Heresies (definition: adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma) Denominations (definition: a religious organization whose congregations are united in their adherence to its beliefs and practices), and Cults (defintion: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious frequently involving great devotion to its founder). As soon as the Church was founded, heresies developed which challenged its basic teachings. Satan went to work immediately to encourage rebellion and confusion and has been working continuously throughout the centuries to undermine the Church. The number in parentheses after each item denotes the century when the heresy, denomination, or cult was introduced. See also Church History for links to each century. See also Christian Denominations.

Adoptionists (8):  Elipandus, Archbishop of Toledo, Spain, claimed that Christ was born a human only, and was not divine until his baptism, at which point he was adopted as the Son by God the Father.

Adventists (19) 1844 (William Miller) known initially as Millerites, stress the doctrine of the imminent second coming of Christ. Several specific dates were set as the Coming since 1844, but Christ never came. Seventh-Day-Adventists are the larger group and started also about 1844 adding a very special issue: The Seventh Day, Saturday, is the Day of the Lord, and Sunday is the Day of the Antichrist; if you celebrate the Day of the Lord on Sunday, you are of the Antichrist, proclaim the Adventists, about 2,000 million Christians!. They were lead by Joseph Bates and James and Ellen White since 1844 but was not formally organized until 1863.

Agnosticism (1): from the Greek “a-gnow”, not to know. Believes that God’s existence can neither be proved nor disproved on the basis of current evidence.

Albiguenses (13): Believed in two Gods, one good, another evil; held only the New Testament to be inspired; rejected infant baptism; declared marriage sinful; that it was wrong to obey and support the clergy; held that everyone has the power to forgive sins; denied the Trinity, Incarnation, Redemption and the Sacraments; declared all penance useless, and held that an unworthy priest lost the power of consecrating the Holy Eucharist; believed that the soul, created by the good god, was imprisoned in the evil flesh and salvation was possible only through holy living and doing good works.  At death, if the person has been spiritual enough, salvation comes to the believer.  But, if the person has not been good enough, he is reincarnated as an animal or another human; denied the resurrection of the body since it was considered evil; taught that Jesus was God but that He only appeared as a man while on earth. It also taught that the Catholic church of the time was corrupted by its power and wealth. Their asceticism and humility compared to the great affluence of the clergy helped to bring many converts to this evangelistic movement. There were two types of Albigenses: believers and Perfects. Believers were Albigenses who had not taken the initiation rite of being a Perfect.  Perfects denounced all material possession. They abstained from meat, milk, cheese, eggs, and sexual relations.  To become a Perfect a believer had to go through consolamentum, an initiation rite involving the laying on of hands that was supposed to bring the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Infrequently, suicide was practiced as a way to rid oneself of the evil human body.

Anabaptists (16): 1519 - Grebel (after Ulrich Zwingli). "Anabaptists", are many groups who adopted many of the beliefs of Zwingli, but later would fight him, and adopt many of the Calvin's theories. Nicholas Stork, a weaver, and Thomas Munzer, a Lutheran preacher and priest, made, at the time of the reformation, the first attacks on infant baptism, and thus launched the Anabaptist movement. The "born-again" experience, is one distinguishing mark. A complete separation of church and state to protect the liberty of the church. Anabaptists are of the "congregational" type, where each local church is autonomous... there is no Pope!... but now each congregation has its own self-named "Pope", not the successor of Peter, but more demanding.

Appollinarists (4): Apollinaris was a great Bishop, but taught that Christ was divine but not human. Condemned in the Council of Constantinople in 381. Apollinarianism was the heresy taught by Apollinaris the Younger, bishop of Laodicea in Syria about 361.  He taught that the Logos of God, which became the divine nature of Christ, took the place of the rational human soul of Jesus and that the body of Christ was a glorified form of human nature.  In other words, though Jesus was a man, He did not have a human mind but that the mind of Christ was solely divine.  Apollinaris taught that the two natures of Christ could not coexist within one person.  His solution was to lessen the human nature of Christ. This heresy denies the true and complete humanity in the person of Jesus which in turn, can jeopardize the value of the atonement since Jesus is declared to be both God and man to atone.  He needed to be God to offer a pure and holy sacrifice of sufficient value and He needed to be a man in order to die for men.  Jesus is completely both God and man.  This is known as the Hypostatic Union.  

Arians (4): The strongest heretical sect in the early Church. Arius, an Alexandrian priest, proclaimed Jesus was a lesser, created being, denied the divinity of Christ and consequently Virgin Mary was not the Mother of God. The Council of Nicea was convened to condemn the heresy. Arius taught that only God the Father was eternal and too pure and infinite to appear on the earth.  Therefore, God produced Christ the Son out of nothing as the first and greatest creation.  The Son is then the one who created the universe.  Because the Son relationship of the Son to the Father is not one of nature, it is, therefore, adoptive. God adopted Christ as the Son.  Though Christ was a creation, because of his great position and authority, he was to be worshipped and even looked upon as God.  Some Arians even held that the Holy Spirit was the first and greatest creation of the Son.  At Jesus' incarnation, the Arians asserted that the divine quality of the Son, the Logos, took the place of the human and spiritual aspect of Jesus, thereby denying the full and complete incarnation of God the Son, second person of the Trinity.

Balaam, Doctine of (1): Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. (Rev 2:14).

Baptists (17): 1605 - John Smith  in England. In America, they are called "Baptists" because of their doctrine concerning "Baptism": Called an "ordinance", they reject "infant baptism", consider only baptism by immersion as valid, to persons who can decide to receive it, and can feel the personal experience of being "born again". Roger Williams founded the first Baptist church in Providence in 1639. It comprises the largest of all American Protestant denominations.

Basidilians (2): So-called after Basilides, a native of Alexandria who flourished under the Emperors Hadrian and Antonius Pius from about 120 to 140. The Basilidians rejected Revelation and claimed the God of the Jews to be only an angel; held that angels created the world; denied the humanity and miracles of Jesus; denied the resurrection of the body, and believed that Simon of Cyrene was crucified in place of Christ who returned to His Father unharmed.

Branch Davidians, WACO (20): 1986- "Vernon Howell", changed his name to "David Koresh"... They are no longer in existence since the 82 death in the fire at WACO, Texas, in 1993, after the tragic 50-day siege.

