Compare
Compare the traditions
Published, checkable criteria — not a ranking. Each tradition's own teaching, named plainly.
How this table is built.
- Source of final authority
- How salvation is understood
- Number and view of the sacraments
- Church governance structure
| Question | Catholic | Eastern Orthodox | Protestant (varies by denomination) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final authority | Scripture and Church tradition, interpreted by the Pope and Magisterium | Scripture and Holy Tradition, interpreted by the councils and bishops in communion | Scripture alone (sola scriptura), interpreted by the individual believer and their church |
| Salvation | Faith, cooperating with grace, expressed through good works and the sacraments | A lifelong process of transformation into likeness with God (theosis), through grace and participation in the Church | Faith alone (sola fide) as the basis, with good works following as evidence, not cause |
| Sacraments | Seven: baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, reconciliation, anointing of the sick, holy orders, matrimony | Seven, understood similarly to Catholic tradition, called "mysteries" | Generally two: baptism and communion, seen as instituted directly by Christ in Scripture; some traditions hold none as strictly sacramental |
| Church governance | Centralized under the Pope, with a global hierarchy of bishops | A communion of self-governing (autocephalous) national churches, no single central leader | Highly varied — from centralized denominational structures to fully independent local congregations |
| View of Mary | Honored with specific doctrines (Immaculate Conception, Assumption) and requested intercession | Highly honored ("Theotokos," God-bearer) with requested intercession, similar to Catholic practice | Generally honored as Jesus's mother but without requested intercession or the specific Catholic/Orthodox doctrines |
| Approximate global size | About 1.3 billion adherents worldwide | About 220–300 million adherents worldwide (estimates vary) | Roughly 900 million to over 1 billion across all Protestant denominations combined (estimates vary by definition) |
What this table cannot tell you. This table shows each tradition's official or mainstream teaching, not every individual congregation or believer, and it does not rank the traditions or suggest which is correct. Numbers are approximate, drawn from commonly cited demographic estimates, and vary by source and year.
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