The life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth constitute the foundation of the Christian faith. Jesus is known by various titles in the Christian tradition, including Christ and Messiah. In the world’s most widely practiced religion, Jesus Christ is seen as the savior of humankind.
A denomination refers to a particular branch of a wider body of believers in the Christian faith. The leadership, name, doctrine, and other characteristics of a denomination are used to distinguish it from other denominations.
There are several ways to distinguish denominations. Some of these factors are Jesus’s nature, his eschatology, and other things. Which Church has the most members, you ask? Let’s find out in this article.
Which Church Has the Most Members?
Catholic Church is a pre-denominational institution. A total of 24 autonomous Latin churches and 23 Eastern Catholic churches are part of it. The majority of Christians are Catholics. There are roughly 1,285,000,000 members of this religious grouping in the world.
As a result of the Reformation, many Catholics and Anglicans turned away from one another and the Roman Catholic Church. There are also other branches, albeit some of these branches can’t be labeled Protestants in strict terms.
The World’s Largest Churches
You need to consider area, volume, length, width, height, and capacity can be used to measure the size of a church. Each of these criteria has a church that claims to be the largest.
1. The Catholics Church
The Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination, with 1.3 billion adherents. Thanks to the faith’s ubiquity in the United States, Europe, and South America, it’s nearly impossible to cross the world without running into a Catholic church.
Catholicism has been around for thousands of years. There are now over 3,500 dioceses in the world. The Pope, who resides in Vatican City, is the public face of the Catholic Church. As outlined in the Nicene Creed, the essential beliefs of Catholicism include belief in one God, confidence in Mary’s holiness, and belief in everlasting life and resurrection.
It is well-known that many Catholics are highly devoted to their faith. Abstinence, the Church’s stance on homosexuality, and the Church’s technique of communion are connected with the Church. The Catholic Church is enormous. It will certainly continue to prosper for many years to come with such a large following.
2. St. Peters Basilica
On a global scale, St. Peters Basilica is the world’s largest Church. There are 60,000 seats in St. Peter’s. When it comes to baseball stadiums, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles holds 56,000 fans. In comparison to Dodger Stadium, St. Peter’s Basilica can hold 4,000 more people.
3. The Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida
The Basilica of Our Lady in Aparecida, Brazil, is the world’s largest cathedral and the second-largest Church. There are 45,000 people in the cathedral with an interior area of 12,000 square meters and an outside area of 18,331 square meters.
4. The Milan Cathedral
The Milan Cathedral is the world’s third-largest Church. The interior of the cathedral is a Catholic church that measures 11,700 square meters and can accommodate up to 40,000 worshippers.
5. Yoido Full Gospel
Yoido Full Gospel is one of the largest churches by exterior size, encompassing approximately 44,000. This Pentecostal Church can accommodate 12,000 people. It is the second-largest Church in terms of outside space, measuring 30,000 meters and holding 18,000 worshipers. Yamoussoukro has a Catholic church like this one. By this metric, St. Peter’s Basilica comes in third place.
6. World Changers Church International
World Changers Church International in College Park, Georgia, has an estimated weekly attendance of 15,000, making it larger than several Georgia communities. The largest megachurch in the United States is Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, which has an estimated weekly attendance of 43,000.
7. Seventh Day Adventists Church
The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is rapidly expanding. They are well-known for holding that Saturday should be a day of worship for all believers. They also believe in the resurrection of the dead and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.
8. Presbyterians Church
The Presbyterian Church, with over 40 million members, is a well-known religious movement. There has been little growth in recent years for this Protestant denomination. Presbyterianism is a reformed denomination with roots in the United Kingdom. Most of its adherents are based in North America or Europe.
In Presbyterianism, the five fundamental doctrines are scripture alone, faith alone, Christ alone, grace alone, and glory to God alone. The Presbyterian Church has been linked to several US presidents, including Donald Trump.
9. Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is made up of various faiths. It has a population of 65 million adherents. These churches can be found in the Middle East (particularly Armenia), Africa (especially Egypt), and Eastern Europe.
10. Eastern Orthodox Church
There are an estimated 240 million adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Church around the world. The Russian Orthodox Church alone has more than 100 million adherents and is the largest in Eastern Europe.
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Members of this denomination can be found throughout Eastern Europe, with Moldova alone having an estimated 90% of the population as adherents. Even while large numbers of adherents do not exist outside of Eastern Europe, there are a few smaller groups.
11. Pentecostal Church
Pentecostalism has 280 million adherents. It has seen a dramatic increase in membership in recent years. As a result of its rapid expansion, the denomination has risen to the position of second largest worldwide and largest within Protestantism.
This is one of the newest denominations on this list. Its rapid expansion has many researchers scratching their heads. It is quite popular throughout the United States. However, it is on the rise in South America. Pentecostals are well-known for their belief that redemption is possible only by God’s grace.
Pentecostalism’s largest denomination, the Assemblies of God, is 67 million adherents worldwide. Its current surge in popularity indicates that it is only going to grow in popularity over time.
Our Final Thoughts
We hope we have answered your question of which Church has the most members? We have covered all the main churches that have the most members in the world. If you want to become a member of a church, you need to know the point of belief and choose the one that falls under your radar.