Calvinism (16): 1536 - John Calvin, the third great leader of the Reformation. Born in France and worked in Geneva. Calvin held the doctrine of predestination. Bishops are out, only priests left (presbyters). Later on, the priests will be gone, with the Pentecostals, for example. In 1536 he established a theocratic government in Geneva in which the religious and social and political affairs of the city were controlled by Calvin's new church. Geneva became a model of Puritan sobriety in which the lives of all citizens were closely policed and all offenses punished severely... all people were expected to live the life of a monk, with no alcohol, no dancing or singing, no fun. Calvin opened the way for more radical forms of Protestantism which exist today as worldwide churches: "Presbyterians" of Scotland, "Separatists" and "Puritans" of England, "Congregational", "Dutch Reformed Churches", The Huguenots in France.

Carpocratians (2): Followers of Carpoerates, an Alexandrian philosopher, who flourished during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138). They are also called "gnostics”, that is, learned or enlightened. The Carpocratians held that everyone has two souls; believed in the transmigration of souls; maintained that the world was created by angels; denied the divinity of Christ, and advocated the practice of immorality as a means of union with God.  

Cerintheians (1): Denied that God was the creator of the world; believed that Jesus would establish a kingdom on Earth where the just would spend a 1,000 years enjoying sensual pleasure; denied the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Children of God (COG), Family of Love, Heaven's Magic (20): 1969, USA- David Berg, who changed his name to Moses Berg, and is called "MO". The "COG" is the literal "prostitution of Christianity"; "Sex for Jesus" is their logo... they will offer you the "MO letters", saying "Jesus loves you"... in the "Communes" and outside encourage and practiced homosexuality, incest, adultery, fornication, adult-child sex, polygamy... "MO" is violently Anti-Semitic.

Christian Science Church (19) 1879 (Mary Baker Eddy): The "science of healing", is "Anti-Christian", "Anti-Science", with Hindu doctrine, and it is not a Church. "Jesus Christ" is not God, he was not the Christ. "God", is not the Christian God, but a "Hindu one". "Salvation", is by recognizing that each person is as much a Son of God as Jesus is. There is no evil, no devil, no sin, no poverty, and no old age. A person is reincarnated until he learns these truths and becomes "perfect".

Church of Christ (19) 1886:  originated with Spurling and Bryant in the Great Smoky Mountains (northwest Georgia and eastern Tennessee). A Pentecostal church based on a belief that a second rain of the gifts of the Holy Spirit would occur similar to that of the first Christian Pentecost. They regard the state of holiness as a work of grace subsequent to conversion or justification, and practice speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. Members of the revival were organized into the Christian Union, changed their name to the Holiness Church (1902) and later to the Church of God (1907). No Pope, no bishops, no ordained priests.

Church of England (16): 1534- Henry VIII, because the Pope would not grant him a divorce with the right to remarry: With the "Act of Supremacy" in 1534, the King was declared the supreme head of the Church of England, with fullness of authority and jurisdiction. Bishops and priests still have their jobs but under the King of England.

Church of God (19) 1880: Name of more than 200 independent religious bodies in the U.S. The majority of them are Adventist, Holiness, or Pentecostal denominations. Originated about 1880 as a movement within existing churches to promote Christian unity. The founders were interested in relieving the church at large of what they believed was over-ecclesiasticism and restrictive organization and in reaffirming the New Testament as the true standard of faith and life.

Church of God, Worldwide (WCG) (20): 1934, USA- Founded in Eugene, Oregon, USA, by Herbert W. Armstrong, a child of the Adventists, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, proclaims the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ, who was announced for 1936, 1943, 1972, 1975. Jesus never came, but it was a good source of income!. influential with its TV programs. The strange doctrine of "Anglo-Israelism" is a special feature.

Church of God in Christ (19) 1895, 1897: started by Jones and Mason in Arkansas. Another Pentecostal church. Like other Holiness and Pentecostal groups, the church emphasizes sanctification, or holiness, which is deemed essential to salvation. The theology of the church is Trinitarian; the Bible is the chief religious authority and is interpreted literally. Ordinances include baptism by immersion, the Lord’s Supper, and foot washing. Speaking in tongues is considered the sign of baptism by the Holy Ghost. No Pope, no bishops, no ordained priests.

The Church of Satan (20): Founded in 1966, by Anton S. LaVey in San Francisco, California. The Black Mass is usually celebrated by a fake priest, but sometimes by a real blasphemous priest, in which case the Mass is valid but sacrilegious. Usually it is a blasphemous fake Mass in which the desecration of the Eucharist takes place. Condemned by all Christians and the Bible in the strongest terms.

Church of "Palmar de Troya",  or "Carmelites of the Holy Face" (20): Founded by Clemente Dominguez, in 1969 in "Palmar de Troya", 40 Kilometers from Seville, Spain. Condemned by the Church. Clemente proclaimed himself "the Pope", with the name of Gregory XVII, there are only a few hundreds, but with lots of money, building a great Basilica, behind tall walls.

Church Universal and Triumphal, Summit Lighthouse (20): 1958, USA- Founded,  in Montana by Mark L. Prophet, it is now lead by Elizabeth Clare Prophet, after the death of her husband in 1973. It is a Hindu religion, with biblical connotations, specially the "I Am" of Ex.3:14. Jesus is not God. He was only the "mediator" between God and men, the role now Mrs. Prophet has. Salvation is by doing good Karma (deeds), to reincarnate in a better form. It is not so "triumphant" on earth, rather they are so afraid that they have built huge underground shelters, able to accommodate 100,000 people, stocked with food for protection from an impending nuclear holocaust... And it is not that "universal", because most of their members live in Montana, nearby the Shelters.

Churches for Homosexuals, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (20) (MCC): 1968, USA- by Troy Perry who claims that he and other homosexuals experience "coming out of the closet" and can live a Christian life together. It has very good intentions; however, boasting about homosexual practices contradicts the teachings of St. Paul.

Circumcisers (1) who insisted that all Christians be circumcised.

Congregationalism (16): 1582 - R. Brown in Holland . They separated from the Church of England, and they were called Separatists, Dissenters, Independents, and Congregationalists, because they believe that each congregation should be independent, autonomous, a complete church in itself. They were Calvinists. Those American colonists who established the Plymouth Colony in 1620 were "Separatists", and were called Pilgrims. Those who came 9 years later and established the Massachusetts Colony were "Puritans". See also, Puritans.

