Churches with their roots in that part of the sixteenth century Reformation led by Martin Luther. Patterns of church life and order differ between the different national groupings, though most Lutheran churches are episcopally governed.  

The following Lutheran churches are represented on the Council: Danish, Estonian, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lutheran Church in Great Britain (English, Amharic, Chinese, Polish, Swahili and Tigrinya), Norwegian, Polish and Swedish.

Methodist Churches
Churches with their roots in the eighteenth century evangelical revival led by John and Charles Wesley.  

Orthodox churches
Churches with their historical roots in the Eastern part of the old Roman Empire, they are one of the two strands into which the church divided at the Great Schism at the end of the first millennium. Orthodox churches are in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Each church is self-governing and worships in its own language.

Oriental Orthodox churches
Oriental Orthodox churches divided from the main Orthodox stream in the fifth century, after a dispute about the nature of Christ. They are found mostly in the Middle East, Africa and India. Relations with the churches of the main Orthodox or "Byzantine" stream are increasingly close.  

Pentecostal Churches
Baptistic Churches with roots in the twentieth century Pentecostal revival, practising a variety of spiritual gifts, including speaking in tongues. Those in membership with CTBI are mainly 'Black-majority' churches, with their main focus in the African and African Caribbean communities.  

Reformed Churches
Churches with their roots in that part of the sixteenth century Reformation led by Calvin, Zwingli and others. A particularly significant figure in the Scottish Reformation was John Knox. The Presbyterian Church of Wales owes more to the Calvinist strand of the eighteenth century evangelical revival.

Roman Catholic Church
The Western element of the two parts into which the Church divided at the great schism at the end of the first millennium. Roman Catholics are in communion with the Pope in Rome. In each nation, the church is organised under a conference of bishops, which has responsibility among other things for deciding the language of worship.

Other Traditions

church and cross in front of modern building

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