This is interesting! The distinction among Christians that has long intrigued me is the one between denominations that emphasize hierarchy and those where congregations are more autonomous. This was a big driver of the Reformation, with the Catholic Church on the "most hierarchical" end and eventually the various Protestant denominations…
This is interesting! The distinction among Christians that has long intrigued me is the one between denominations that emphasize hierarchy and those where congregations are more autonomous. This was a big driver of the Reformation, with the Catholic Church on the "most hierarchical" end and eventually the various Protestant denominations strung out on a continuum, with the Episcopalians/Anglicans not all that far from the Catholics and maybe the Friends at the other end. (I don't know much about the Orthodox tradition(s), but from the outside they seem to combine hierarchy with autonomy -- one of these days I'll learn more about how that works.)
This is interesting! The distinction among Christians that has long intrigued me is the one between denominations that emphasize hierarchy and those where congregations are more autonomous. This was a big driver of the Reformation, with the Catholic Church on the "most hierarchical" end and eventually the various Protestant denominations strung out on a continuum, with the Episcopalians/Anglicans not all that far from the Catholics and maybe the Friends at the other end. (I don't know much about the Orthodox tradition(s), but from the outside they seem to combine hierarchy with autonomy -- one of these days I'll learn more about how that works.)
Susanna During my lifetime on various occasions I found comfort at Quaker meetings, where love and silence echoed through the services.
I ended up at Unitarian Universalism. Each congregation is different. We had 3 Quaker-style meetings in lieu of Sunday services each year.