Disciples of Christ (19) 1800: a protestant denomination which has its roots in the "great awakening" on the American Frontier in the 19th century. Believes in the simple acknowledgment that Jesus is the Christ, the messiah, and an acceptance of Him as Lord. Opposes the use of Creeds as a test of faith. The simple confession that Jesus Christ is Lord was believed to unite all Christians. Man made creeds were seen as divisive.

Docetism (1): Taught that Jesus only appeared (Greek, “dokeo” , to seem) to have a body, that he was not really  incarnate. This denial of a true incarnation meant that Jesus did not truly suffer on the cross and the He did not rise from the dead. Refuted in 1 John 4:2-3 and 2 John 7. Also refuted by Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus, and Hippolatus. Docetism was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

Donatists (4): founded by Donatus, the Great, a bishop who held that the true Church consisted only of the elect, themselves, and declared baptism to be invalid unless conferred by a Donatist. He also taught that the effectiveness of the sacraments depends on the moral character of the minister.  In other words, if a minister who was involved in a serious enough sin were to baptize a person, that baptism would be considered invalid.

Ebionites (2): Denied the divinity of Christ; believed that Jesus is human, the son of God, but not God; considered St. Paul a heretic, and practiced free-love.

Episcopalians (17): 1620- S. Seabury (Henry VIII), founded  in the American colonies, is part of the Anglican Communion, regards the Archbishop of Canterbury as the "First among Equals"

The Evangelical Charismatics (20) started in 1981 at Fuller Theological Seminary with John Wimber. By 1990, 33 millions in the world were moving in signs and wonders, though they disdain labels such as "pentecostal" and "charismatic".

Evangelicals: National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) (20): 1942-  A coordinating agency facilitating Christian unity, public witness, and cooperative ministry among evangelical denominations, congregations, educational institutions, and service agencies in the United States. The Association traces its beginnings to April 7-9, 1942, when a modest group of 147 people met in St. Louis with the hopes of reviving the fortunes of evangelical Christianity in America.

Flagellants (13): They advocated excessive self-flagellation; confessed sins to laymen; believed that penance helped the damned; denied the Sacraments, and taught that one month’s penance was necessary for the forgiveness of sins.

Fraternity of St. Pius X (20):  Founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of France, after the Vatican II, 1965. He consecrated 200 priests against the authority of the Pope.
They celebrate the Mass only in Latin, with the old order of St. Pius X. Their main "objection" is the change in the Consecration of the word "many", by the word "all", but St. Paul uses both words talking about the same issue in successive verses, Romans 5:18,19: Jesus died "for all" human beings, but only "many" will appropriate his redemption. The Fraternity is excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

Fraticelli (13): Held that there were two churches, one carnal, the other spiritual; that only the spiritual church has the true Scriptures and divine power, and that in them alone was the Gospel of Jesus Christ fulfilled.

Freemasonry (18): Born in 1717 when 4 Craft Lodges gathered at the Apple Tree Tavern in London. A secret fraternal order of Free and Accepted Masons, spread by the British Empire. Some Masons define it as "a beautiful system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols"... also as "the realization of God by the practice of Brotherhood": To reach God by doing good works to your neighbor... It has been described as "the biggest, richest, most secret and most powerful private force in the world"... and certainly, "the most deceptive", both for the general public, and for the first 3 degrees of "initiates": Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason (the basic "Blue Lodge"). At various time condemned by the Catholic Church, Baptists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Russian Orthodox Church.

Gnosticism (1): A pre-Christian sect which claimed secret knowledge (gnosis = knowledge) of Christ. Beliefs: a purely good God could not create a world containing evil; all matter is evil including the human body; Christ’s divine spirit only descended into the man Jesus with his baptism and left him before his crucifixion, leaving the man, not the Messiah to suffer on the cross. The DaVinci Code has its roots in Gnosticism claiming secret knowledge of Jesus which the Church supposedly suppressed.

The Great Schism (11): Eastern Orthodox vs. Western Roman Catholic: The problem here started with Photius in the Ninth Century, and the Iconoclastic controversy in the Eight Century. Brewing for centuries, rupture finally comes to a head in 1054. The immediate issue was the "filioque clause”, that "the Holy Ghost proceeds "from the Father and the Son" ("filioque"), says the Catholics, and the Orthodox claim "from the Father alone". But the key issue was that the Orthodox denied the supremacy of the Pope.       The Roman Catholic Church maintains that the Pope is the successor of Peter, the head of the entire Church before the split and after the Schism. The "official" schism in 1054 was the excommunication of Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople, followed by his excommunication of the Pope's representative. The personal excommunications were mutually rescinded by the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople in the 1960s, although the schism is not at all healed.

            One sometimes sees it asserted either that the Eastern Orthodox Church or the Roman Catholic Church was founded at the time of this great schism. That is false. The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church was ruled by five patriarchs: those of Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, each having authority over bishops in a specified geographic territory. Although the five split from each other, none was a newly founded organization. Each group took (and still today takes) the view that it is the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and the other group left that church at the time of the schism.

            The Orthodox do not accept the supremacy of the Pope, as the only successor of Peter. The Orthodox do not have a central authority. No one even claims to be the successor of "Peter", with the immense authority given to him, and only to him and his successors by Jesus in Matt.16, Jn.21, Acts.1-9. If the Orthodox could accept the authority of the Pope, as the successor of Peter, all the other differences would be immediately eliminated.

Greek Schism (9):  Its origin (858) dates from the time of Photius, a high official in the civil service of the Byzantine government, distinguished for his learning and literary taste. The Greek Orthodox Church or, more correctly, the Orthodox Eastern Church, Greek-Russian, denies the supremacy of the Pope, holds that the Catholic Church erred in prescribing celibacy for the clergy, and teaches that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father alone. This independent church is the result of what is known in history as the "Greek Schism". In 858, on the deposition of Ignatius, Photius was hurried through all the ecclesiastical degrees and installed by the Emperor Michael III as Patriarch of Constantinople. Pope Nicholas I objected to the irregularities of Photius’ elevation, and convoked a council at Rome which deposed and excommunicated him. Photius then gave the conflict a doctrinal turn and brought about conditions that paved the way for the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Churches in the 11th century. Photius was deposed and sent into exile several times, the last being in 886, and a few years later died in an Armenian monastery. The schism commenced by him, although suppressed several times, continues to the present day. See also: Rites; 11th Century Church History.

