All closeness scores
Every score below is generated by scripts/build_data.py from the doctrine pages and cites the post-750 row (or verdict) it comes from; hover a score or read the note under it for the basis. Scores marked * were set by a documented override (rule O in the method).
Where tiers are contested
The traditions don’t all agree on which doctrines are first-order (see triage §3). This table shows whether any ranking depends on the default tiers.
| Tradition | Most correct (default tiers) | Under its own tiers | In the faith (default) | In the faith (own first-order list) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic | #8 · 77% | #8 · 77% | holds all (95%, 5/16) | holds with qualifications (87%, 7 doctrines) |
| Orthodox | #6 · 80% | #6 · 81% | holds with qualifications (88%, 5/16) | holds with qualifications (91%, 7 doctrines) |
| Oriental Orthodox | #7 · 79% | #7 · 78% | holds with qualifications (88%, 5/16) | holds with qualifications (81%, 6 doctrines) |
| Lutheran | #2 · 91% | #2 · 91% | holds all (100%, 5/16) | holds all (99%, 7 doctrines) |
| Anglican | #1 · 91% | #1 · 91% | holds all (100%, 5/16) | holds all (100%, 5 doctrines) |
| Presbyterian | #5 · 85% | #5 · 85% | holds all (100%, 5/16) | holds all (97%, 6 doctrines) |
| Reformed Baptist | #4 · 87% | #4 · 86% | holds all (100%, 5/16) | holds all (97%, 6 doctrines) |
| General Baptist | #3 · 87% | #3 · 87% | holds all (98%, 5/16) | holds all (98%, 5 doctrines) |
| Anabaptist | #9 · 76% | #9 · 76% | holds all (88%, 5/16) | holds all (88%, 5 doctrines) |
"Own tiers" moves the doctrines a tradition ranks differently (listed under "Where the tier is contested" on each doctrine page) into that tradition's tier, then recomputes the tier-weighted Scripture score for that tradition only. The rank compares it with the other traditions' default scores.
Every question
The Trinity
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F01.1 | One God, three co-equal, consubstantial persons: consensus from T1 (deity of Christ) to the councils | High (1) | 4* Lateran IV; Athanasian Creed | 4* Dositheus 1 | 4* Nerses: 'one essence, one sovereignty, one power and one glory' (verified) | 4* AC I | 4* Art. I | 4* WCF II.3 | 4* 1689 2.3 | 4* Orthodox Creed 3 and the three creeds (to verify article) | 4* Dordrecht I: 'one eternal, almighty, and incomprehensible God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost' (verified) |
One person, God and man
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F04.1 | One person, fully God and fully man (consensus from T1); the formula splits after 451 between ‘in two natures’ (Chalcedon) and ‘one incarnate nature’ (Cyril, Severus) | High (1) | 4* Chalcedon received | 4* Chalcedon received | 4* Severus: 'one nature of God the Word incarnate' (verified); full deity and humanity confessed, Chalcedon rejected | 4* AC III; Formula of Concord VIII | 4* Art. II: 'two whole and perfect Natures ... joined together in one Person' | 4* WCF VIII.2 | 4* 1689 8.2 | 4* Orthodox Creed (Christ's two natures; to verify article) | 3* Menno Simons, *True Confession ... of the Incarnation*: Christ 'the Lord from heaven ... generated and nourished in Mary' ('in', not 'of', Mary: the celestial-flesh position), yet 'truly flesh and blood ... like unto us in all things, yet without sin' (verified) |
Sin and the need for grace
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F08.1 | Real fall; death and corruption passed to all | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.1 | 4* Overall verdict: 'No tradition departs on O1.' | 4* Affirmed | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.1 | 4* Affirmed | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.1 | 4* Affirmed | 4* Affirmed | 4* Affirmed |
| F08.2 | Grace precedes the beginning of faith (Western conciliar) | High (W) / medium (0.5) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.2 | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': F08.2 nearer Cassian than Orange | 2* Synergy, like the Greek fathers (to verify) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.2 | 4* Art. X: 'without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will' | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.2 | 4* 1689 10.2: effectual call 'of God's free and special grace alone' | 3* SC 1660 art. 7: the Spirit makes them able, 'without which they are altogether unable'; art. 4 grace gives all a 'capacity' | 3* Dordrecht III: God calls fallen man despite 'utter inability' (prevenient call) |
Salvation by grace through faith in Christ
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F12.1 | No works precede initial justification (Clement, Chrysostom, Augustine, Orange; Hilary, Ambrosiaster, Basil ‘faith alone’, secondary). Justin and Irenaeus target Mosaic ordinances | High (initial) / medium (final) (0.5) | 4* Trent VI ch. 8: nothing that precedes justification merits it | 3* Dositheus 13: faith working through love; less sharp on prior works | 3* Grace and cooperation (to verify; sources thin) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F12.1 | 4* Art. XI 'not for our own works or deservings'; Art. XIII works before grace 'are not pleasant to God' | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F12.1 | 4* 1689 11.1: 'not for anything wrought in them, or done by them' | 4* SC 1660 art. 6: 'the way set forth by God for men to be justified in, is by faith in Christ' | 3* Dordrecht VI: ceremonies avail nothing 'without faith, regeneration'; strong stress on reformation of life |
