ChurchHistory
Many Christian denominations can point to a specific founder and a date when they began.
The Assyrian Church of the East
Founded in the 1st century AD by St. Thaddeus (Mar Addai), sent by the Apostle St. Thomas
- Founded
- 1st century AD (c. AD 30s, per Eusebius)
- Founder
- St. Thaddeus (Mar Addai), one of the Seventy-two disciples
- Sent by
- St. Thomas the Apostle, one of the Twelve
- Disciple
- Mar Mari, who carried the faith to Seleucia-Ctesiphon
- Liturgy
- The Holy Qurbana of Mar Addai and Mar Mari
Who was St. Thaddeus (Mar Addai)?
In the Gospel of Luke, after choosing the Twelve, “the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come” (Luke 10:1). Some ancient manuscripts read “seventy-two,” which is why these disciples are known as both the Seventy and the Seventy-two. According to ancient tradition, Thaddeus, called Addai in Syriac, was one of them.
Sent by St. Thomas
St. Thomas is the apostle who doubted the Resurrection until he saw the risen Lord, and then confessed, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:24–29). The church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (Ecclesiastical History 1.13, early 4th century) records that after Christ’s ascension, “Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, under divine impulse sent Thaddeus, who was also numbered among the seventy disciples of Christ, to Edessa, as a preacher and evangelist of the teaching of Christ.”
King Abgar of Edessa
Eusebius, drawing on Syriac records he says were kept in Edessa, tells how King Abgar V, suffering from a grave illness, had written to Jesus asking Him to come and heal him. Jesus promised to send one of His disciples. After the Ascension, Thaddeus came to Edessa, healed the king, and preached the Gospel to the city. The later Syriac Doctrine of Addai expands this account of the founding of the Church in Edessa.
Mar Mari and the road east
According to tradition, Mar Mari, a disciple of Addai, carried the faith from Edessa eastward through Mesopotamia to Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the city that later became the seat of the patriarchs of the Church of the East. The Liturgy of Addai and Mari, which bears both of their names, is regarded as one of the oldest Christian liturgies still in use today.
Addai and Jude Thaddeus
Eusebius counts Thaddeus among the Seventy. Some Eastern traditions, however, identify Addai with the apostle Jude Thaddeus, one of the Twelve (Matthew 10:3). Either way, the Church of the East has honored Mar Addai and Mar Mari as its founders for many centuries.
These accounts come from ancient tradition and early church historians. Historians debate their details, but they agree that Christianity took root very early among the Syriac-speaking peoples of Mesopotamia.
Below, starting with the Assyrian Church of the East, are some of the largest and best-known Christian denominations, with the year each began and the person or people most associated with its founding. Dates refer to when the movement or church began or was formally organized; historians sometimes point to several milestones, which we note where relevant.
| Church / Denomination | Founded | Founder(s) | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assyrian Church of the East | 1st century AD c. AD 30s, per Eusebius | St. Thaddeus (Mar Addai), one of the Seventy-two, sent by the Apostle St. Thomas; with his disciple Mar Mari | According to Eusebius and the Syriac Doctrine of Addai, Thaddeus brought the Gospel to Edessa; his disciple Mari carried it on to Seleucia-Ctesiphon, later the seat of the Church of the East’s patriarchs. |
| Lutheran | 1517 | Martin Luther | Began when Luther, a German monk and professor, published his Ninety-Five Theses in Wittenberg, launching the Protestant Reformation. |
| Anabaptist / Mennonite | 1525 / 1536 | Conrad Grebel & Felix Manz; Menno Simons | The Anabaptist movement began in Zurich in 1525. Menno Simons, a former priest, joined in 1536 and became its leading organizer; Mennonites take their name from him. |
| Anglican / Church of England | 1534 | King Henry VIII | The Act of Supremacy declared the English king head of the Church of England, separating it from Rome. |
| Presbyterian / Reformed | 1536 / 1560 | John Calvin; John Knox | Reformed theology grew from Calvin’s work in Geneva (his Institutes appeared in 1536). Knox led the Scottish Reformation, which established Presbyterianism in Scotland in 1560. |
| Baptist | 1609 | John Smyth (with Thomas Helwys) | Smyth’s congregation of English Separatists in Amsterdam adopted believer’s baptism in 1609; Helwys founded the first Baptist church in England in 1612. |
| Methodist | 1739 | John & Charles Wesley | Began as a renewal movement within the Church of England; in 1739 John Wesley began open-air preaching and organized the first Methodist societies in Bristol and London. Methodist churches later organized separately. |
| Latter-day Saints (Mormon) | 1830 | Joseph Smith | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized in Fayette, New York, on April 6, 1830. |
| Seventh-day Adventist | 1863 | Ellen G. White, James White & Joseph Bates | Grew out of the 1840s Millerite movement; the General Conference was formally organized in Battle Creek, Michigan, on May 21, 1863. |
| Jehovah’s Witnesses | 1872 | Charles Taze Russell | Began as Russell’s Bible study group in Pittsburgh in 1872; the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” was adopted in 1931. |
| Pentecostal / Assemblies of God | 1901 / 1914 | Charles F. Parham; William J. Seymour | The modern Pentecostal movement traces to Parham’s Bible school in Topeka, Kansas (1901) and Seymour’s Azusa Street Revival (1906). The Assemblies of God was organized in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1914. |
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica and official denominational histories. This page is offered for historical information and in a spirit of respect for all Christians.