Henricians (12): Henry of Lausanne, a cluniac monk, rejects the rites and authority of the Church and insisted upon personal responsibility as opposed to authority in religious matters.

Holiness Churches (19) 1861-1865: The National Holiness Movement came into being shortly after the American Civil War, 1861-1865. Originally a protest movement within Methodism, it opposed the Methodist falling away from the emphasis on sanctification that John Wesley had developed. He had stressed original sin and justification by faith and added that the individual may be assured of forgiveness by a direct experience of the spirit, called sanctification, which he regarded as the step leading to Christian perfection. The major representatives of the Holiness movement are Pentecostal denominations, the Church of the Nazarene and the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.).

Huguenots (16):  The French Protestants. William Farel, a friend of Calvin. Basically Calvinists, held the doctrine of predestination; denied the supremacy of the Pope; free-will; good works; purgatory; the Sacraments and forgiveness of sin.

Hussites (15): The followers of John Huss, the Rector at the University of Prague. He publicly condemned many practices of the Catholic Church. These included the sale of indulgences and the riches controlled by the Church. Huss had studied the writings of John Wycliffe and supported many of his ideas. The Catholic Church declared over 40 of Wytcliffe’s Theses as Heretical. Jan Huss, however, continued to argue that the Church was inherently corrupt and in need of reform. This earned him many admirers and just as many enemies. Although it ultimately failed, the Hussite movement is of permanent historical significance. It was the first substantial attack upon the two bulwarks of medieval society, feudalism and the Roman Catholic Church. As such it helped pave the way for both the Protestant Reformation and the rise of modern nationalism.
            After the burning of Huss (1415) and Jerome of Prague (1416), the Hussites continued as a powerful group in Bohemia and Moravia. They drew up (1420) the Four Articles of Prague, demanding freedom of preaching, communion in both kinds (i.e., both wine and bread) for the laity as well as priests, the limitation of property holding by the church, and civil punishment of mortal sin, including simony.

Iconoclasts (8):  Leo de Isaurian held that the veneration of sacred images was idolatry. This outbreak commenced about the year 723 and led to much violence. This error was condemned by the Second Council of Nicea in the year 787. An Iconoclast is a person who destroys icons, that is, sacred paintings or sculpture. Conversely, people who revere or venerate religious images are called iconodules. Iconoclasm (Eikonoklasmos, "Image-breaking") is the name of the heresy that in the eighth and ninth centuries disturbed the peace of the Eastern Church, caused the last of the many breaches with Rome that prepared the way for the schism of Photius in 858 and the Great Schism of the 11th century, and was echoed on a smaller scale in the Frankish kingdom in the West. The story in the East is divided into two separate persecutions of the Catholics, at the end of each of which stands the figure of an image-worshipping Empress (Irene and Theodora).

Jansenists (17): Jansenism was probably the single most divisive issue within the Roman Catholic church between the Protestant Reformation and the French Revolution.
Founded by Cornelius Jansenius, Holland, Bishop of Ypres. He lived and died a member of the Catholic Church, but it was from his writings, published after his death, that Jansenism took its rise. Predestination was accepted in an extreme form and was so essential to Jansenism that its adherents were even referred to as Calvinists by their opponents. It came into conflict with the church for its predestination doctrines and for its discouragement of frequent communion for the faithful. Jansenism took root in France, especially among the clergy.

Jehovah's Witnesses (19) 1852 (Charles T. Russel): They are the children of the Adventists, officially announced the Second Coming of Christ and the Armageddon for 6 dates: 1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, and 1975. They deny the Doctrine of the Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, the Immortality of the Human Soul, and blood transfusions. They expect to be one of the 144,000 ministers of Jesus when He comes or one of the multitude in Heaven of Revelation 7. Their official name, is not "Jehovah's Witnesses", but an Incorporated Society, the "Watchtower Bible and Tract Society" In this Society, the leaders are elected by the number of "stocks" they have; the "President of the Society" is the one who has more stocks, the actual President is Milton G. Henschel, since 1993.

Jovinians (4): Jovinianus, a monk, denied the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Condemned by Pope Siricius in a Council held at Rome in the year 390, and soon after in another Council held by St. Ambrose in Milan.

Judaizers (1): Wanted to make Christianity a branch of Judaism.

Ku-Klux-Klan (19) 1866: founded in Polaski, Tennessee, by 6 Confederate officers. One of them, and the first Imperial Wizard of the KKK, was a former Confederate general and Freemason, Nathan Bedford Forrest. They are well known the disguised hooded Klansmen, in their white sheets, posing as ghosts of dead Confederate soldiers, with their blazing torches burning large wooden crosses in a "circle", to terrorize and kill Blacks, just for the sake of being Blacks.

Lollards of John Wycliffe (14): Rejected the episcopacy of the Church; denied the authority of the Pope; the universe and God are one; that creation was an emanation of God; believed in predestination; denied the Real Presence; held the veneration of sacred images to be unlawful. The name Lollards applied to the followers of John Wyclife, who was born at Ipreswel (now Hispwell) near Richmond, Yourkshire, England, probably some years earlier than 1324. See also: Wycliffe, John.

Lutherans (16): Martin Luther retained the sacraments of baptism, penance and Holy Communion and great honor and affection to Virgin Mary. He held that in the Holy Communion the consecrated bread and wine are the Body and Blood of Christ ("consubstantiation", instead of the Catholic "transubstantiation"). He rejected purgatory, indulgences, invocation of the Saints, and prayers for the dead. Jesus Christ our Righteousness, Luther based the entire work of the Reformation on the reality of an imputed righteousness.

Macedonians (4): Macedonius, a bishop, denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

Manicheans (3), Manes born in 216, proclaimed himself as the "promised Paraclete", "Messenger of the True God", the title was later applied to Mohammed. The Manicheans believed in a plurality of gods; rejected the Old Testament absolutely, and of the New they retained only what had been revised and redacted by Manes; they held that Christ had no real body; denied free-will; recognized no baptism or marriage; believed in the transmigration of souls, and held that each man had two souls.