General resurrection and eternal life
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F14.1 | Resurrection of the same flesh | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F14.1 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F14.1 | 4* Affirmed | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F14.1 | 4* Affirmed | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F14.1 | 4* Affirmed | 4* SC 1660 art. 20: 'the fleshy bodies of men ... shall be raised again' | 4* Affirmed |
Nature of justification
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S01.1 | Paul: declarative core. Fathers: forensic and transformative held together, undistinguished | High / high (1) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.1/S01.5 decided as a binary (can. 11) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.1 blend | 4* Participatory, non-forensic framing in the liturgies and Severus (to verify; sources thin) | 2* FC III separates the declaration from renewal; the fathers hold them together | 2* Art. XI: 'accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord' | 2* WCF XI.1: 'not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous' | 2* 1689 11.1: 'not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous' (forensic, separated from renewal) | 3* SC 1660 art. 6: faith 'accounted unto them for righteousness', joined to a resolve of 'subjection to all his Commandments' | 4* Dordrecht VI: through faith 'we obtain forgiveness of sins, are sanctified, justified, and made children of God, yea, partake of His mind, nature, and image' |
| S01.2 | Augustine: free justification, works do not precede it; content ‘made righteous’; ‘reckoned’ allowed | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.2 (Augustine) | 2* Less Augustinian; follows the Greek fathers | 2* Pre-Augustinian Greek line (to verify) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.2 (forensic distinct from renewal) | 2* Art. XI forensic, but the Homily of Salvation (to verify) cites Augustine at length | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.2 | 1* Same as Presbyterian: separates 'reckoned' from 'made righteous' (1689 11.1) | 2* SC 1660 art. 6 joins 'accounted' with resolve of obedience | 3* Dordrecht VI: 'justified, and made children of God' together |
| S01.3 | Forgiveness tied to baptism; post-baptismal sin handled through almsgiving and penance (Cyprian) | High / medium (0.5) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.3 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.3 | 4* Baptism for remission in the non-Chalcedonian rites (to verify) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.3 | 3* Art. XXVII: 'as by an instrument ... the promises of forgiveness of sin ... are visibly signed and sealed' | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.3 | 1* 1689 29.1: baptism a 'sign of his fellowship with him ... remission of sins' (sign, not instrument) | 2* SC 1660 art. 5: 'Baptizes in his name for the remission of Sins' | 1* Dordrecht VII: baptism follows regeneration, 'to the burying of their sins' |
| S01.4 | James: living faith perfected and vindicated by works; not a co-ground | Med–high (0.75) | 2* Trent VI canon 24: works increase justification | 2* Dositheus 13: works 'meriting' | 2* Faith and works together toward final salvation (to verify) | 4* Works are fruits (AC VI) | 4* Art. XII: good works 'spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith' | 4* WCF XVI: works are fruits and evidences | 4* 1689 16.2: works 'the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith' | 4* SC 1660 art. 14: without holiness the profession is 'of no effect'; works as fruit | 3* Dordrecht VI: 'genuine fruits of repentance'; obedience emphasised |
| S01.5 | Exchange language compatible with imputation; not the formulated doctrine | Medium (0.5) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.1/S01.5 decided as a binary (can. 11) | 2* Dositheus rejects faith as a 'hand' | 2* No imputation category (to verify) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.5 | 4* Art. XI: accounted righteous 'only for the merit of our Lord' | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.5 | 4* 1689 11.1: 'imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law, and passive obedience in his death' | 4* Orthodox Creed: Christ's 'Mediatoral Righteousness ... is imputed, reckoned, or made over to us' (OCR-verified); SC 1660 art. 6 | 2* No imputation language in Dordrecht or Schleitheim |
Post-750 notes not tied to a question ID (shown for transparency, not scored unless marked *):
Catholic: close: Carthage c. 111; departs: increase through works (can. 24)
