Early Church, Denominations

Q

Did the early church have only one denomination, or were there many groups like today?
https://www.quora.com/Did-the-early-church-have-only-one-denomination-or-were-there-many-groups-like-today/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl-1

Hans-Georg Lundahl

Catholic convert, reading many Catechisms

Lord's Day 14.VIII.2022

The Church of the New Testament was exactly “one denomination” (if you use that word, one could also say “pre-denominational”).

Other groups are mentioned, from this time, but regarded as either heretical (Cerinthus, mentioned in St. John’s biography : he ran out of a bath lest he should be caught in it if it collapsed on that darling or son of Satan) or schismatically abusive against normal Church law (this is one explanation of Nicolaites, and probably also of those mentioned in Galatians as “appearing to be pillars of the Church” even if they later chrystallised out as Ebionites).

Gnostics, Marcionites, Ebionites (at least those considering the Old Law obliging for non-Jews, or denying Christ was God) were heretics, not “other denominations” somehow “within” the early Church. Precisely as non-Catholic denominations are now.