Marcionites (2): Founded by Marcion (110), a Gnostic, who taught the existence of two gods, the evil one of the Old Testament and the good one taught by Jesus; denied the Incarnation of Christ, that Jesus died on the cross, and that Jesus is the Messiah.

Mennonites (16): Menno Simons, at Witmarsum in Friesland, Catholic priest. He became an Anabaptist 1536. Condemned infant baptism; the bearing of arms; the Sacraments; and held a doctrine of non-resistance to violence.

Methodists, "Holy Club" (18): 1744- Founded by John and Charles Wesley in England. Two distinctive features: 1- A "mystical experience", is the best way to know God: The "witness of the Spirit" to the individual, with personal assurance of salvation, the "heartwarming experience". This "born-again" experience is the first of the four ways to know God; the other 3 are: Scripture, reason, and tradition.  2- It was the "social conscience" of England, preaching to the "poor" a new message of hope and care: They devoted much time to create private welfare agencies to help the poor, social reforms, improvement of the daily life of workers, legalize labor unions, abolish slavery, protect woman and children; they started schools for children, old folk' homes, orphanages, dispensaries for the sick, agencies for the unemployed and homeless... and they were among the foremost champions of a democratic free United States. They hold Scripture to be the sole and sufficient rule of belief and practice; teach justification by faith alone, although the practice of good works is commended... and done! 

 Millenarians (3): Believe in the return of Christ to establish a kingdom on earth for 1000 years. Nipos (Nepos), Bishop, in defending the doctrines of this sect nearly brought about a schism in the Church, but unity was preserved by Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria. The fundamental idea of millenarianism may be set forth as follows. At the end of time Christ will return in all His splendor to gather together the just, to annihilate hostile powers, and to found a glorious kingdom on earth for the enjoyment of the highest spiritual and material blessings. He Himself will reign as its King, and all the just, including the Saints recalled to life, will participate in it. At the close of this kingdom the Saints will enter heaven with Christ, while the wicked, who have also been resuscitated, will be condemned to eternal damnation. The duration of this glorious reign of Christ with His Saints on earth is frequently given as 1000 years. Hence the name Millenarianism of Revelation 20.

Modalism (2):  Modalism is probably the most common theological error concerning the nature of God.  It is a denial of the Trinity which states that God is a single person who, throughout biblical history, has revealed Himself in three consecutive modes, or forms.  Thus, God is a single person who first manifested himself in the mode of the Father in Old Testament times.  At the incarnation, the mode was the Son.  After Jesus' ascension, the mode is the Holy Spirit.  These modes are consecutive and never simultaneous.  In other words, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit never all exist at the same time, only one after another.  Modalism denies the distinctiveness of the three persons in the Trinity even though it retains the divinity of Christ.

Monarchians (2), 190, denied the Mystery of the Trinity, God is one person, God the Father and God the Son were one and the same person. Monarchians were divided into two main groups, the dynamic monarchians and the modal monarchians.  Dynamic Monarchianism teaches that God is the Father and that Jesus is only a man, denied the personal subsistence of the Logos and taught that the Holy Spirit was a force or presence of God the Father. Additionally, some ancient dynamic monarchianists were also known as Adoptionists who taught that Jesus was tested by God and after passing this test and upon His baptism, He was granted supernatural powers by God and adopted as the Son. Modal monarchianism teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are just modes of the single person who is God.  In other words, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not simultaneous and separate persons, but consecutive modes of one person.

Monophysites (5): Eutyches, an abbot of 300 monks, proclaimed the Jesus had only one nature: divine, He is God but not man. Condemned excommunicated in the 6th century and in the Council of Constantinople in the year 680. Monophysitism is an error concerning the nature of Christ that asserts Jesus had only one nature, not two as is taught in the correct doctrine of the hypostatic union.  Monophysitism was confined mainly to the Eastern church and had little influence in the West.  In 451, the Council of Chalcedon attempted to establish a common ground between the monophysitists and the orthodox, but it did not work and divisions arose in the Eastern church which eventually excommunicated the monophysitists in the 6th century.  The denial of the human nature of Christ is a denial of the true incarnation of the Word as a man.  Without a true incarnation there can be no atonement of sin for mankind since it was not then a true man who died for our sins.  It was condemned as heresy at the Sixth Ecumenical Council in 680-681.

Monothelites (7): An heretical sect that owed its origin to Sergius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who was assisted in great measure by Cyril (Cyrus), Bishop of Phasis and later Patriarch of Alexandria. Sergius taught that there were two natures, but only a divine will in Christ. Condemned by the Council of Constantinople in the year 680.

Montanism (2): Montanus, a priest of Cybele who became a Christian, in 156 had a ‘revelation of the Spirit’ and his teachings were above those of the Church, he spoke in ecstatic visions and urged their followers to fast and pray, so that they might share the personal revelations. His believed that the Trinity consisted of only a single person. He proclaimed that everybody in the Church must be perfect and the Christians who fell from grace could not be redeemed. The most widely known defender of Montanists was undoubtedly Tertullian, a champion of orthodox belief, who believed that the new prophecy was genuinely motivated and began to fall out of step. The sect also was convinced that the end of the world was imminent and that Christ was to return in the immediate future.

Moonies, The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (20): 1954- Sun M. Moon in South Korea. The "Moonies" is the Church of heavenly Communism, of  mockery of the Bible, of  big business... and of stupidity. The "sacred Scriptures" are the "Divine Principle" of Moon, the "Outline of the Principle", and the "Bible"... But the "Bible" is used to make a mockery out of it!: Jesus Christ was a perfect man, but "he is not God"; he was the bastard offspring of Zechariah and Mary. Moon is the third Adam, the second Christ to unite all religions, and bring to earth a perfect social system, a perfect family life... earth will be the new Paradise of Eden, with perfect love to God, and brotherhood of all people living in communes, sharing their wealth."Salvation", comes in one of three ways: 1- Having actual sex with Moon, for the girls. 2- Having sex with a girl who had sex with Moon, if you are a man.
3- Working full time for Moon, the most usual way!, and drinking at the wedding ceremony the blood of Moon (2 drops of his blood in 100 gallons of a mixture of 21 ingredients). Watch out for the "recruiting"... the "Weekend" and the "Communes", "the Heavenly Communism".