Orthodox: close: participatory frame; departs: Dositheus 13 rejects the 'faith as hand' image that Basil and Chrysostom's 'faith alone' sits near
Presbyterian: departs: active-obedience imputation
Baptism: subjects
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S02.1 | Infant baptism attested from c. 200, unchallenged in principle; delay sometimes advised | High (attested) / low–med (apostolic origin) (0.375) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S02.1 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S02.1 (immersion kept) | 4* Infant baptism universal in the non-Chalcedonian churches | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S02.1 | 4* Art. XXVII: 'The Baptism of young Children is in any wise to be retained' | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S02.1 | 0* 1689 29.2: only 'those who do actually profess repentance' | 0* SC 1660 art. 11: 'that Scriptureless thing of Sprinkling of Infants (falsly called Baptisme)' | 0* Schleitheim 1: 'This excludes all infant baptism, the highest and chief abomination of the pope' |
Baptism: effect
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S03.1 | Baptism is the ordinary means of regeneration and remission (faith presupposed) | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.1 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.1 and S03.2 (immersion kept) | 4* Baptism as new birth in the Syriac, Coptic and Armenian rites (to verify) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.1 | 4* Art. XXVII: 'a sign of Regeneration or new Birth, whereby, as by an instrument'; 1662 Publick Baptism: 'Seeing now ... that this Child is regenerate and grafted into the body of Christ's Church' (verified) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S03.1 and S03.2 weakened | 1* 1689 29.1: a 'sign' of fellowship, ingrafting, regeneration | 1* SC 1660 art. 11: baptism follows profession of 'repentance ... and faith' | 1* Schleitheim 1: baptism for those 'who have learned repentance'; Dordrecht VII; Menno: infants 'cannot be taught, therefore, baptism cannot be administered to them' (verified) |
| S03.2 | Ordinarily necessary; martyrdom an exception | High; infants' fate low consensus (0.25) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.2 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.1 and S03.2 (immersion kept) | 4* Necessary in the non-Chalcedonian rites (to verify) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.2 | 4* 1662 Catechism: 'Two only, as generally necessary to salvation, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord' | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S03.1 and S03.2 weakened | 1* 1689 ch. 29: an ordinance of 'positive and sovereign institution' (28.1); not said to be necessary to salvation | 1* SC 1660: necessary for church order, not salvation; Orthodox Creed 28 rejects Limbus for unbaptized infants (OCR-verified) | 1* Dordrecht VI: no outward ceremony avails without faith |
Eucharist: presence
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S04.1 | Real, objective presence; ‘figure’ and ‘sacrament’ language does not deny it | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S04.1 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S04.1 | 4* Armenian Badarak: 'let us taste of the holy, holy and precious body and blood of our Lord ... This is life, hope of resurrection, propitiation and remission of sins' (verified) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S04.1 | 2* Art. XXVIII: 'the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ', 'only after an heavenly and spiritual manner' | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S04.1 realism | 1* 1689 30.7: Christ 'spiritually present to the faith of believers' | 1* SC 1660 art. 13: 'breaking of Bread' (no doctrine of presence stated; Orthodox Creed 33 to verify) | 1* Dordrecht X: kept 'in remembrance of Him'; Menno: 'a living and an affecting sign' (verified) |
| S04.2 | Real change, mode undefined; elements’ nature persists (Theodoret) | High (1) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S04.2 substance metaphysics | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S04.2 ('unsearchable') | 4* Real change, mode undefined (to verify) | 0 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S04.2 no change | 1* Art. XXVIII: transubstantiation 'repugnant to the plain words of Scripture' | 1* WCF XXIX.6: transubstantiation 'repugnant ... to common sense' | 1* 1689 30.6 rejects transubstantiation | 1* No change taught | 1* No change taught |
Post-750 notes not tied to a question ID (shown for transparency, not scored unless marked *):
Orthodox: departs: Dositheus borrows Latin terms
Presbyterian: close: Augustine's sign distinction
Eucharist: sacrifice
