# Catholic and Reformed and Presbyterian: a Diptych comparison Schema version 1.0. The Diptych displays; it does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 1. In its own words ### Catholic The Catholic Church is the largest single body in Christianity. It understands itself as the continuing church of the apostles, governed by bishops in communion with the Pope, and it carries the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches within one communion. - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) ### Reformed and Presbyterian The Reformed family descends from Zwingli's Zurich and Calvin's Geneva. Its Presbyterian churches are governed by elders in graded courts; its confessions span the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Westminster Standards. - [Reformed and Presbyterian](/tree/reformed-and-presbyterian) ## 2. Scale and spread ### Catholic The Catholic Church counts about 1.38 billion baptized members, close to half of all Christians, organized in more than 3,000 dioceses. The largest populations stand in Latin America, Europe, and Africa, and the church is the largest single Christian body in the world. - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) ### Reformed and Presbyterian The Reformed and Presbyterian family counts roughly 80 million adherents in the churches of the World Communion of Reformed Churches alone, across more than 100 countries, with historic centers in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Korea, and North America. - [Reformed and Presbyterian](/tree/reformed-and-presbyterian) ## 3. Historical timeline ### Catholic - [The christian timeline](/history/christian) - [Council of Jerusalem](/history/events/council-of-jerusalem) - [First Council of Nicaea](/history/events/first-council-of-nicaea) - [Athanasius' 39th Festal Letter](/history/events/athanasius-39th-festal-letter) - [First Council of Constantinople](/history/events/first-council-of-constantinople) - [Council of Ephesus](/history/events/council-of-ephesus) - [Council of Chalcedon](/history/events/council-of-chalcedon) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [The christian timeline](/history/christian) - [First Council of Nicaea](/history/events/first-council-of-nicaea) - [First Council of Constantinople](/history/events/first-council-of-constantinople) - [Luther's Ninety-Five Theses](/history/events/luthers-ninety-five-theses) - [Calvin's Institutes in Final Form; Geneva Academy Founded](/history/events/calvins-institutes-in-final-form-geneva-academy-founded) - [Thirty Years' War](/history/events/thirty-years-war) - [Peace of Westphalia](/history/events/peace-of-westphalia) ## 4. Sources of authority ### Catholic - [New Catholic Dictionary (1910)](/dictionaries/new-catholic-dictionary) - [The Catholic Encyclopedia (1914)](/dictionaries/catholic-encyclopedia) - [CatholicCulture.org Library](/dictionaries/catholic-culture) - [Hail Mary](/prayers-and-creeds/hail-mary) - [Glory Be (Gloria Patri)](/prayers-and-creeds/glory-be) - [Prayers of the Rosary](/prayers-and-creeds/rosary-prayers) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [Belgic Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/belgic-confession) - [Heidelberg Catechism](/prayers-and-creeds/heidelberg-catechism) - [Westminster Confession and Catechisms](/prayers-and-creeds/westminster-confession) ## 5. Ultimate reality ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [Reformed Christianity](/world-views/reformed) ## 6. The human person ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [Reformed Christianity](/world-views/reformed) ## 7. Problem and solution ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [Reformed Christianity](/world-views/reformed) ## 8. Ethics and hard cases ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [Reformed Christianity](/world-views/reformed) ## 9. Practice and devotion ### Catholic - [The Rosary](/devotion/the-rosary) - [Stations of the Cross](/devotion/stations-of-the-cross) - [Novena](/devotion/novena) - [Hail Mary](/prayers-and-creeds/hail-mary) - [Glory Be (Gloria Patri)](/prayers-and-creeds/glory-be) - [Prayers of the Rosary](/prayers-and-creeds/rosary-prayers) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [Belgic Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/belgic-confession) - [Heidelberg Catechism](/prayers-and-creeds/heidelberg-catechism) - [Westminster Confession and Catechisms](/prayers-and-creeds/westminster-confession) ## 10. Community and governance ### Catholic - [Catholic](/church/catholic) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [Reformed and Presbyterian](/church/reformed-and-presbyterian) ## 11. Art and material culture ### Catholic - [The Good Shepherd of the Catacombs](/art/entries/catacomb-good-shepherd) - [Hagia Sophia](/art/entries/hagia-sophia) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [The Beeldenstorm and Reformed Iconoclasm](/art/entries/reformed-iconoclasm) ## 12. Science and technology posture ### Catholic - [Patristic](/science/eras/patristic) - [Medieval European](/science/eras/medieval-european) - [Renaissance and Reformation](/science/eras/renaissance-and-reformation) - [Catholic](/science/traditions/catholic) - [Heliocentric astronomy](/science/technologies/heliocentric-astronomy) - [The telescope](/science/technologies/telescope) - [Evolution by natural selection](/science/technologies/evolution-by-natural-selection) - [Artificial intelligence and human dignity](/science/flashpoints/ai-and-human-dignity) ### Reformed and Presbyterian Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 13. Internal diversity ### Catholic - [Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity](/tree/pentecostal-and-charismatic) - [The Latin Church](/tree/the-latin-church) - [The Eastern Catholic Churches](/tree/the-eastern-catholic-churches) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [Christian Reformed Church in North America](/tree/christian-reformed-church-in-north-america) - [Church of Scotland](/tree/church-of-scotland) - [Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)](/tree/presbyterian-church-u-s-a) - [Presbyterian Church in America](/tree/presbyterian-church-in-america) - [Presbyterian Church of Korea](/tree/presbyterian-church-of-korea) - [Reformed Church in America](/tree/reformed-church-in-america) - [United Reformed Church](/tree/united-reformed-church) ## 14. Contributions ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Reformed and Presbyterian Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 15. Internal critique ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Reformed and Presbyterian Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 16. External critique and reply ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Reformed and Presbyterian Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 17. Contested history ### Catholic - [East-West Schism](/tree/schisms/east-west-schism) - [Protestant Reformation](/tree/schisms/protestant-reformation) - [English Reformation](/tree/schisms/english-reformation) ### Reformed and Presbyterian Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 18. What each says about the other ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ### Reformed and Presbyterian Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ## 19. What this comparison cannot settle ### Catholic This comparison sets two self-descriptions side by side; it does not decide between them. A tradition is a living range of positions, and each panel renders the range this site has documented, which is not the whole of the tradition. Where a cell is marked not yet documented, the gap belongs to this site's documentation, not to the tradition. Questions of truth between the panels turn on premises the reader brings: what counts as evidence, what authority is recognized, and what a human life is for. The instrument does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ### Reformed and Presbyterian This comparison sets two self-descriptions side by side; it does not decide between them. A tradition is a living range of positions, and each panel renders the range this site has documented, which is not the whole of the tradition. Where a cell is marked not yet documented, the gap belongs to this site's documentation, not to the tradition. Questions of truth between the panels turn on premises the reader brings: what counts as evidence, what authority is recognized, and what a human life is for. The instrument does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 20. Sources ### Catholic - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) ### Reformed and Presbyterian - [Reformed and Presbyterian](/tree/reformed-and-presbyterian) ## Sources - Catholic: The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992). - Catholic: Thomas P. Rausch, Towards a Truly Catholic Church (2005). - Reformed and Presbyterian: John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559). - Reformed and Presbyterian: Philip Benedict, Christ's Churches Purely Reformed (2002).