Moravians (15), "Church of the Brotherhood", United Brethren, after Huss: The English priest "Wycliff", denied the authority of the Pope 200 years before Luther. "John Huss", a Bohemian priest (now western Czechoslovakia), followed his ideas... In 1457, some followers of Huss founded the "Church of the Brotherhood", considered the pioneer and the earliest independent Protestant body, even before Luther. Later, in 1727, it became the "United Brethren, or Moravian Church". See also: Hussites, Wycliff.

Mormons (19) 1830 (Joseph Smith). He claimed to have received a new revelation in 1827, which resulted in the "Book of Mormon", published at Palmyra, N.Y. Smith was killed by a mob in Carthage, Ill., in 1844, and Brigham Young succeeded him as leader of the sect. There are three gods, the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Spirit... all of them were created, and you can become God like Jesus or the Father. Adam’s sin was one of lust; believe the bond of marriage to be eternal; and believe in a happy Millennium on this earth.

Nazareans or “Jewish-Christians” (1): They are Jews who became Christians but retained many of their former customs and beliefs, including gentile and Jewish ones, while those initiated into deeper levels became well versed in deeper Essene doctrines.

Neo-Gnosticism (1): believed that Jesus was either a magician, an ascetic, or a sexual deviate who initiated his followers by means of secret ceremonies acquired in his visit to India. Developed fourth-century literature: Nag Hammadi Codices, The Secret Gospel, The Gospel of Thomas, The Forbidden Gospel.

The "Neo-Pentecostal" movement (20):  started in 1960 in Van Nuys, California, under Dennis Bennett, Rector of St Marks Episcopal (Anglican) Church. In ten years it spread to all major Protestant families of the world. See also: Penetcostalism

Nestorians (5): Nestorius, a good monk, taught that there were two separate persons in Christ, one divine and the other human; and claimed that Mary was the mother of the human person only, not of the divine, not the Mother of God. Condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The problem with Nestorianism is that it threatens the atonement.  If Jesus is two persons, then which one died on the cross?  If it was the "human person" then the atonement is not of divine quality and thereby insufficient to cleanse us of our sins.

New Age (20): 1980s - The term "New Age", was coined by the spirit medium "Alice Bailey" of the Theosophical Society of America, who died in 1949, but it became common parlance after the musical "Hair" launched the concept of the Age of Aquarius on a popular and international scale. This "utopia" is a great menace to Christianity. New age has been catalogued as the AIDS of all heresies. The "New Age" of Aquarius is an Astrology doctrine of the 1980s, proclaiming the human race is at the verge of a "gigantic quantum leap", to realize that every human is God... and when that happens, it will be the "New Age", a glorious time with only one nation on earth, one language, one government, one religion, one monetary system... with only love on earth, the "golden age"!, without hate, violence, wars, crime, racism, and without sickness nor death!... it the old lie of Satan of Genesis 3:4-5... you will be like God! The New Age is an  umbrella, an amorphous collection of belief systems. Unlike most formal religions, it has no holy text, central organization, membership, formal clergy, geographic center, dogma, or creed. It is nothing "new", just the old time ancient religions, cults, all kind of superstitions, and false Hinduism and Mormonism. Mention it, and you have it in the New Age methods, anything but the truths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam... the methods range through the alphabet of superstition, from acupuncture to Zen Buddhism, taking in yoga meditation, mysticism, spiritualism, crystals, pyramids, clairvoyance, biofeedback, reincarnation therapies, tarot cards, ouija boards, astrology, tea leaves, occult devices, dream therapy, holistic healing, astrological charts, parasychologic mystic experiences, telepathy, self-hypnosis, mind control, spiritistic channelling, balancing the yin and yan, witchcraft rituals, hypnosis, meditation, the use of hallucinogenic drugs or any kind of drug, Egyptian knowledge, mantras, angelology, extraterrestrial beings, neurolinguistic trainers, herbologists, guided imaginary, centering, polarity therapy, reflexology, therapeutic touching, homeopathy... and, of course, any kind of super-sexual activity.

Nicolaitans (1): Called themselves Christians but lived like pagans, in adultery, approving abortion, homosexuality, social injustice, underpayment to employees, attending church 4 times a year, having no Christian community life. (See Rev. 2:6 and 2:15).

Novatians (3): The Novatians held that idolatry was an unpardonable sin, that confirmation was no sacrament, that mortal sins committed after baptism could not be forgiven; condemned second marriages, and refused Communion to those who had contracted them, even at the time of death. This schismatic sect took its name from Novatus (Novatian), a Roman priest, who made himself anti-pope. He was a learned and eloquent man but of a melancholy temperament, and, according to St. Cyprian, was turbulent, seditious and avaricious. St. Cornelius states that Novatus was possessed by Satan for a season, apparently while a catechumen. He was baptized by aspersion as he lay on a bed of sickness, but apparently was never confirmed. How he became a priest is not clear. He was accused by Cornelius of cowardice during the persecution of Decius. At the beginning of 251 the persecution relaxed and St. Cornelius was elected Pope. Some days later Novatus set himself up as a rival pope and had himself consecrated bishop. A council of sixty bishops was assembled under Pope Cornelius before the end of 251 in which Novatus was excommunicated.

Old Catholics (19) 1871: Organized in German speaking countries to combat the dogma of Papal Infallibility. Its rise may be traced from the excommunication of Ignatz von Dollinger, historian, priest and theologian, on Apr. 18, 1871, for refusing to accept the dogma of Infallibility. The Old Catholic Churches, had their origin in Europe after 1870, after the First Vatican Council. They reject the authority of the Pope, and their priests are married. The Polish Church, was established in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the 1890s, also after Vatican I with the same spirit of the Old Catholic Churches.

Origenists (3): Followers of Origen, born at Alexandria in 185, another great Christian and writer who entered into heresy. He taught that by a second crucifixion of Christ, all, even the damned in hell would be pure spirits; and believed that the blessed in heaven could be expelled from that abode for faults committed there. Origen was one of the most learned and spirited men of his time.Simonians (1): Simon wanted to buy the power of the Spirit with money, believed in the transmigration of souls, and denied the humanity of Jesus.

