Branch theory
Branch theory is an ecclesiological proposition that the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church includes various different Christian denominations whether in formal communion or not.
Anglican proponents of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship who support the theory include only the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Old Catholic, Moravian, Nestorian and Anglican churches as branches. These church bodies have retained the historic episcopate, one of the four essential things which are required for unity with Anglicans. However, other Anglicans, including those of low, broad and high churchmanship, have "followed the major continental Reformers in their doctrine of the true church, identifiable by the authentic ministry of word and sacrament, in their rejection of the jurisdiction of the pope, and in their alliance with the civil authority ". The Church of England historically considered itself "Protestant and Reformed" and cooperated with the Continental Reformed Churches, participating in the Synod of Dort in 1618–1619.
As such, Anglicans have entered into full communion with bodies such as the member churches of the Porvoo Communion and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. In some countries, Anglicans have merged with Methodists, Presbyterians and Lutherans to form united Protestant Churches, such as the Church of North India, Church of Pakistan, Church of South India, and the Church of Bangladesh; these churches self-identify as "Anglican" and are part of the Anglican Communion. In every case, a condition of full communion and/or merger is that the church bodies of other traditions had to agree to take upon themselves the four marks of the Church which are named in the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral. Those church bodies which did not have the historical episcopate, for instance, had to agree that their future clergy would be received into it.
Other Protestant Christians, including Evangelical Anglicans, generally reject the Anglo-Catholic version of the branch theory and hold a theory in which the Christian Church "has no visible unity" but contains numerous denominations that are "invisibly connected." Fortescue states that "this theory is common among all Protestant bodies, although each one generally holds that it is the purest branch." For Anglicans of evangelical churchmanship, the notion of apostolic continuity is seen as "fidelity to the teaching of the apostles as set out in scripture, rather than in historical or institutional terms" and thus they place focus on "the gospel, and the means by which this is proclaimed, articulated, and reinforced--namely, the ministers of word and sacrament."
In expounding upon branch theory, theologian Paul Evdokimov states that some view each distinct Christian tradition as contributing something special to the whole of Christendom:
The famous "branch theory", according to which each ecclesiastical tradition possesses only part of the truth, so that the true Church will come into being only when they all join together; such a belief encourages the "churches" to continue as they are, confirming in their fragmented state, and the final result is Christianity without the Church. Each church, in its more pronounced form, displays, according to its own native spirit, a particular version of the unique revelation. So, for example, Roman Christianity is characterized by filial love and obedience expressed towards the fatherly authority hypostatized in the first Person of the Trinity: the Church is there to teach and to obey. For the Reformed Churches the vital thing is sacramental reverence for the Word; it is the Church's duty to listen and reform itself. The Orthodox treasure the liberty of the children of God that flowers in liturgical communion, while the Church hymns the love of God for the human race.
Views
Anglican
formulated a branch theory in which the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church included the Anglican, Scandinavian Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches; to this the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Moravian Church, Church of the East, and Old Catholic Churches were also added. The theory was popularized during the Oxford Movement, particularly through the work of the Tractarians. Although the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission, an organization sponsored by the Anglican Consultative Council and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, seeks to make ecumenical progress between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, it has made no statement on the topic. The theory "has received mixed reception even within the Anglican Communion."The majority of Anglicans, including those of low church, broad church and high churchmanship, have "followed the major continental Reformers in their doctrine of the true church, identifiable by the authentic ministry of word and sacrament, in their rejection of the jurisdiction of the pope, and in their alliance with the civil authority ". The Church of England historically considered itself "Protestant and Reformed" and recognized as true churches the Continental Reformed Churches, participating in the Synod of Dort in 1618–1619; in 1567, Edmund Grindal, who became the Church of England's Archbishop of Canterbury, declared that "all reformed churches do differ in rites and ceremonies, but we agree with all reformed churches in substance of doctrine."
As such, Anglicans have entered into full communion with bodies such as the Evangelical Church in Germany and in some countries, have merged with Methodist, Presbyterian and Lutheran denominations to form united Protestant Churches, such as the Church of North India, Church of Pakistan, Church of South India, and the Church of Bangladesh for example. For Anglicans of Evangelical churchmanship, the notion of apostolic continuity is seen as "fidelity to the teaching of the apostles as set out in scripture, rather than in historical or institutional terms" and thus they place focus on "the gospel, and the means by which this is proclaimed, articulated, and reinforced--namely, the ministers of word and sacrament."
Catholic
The Catholic Church does not accept that those churches separated by schism or heresy are part of the one true church, maintaining that "there exists a single Church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him". Several Popes have explicitly condemned the Anglican "branch theory". The Catholic Church additionally rejects the validity of Anglican Orders, defined formally in 1896 by Pope Leo XIII in the Papal Bull Apostolicae curae, which declares Anglican Orders "absolutely null and utterly void".Soon after the formulation of the branch theory, in 1864, the Holy Office rejected the branch theory or idea that "the three Christian communions, Catholic, Greek schismatic, and Anglican, however separated and divided from one another, nevertheless with equal right claim for themselves the name "Catholic" and "together now constitute the Catholic Church". In 1870, English bishops attending the First Vatican Council raised objections to the expression Sancta Romana Catholica Ecclesia which appeared in the schema of the First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican's Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Dei Filius.
These bishops proposed that the word "Roman" be omitted or at least that commas be inserted between the adjectives, out of concern that use of the term "Roman Catholic" would lend support to proponents of the branch theory. While the council overwhelmingly rejected this proposal, the text was finally modified to read "Sancta Catholica Apostolica Romana Ecclesia" translated into English either as "the holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church" or, by separating each adjective, as "the holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church".
The 2000 declaration Dominus Iesus by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed that "there exists a single Church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him" and that "the Christian faithful are therefore not permitted to imagine that the Church of Christ is nothing more than a collection – divided, yet in some way one – of Churches and ecclesial communities".
Eastern Orthodox
Non-acceptance of the branch theory by the Eastern Orthodox Church, was in 1853 called unfortunate by the theory's proponent, William Palmer, who wished the Eastern Church to claim to be no more than a part of the whole, not the whole of the true Church. Bishop Kallistos Ware says that "Orthodox writers sometimes speak as if they accepted the 'Branch Theory', once popular among High Church Anglicans", but explains that this opinion "cannot be reconciled with traditional Orthodox theology". Western Orthodox cleric Julian Joseph Overbeck writes:In its official declarations, the Eastern Orthodox Church states that the one true church founded by Jesus Christ is a real identifiable entity and that it is singularly the Orthodox Catholic Church. It has identified itself as the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church" in, for instance, synods held in 1836 and 1838 and in its correspondence with Pope Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII. Adrian Fortescue wrote of the Eastern Orthodox: "The idea of a church made up of mutually excommunicate bodies that teach different articles of faith and yet altogether form one Church is as inconceivable to them as it is to us ". The Eastern Orthodox Church regards neither Catholics nor Protestants as branches of the "One True Church".
The Eastern Orthodox Church is a part of several ecumenical efforts on international, national, and regional levels, such as the World Council of Churches. With respect to branch theory, some conservative Eastern Orthodox, however, take a decidedly anti-ecumenical stand. For example, in 1983 Metropolitan Philaret and the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia stated:
In addition, the Jubilee Council of 2000 of the Church of Russia also condemned "Divided Church" Ecclesiology or the so-called Branch Theory.