Paulicians (7):  Mannalis, a teacher of the New Testament, believed in a plurality of gods; denied the Incarnation; Christ had not been crucified; believed in the transmigration of souls. Constantine of Mananalis, called himself Silvanus, founded what appears to have been the first Paulician community at Kibossa, near Colonia in Armenia. He began to teach about 657. He wrote no books and taught that the New Testament, as he presented it, should be the only text used by his follower.

Pelagians (5): Pelagius, a "saintly" man according to St. Augustine, claimed that children are born without original sin, as pure as Adam was before he fell; men neither die because Adam fell, nor rise again in consequence of Christ’s resurrection; un-baptized as well as baptized infants are saved; the Mosaic Law is as good a guide to heaven as the Gospel. Condemned at the Council of Ephesus, 431.Semipelagians: Believe that some are predestined to heaven; others, to hell. The beginning faith depends on man’s free-will, while faith itself and its increase depend absolutely upon God; nature has a certain claim to grace; final perseverance is not a special gift of grace but depends upon man’s own strength; some children die before baptism, and others after on account of the foreknowledge God possesses of the good or evil they would have done if they had lived. as Abbot. The errors of the Semipelagians were condemned in the year 432 by Pope Celestine I; in 529 by Pope Felix IV, in the Synod of Orange and the Synod of Valence, both of which Councils were confirmed by Pope Boniface II.

Pentecostals (20): The "Classical Pentecostal Movement": In 1901 in the city of Topeka, Kansas, with a handful of students conducted by Charles Fox Parham, a holiness teacher and former Methodist Pastor, started a church movement which he called the "Apostolic Faith". It was not until 1906, however, that pentecostalism achieved worldwide attention through the "Azusa Street Revival" in Los Angeles, California, by the African-American preacher William Joseph Seymour who conducted three services a day, seven days a week, where thousands of seekers received the tongues baptism. At that time of color segregation in the United States, the phenomenon of Blacks and Whites worshiping together under a Black pastor seemed incredible to many observers. Indeed, the color line was washed away in the Blood of Christ, in Los Angeles, "the American Jerusalem", as it called by Frank Bartleman, where the people from all ethnic minorities were represented. This birth of Pentecostalism was preceded by the Holiness Churches, the Church of God and the church of Christ of the nineteenth century, and all of them prepared by the Methodists of the eighteenth century.

Peoples Temple (20): Jim Jones... "Guayana, Jonestown": "Guayana" was the scene of the Jonestown mass suicide in 1978 where 913 members of the "People's Temple" died after drinking cyanide-laced Kool Aid. Some, according to survivors, were shot down trying to escape.

Petrobrosians (12): Peter de Bruis, a monk,  rejected the baptism of infants; condemned altars and churches; prohibited the veneration of the Cross; rejected the Mass and Holy Eucharist; and denied the utility of prayers for the dead. These errors were all condemned by the Second Council of the Lateran in 1139.

Predestinarians (5): Lucile, a priest, taught that God absolutely and positively predestined some to eternal death and others to eternal life, in such a manner that the latter have not to do anything in order to secure salvation; that Christ did not die for the non-elect, since they are destined for hell. Condemned in 475 in the Council of Lyons. 

Presbyterians (16): 1560 - John Knox founded the Scotch Presbyterian Church, basically Calvinistic, and it is called "Presbyterian" because church policy centers around assemblies of presbyters or elders. However the governing board of the church, the synod or presbytery, is subject to the civil government. No more Bishops, only priests, presbyters.

Protestant Reformation (16): Started by Martin Luther in 1517. Five principles: (1) the Pope has no authority ; (2) The Bible alone ("Sola Scriptura"): The Holy Bible alone has the authority; (3) Free interpretation of the Holy Bible; (4) Salvation is by "grace alone", by "faith alone", in "Christ alone"; (5) The Priesthood of all Believers.

Puritans (16): 1570 - T. Cartwright. The "Puritans" or "Precisians", thought the Anglicans were too Catholic, and the Church should be "purified" of the old leaven of Catholicism, and reformed along Calvinist lines in severe simplicity, the ministers should be chosen by the people, and the office of the bishop abolished.

Quakers, Society of Friends (17): 1654- George Fox, a shoemaker, in England. He believed every man to have an "inner light" which was his only guide. They are called "Quakers", because in the first days of enthusiasm they "trembled" in their assemblies, but they resent that name... their organization is not called a church but the "Society of Friends". In their "meetings", there is no pulpit nor songs, they just sit down and wait in silence for the Spirit to move them.

Reformed Dutch (16): 1561 - Guido de Bres, a Dutch reformer of Brabant. Again, basically Calvinist. Some Reformed churches were Lutherans, later Zwinglians and eventually became Calvinists.

Reformed Churches (19): Some of them born in the Nineteenth Century: In general, are those that began with the doctrine of Luther, then embraced those of Zwingli, and finally swerved towards Calvinism. As a result they are infected with the errors of all these false teachers. German Reformed, True Reformed Dutch, United Church of Christ in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, Presbyterian Church in USA, Reformed Church in America, the "Christian Reformed Church.

Rosicrucians (17): 1610 - Traces its roots to the Egypt before Christ... and all the groups claim to be founded by "Christian Rosenkreutz" who is a character of the "Fama Fraternitatis" novel written by the German Lutheran Johann V. Andreae in 1610... but he never existed! Rosicrucianism is the religion "by correspondence" and of lies, claiming to be "dedicated to the investigation, study, and practice of natural and spiritual laws", anchored in "Egypt", with many occult and Hindu practices, and the basic beliefs of pantheism and reincarnation, with some Masonic rituals.

Salvation Army (19) 1865: Founded in England by William Booth. It is familiar to outsiders through its work among the homeless and the poor and its fund-raising on the streets, especially before Christmas; aims to harmonize with all churches.

Scientology, Church of (20): 1954, USA- Lafayette Ronald Hubbard in California after writing "Dianetics". It is a Hindu interplanetary fiction novel, with a kind of  "Catholic Confession", called "auditing”, a bad place to spend lots of money.

Shakers, Union Society (18): 1741- Ann Lee- Jane Wardley, with the help of her brother James, organized this sect in England in the year 1747. Later they were joined by Ann Lee, of Manchester, who claimed to be Christ in His second reincarnation. She came to America in 1774. They are called "Shakers" because in their meeting they had emotional movements of the body, sometimes so strong as to cause convulsive rolling on the floor.

Snake Handlers (20): 1909- Founded in Tennessee, USA, by George Hensley who died of a snakebite in 1955. Their "ceremonies", last for hours, with music and rhythmic clapping to hypnotize the dozens of poisonous snakes all over the hall.

Socinians (16):  1550- Laelius and Faustus Socinus. Laelius was a priest of Sienna and intimate friend of Calvin. They insisted on private judgment and the free use of reason; discarded mysteries, rejected authority, and some went so far as to reject all natural religion.  Luther tried to destroy the roofs of Catholicism; Calvin its wall; and the Socinus its foundation.

Spiritualism (19) 1848 (Spiritism): the ancient practice trying to communicate with the death, through a "medium".The ancient belief was popularized by sisters Kate and Margaretta Fox, 12 and 15 years-old, 1848, in Hydesville, New York, with the famous "rappings" supposedly coming from a peddler who had been murdered in the house some years previously. In 1888 the Fox sisters confessed that the rappings were accomplished by a method of cracking their toes. The sisters work out a code: One tap: No; three taps: Yes. The services, resemble the church gatherings of small Christian denominations and usually mimic Christian services. "Jesus Christ", is a total different person for a Christian and a Spiritualist: For a Spiritualist Jesus is God, but as much as you and I are God, as much as every human being is a divine child of God, just a part of the Infinite Intelligence. A great deception of Satan is the claim of the Spiritualists that the Bible is Spiritualist: They claim that "Jesus Christ was the master medium of all time".

The Synagogue of Satan (1): I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9). It also appears in Rev 3:9 in the church of Philadelphia: It claims to liberate the world, but it is a lie.

Tertullianists (3): Followers of Tertullian, a great Christian writer and priest who fell into the errors of Monanism which believed that all in the Church must be perfect and that the Church could not absolve adulterers. His over-severe views and austerity caused him to break from the Church.

Throne of Satan (1): I know where you live-where Satan has his throne (Rev 2:13). In Smyrna it was the Synagogue of Satan. Here in the Letter of Jesus to Pergamos, it is the Throne of Satan itself: the Christian leaders, bishops, priests, pastors and preachers with political and social power, earthly possessions, living in adultery and immorality…

Tritheism (2): There are three Gods, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

United Christian Evangelistic Association, Christ United Church (20): 1925, USA- Rev. Frederick Eikerenkoetter, known as Rev. Ike, promotes in New York, a "Christianity for earth"... Heaven is replaced by the "now"... you become now successful, rich, and healthy in the name of Jesus... Jesus rode an ass, Rev. Ike prefers to ride a Rolls Royce, and he boasts to have 16!. He does not want a "pie in the sky", he wants a "pie on earth"!. It has been labeled as a "prostitution of Christianity".

United Unitarian Universalist Association (20): Formed in 1961 by the merger of the American Unitarian Association and the Unitarian Universalist Church of America to speak as one on social and political questions. They unite the Unitarians and Universalists of the 18th Century and the Socinians ot the 16th century. It has been labeled as the "schizophrenia" of Christianity, trying to unite the Christians, by denying the Trinity, the deity of Jesus, and proclaiming universal complete salvation of all living beings. Luther tried to destroy the roofs of Catholicism; Calvin its wall; and Socinus its foundation.

Universalists (17): Samuel Gorton, a New England mystic, who aired his views as early as 1636. The belief did not receive definite organization, however until 1750, when James Relly organized a Universalist church in London. They deny the divinity of Christ; believe in the universal salvation of all; deny the Sacraments; free-will; good works, and the doctrine of the Trinity.

Vigilantians (4): Vigilantius, a priest, condemned the veneration of images and relics; the invocation of the Saints; the celibacy of the clergy; and monasticism: and held it useless to pray for the dead.

Unitarians (16): Martin Cellarius, deny the divinity of Christ; accept or reject the Bible according to private judgment.  Unitarians (18): 1774- Theophilus Lindsay. In 1774 in England on the basis of "Socinianism" of the 16th Century, denying the Trinity, and proclaiming that Jesus was not God; the atonement of Jesus is invalid, and salvation is only by works.

Waldenses (12): By Peter Waldo in 1176. The errors were: the Catholic Church erred in accepting temporal property; they condemned tithes; believed in only two sacraments, Baptism and the Eucharist; held that layman could absolve from sin, but that a sinful priest could not; rejected indulgences, fasts and all the ceremonies of the Church; made no distinction between mortal and venial sins; claimed the veneration of sacred images to be idolatry, and condemned all oaths to be unlawful. Condemned by the Third Council of the Lateran in 1179.

The Way International (20): 1957, USA- Victor Paul Wierwille in 1957, in Ohio. His book "Jesus Christ is not God" says it all... to practice "glossolalia" 30 minutes per day is a part of salvation. "Power of Abundant Living" courses.

Wicca (20): 1949 - "Modern Witchcraft", commonly called "Wicca", started in England with Gerald Gardener. Wicca indeed is modern witchcraft coming "out of the broom closet"... removed the stereotypical image of witches as ugly old hags with warts on their noses, decked out in black capes and cone-shaped hats, riding their favorite broomstick on a moonlit night. The modern Wiccan may be an attractive female witch dressed in a fashionable, well-tailored business suit or a professional businessman. Most Wiccans do not believe in Hell nor Satan.

Wycliffe, John (14) transforms Oxford into the spiritual center of England. For many Protestants he is the Christian hero from this century, commonly hailed as "the Morning star of the Reformation." Looks to the Scriptures for authority and truth. In 1381published his “Confession,” in which he denied that the substance of the bread and wine are transubstantiated in the mass.  Wyclif rejected indulgences, auricular confession, extreme unction and holy orders. He took the Bible alone, without tradition as the sole rule of faith, and taught that the church was composed of the predestined only.

Zwinglians (16): Ulric Zwingli, 1484-1524, a parish priest in Glarus, Zurich, Switzerland, the second great reformer. Added to Luther that the Eucharist was only a memorial, a symbol, and the physical presence of Christ was a myth, and proposed that the government of the church should be placed in the hands of the congregation rather than under the control of the clergy... and for both ideas he had strong discussions with Luther... both agree that the church should be under the control of the civil government, a state-church. He denied the authority of the Pope, free-will, the Sacraments including Confession of sins, good works, purgatory.