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S05.1 | True sacrifice (Mal 1:11); propitiatory precision is later | High / med–low (0.375) | 2 Listed under both 'closest' (S05.1) and 'departs or sharpens' (S05.1 propitiatory precision) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S05.1 | 4* Armenian Badarak: 'Son of God, Who art sacrificed to the Father for reconciliation'; Nerses Shnorhali calls it 'the Holy Sacrifice' (verified) | 0 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S05.1 rejected | 1* Art. XXXI: 'the sacrifices of Masses ... were blasphemous fables' | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S05.1 | 0* 1689 30.2: 'nor any real sacrifice made at all for remission of sin', 'only a memorial' | 1* No sacrifice language (SC 1660 art. 13) | 1* Dordrecht X: remembrance only |
Number and nature of sacraments
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S06.1 | An anointing and laying on of hands invoking the Spirit followed baptism as part of one rite (T2 onward); a separate later sacrament is a later development | Med–high (0.75) | 3* Confirmation a distinct sacrament (Trent VII), separated in time from baptism in the West | 4* Chrismation in one rite with baptism | 4* Chrismation with baptism (Coptic and Armenian rites; to verify) | 2* Not a sacrament; catechetical confirmation (AC XIII lists none) | 3* 1662 Confirmation: bishop's laying on of hands; Art. XXV not a sacrament of the Gospel | 1* WCF XXVII: only two sacraments; no rite | 1* 1689 28: only two ordinances | 4* SC 1660 art. 12: baptized believers come to 'Prayer and Laying on of Hands, that they may receive the promise of the holy Spirit' (verified) | 1* No rite |
| S06.2 | Confession and reconciliation through the church’s ministers (public penance, T2–T3); obligatory private enumeration is later | Medium (0.5) | 2* Trent XIV: auricular confession of all mortal sins necessary by divine law | 3* Confession to a priest with absolution | 3* Confession and absolution (to verify) | 3* AC XI: private absolution retained, enumeration not required | 3* 1662 Visitation of the Sick: absolution after special confession | 2* WCF XXX: censures and church discipline; no absolution rite | 2* 1689 26: discipline by the congregation | 2* Congregational discipline | 3* Schleitheim 2: the ban, with admonition before the breaking of bread; resembles early public discipline |
| S06.3 | Anointing of the sick by elders for healing and forgiveness (Jas 5; T3); restriction to the dying is later | Medium (0.5) | 2* Trent XIV: 'extreme unction', for those in danger of death | 4* Euchelaion for the sick | 4* Anointing of the sick (to verify) | 1* Not practised | 1* Art. XXV: 'corrupt following of the Apostles'; no anointing in 1662 | 1* Not practised | 1* Not in the 1689 | 2* Practised among some General Baptists (to verify) | 1* Not in Schleitheim or Dordrecht |
| S06.4 | Marriage a holy, indissoluble bond (sacramentum, Augustine); not yet a counted sacrament | Medium (0.5) | 3* Trent XXIV: a sacrament; indissoluble | 2* A mystery; divorce and remarriage allowed by economy | 3* A mystery (to verify) | 3* Holy estate, not a sacrament | 3* Art. XXV: 'states of life allowed in the Scriptures' | 2* WCF XXIV.5–6: divorce for adultery or desertion | 2* 1689 25: marriage; divorce not addressed in detail (to verify) | 3* Orthodox Creed 43 on family duties (to verify) | 3* Dordrecht XII: marriage 'in the Lord'; separation only for fornication |
Scripture and tradition
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S07.1 | Scripture the supreme and sufficient norm of doctrine, read within the apostolic rule of faith; unwritten customs honoured (Basil) but not a second source of doctrine | Med–high (0.75) | 3* Trent IV: Scripture and traditions received 'with an equal affection of piety'; Basil supports honouring tradition, but co-equality goes beyond the evidence | 4* Dositheus 2: the Church's witness 'not of inferior authority' to Scripture; matches Basil's 'same force' but lacks biblical warrant | 4* Scripture within the tradition of the three councils (Nerses Shnorhali, *I Confess with Faith*: 'Instructed by the holy Doctors'); co-equality inferred, to verify | 3* Scripture the norming norm; confessions normed by it; little room for the rule-of-faith role Irenaeus gives the churches | 4* Art. VI: 'whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required'; Art. VIII receives the creeds; Art. XX: the Church 'a witness and a keeper of holy Writ' | 3* WCF I.6: 'nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men' | 3* 1689 1.1: 'the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule' | 4* Orthodox Creed 37 (OCR-verified): Scripture's authority 'dependeth not upon the Authority of any Man'; art. 38 receives the three creeds | 2* Dordrecht V: nothing may be added to Christ's New Testament; no creeds or rule of faith received; New Testament priority strains the OT's place |
| S07.2 | Split: Hebrew canon plus books ‘read’ (Athanasius, Cyril) vs. wider canon (Augustine, Carthage) | Medium (0.5) | 3* Trent IV: wider canon defined | 3* Wider canon (Jerusalem 1672); anagignoskomena distinction survives in practice | 3* Widest canon in the Ethiopian church (1 Enoch, Jubilees); to verify | 3* Apocrypha printed and read, not held equal (Luther's Bible prefaces; to verify) | 3* Art. VI: the other books 'the Church doth read for example of life ... but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine', Athanasius's two tiers exactly | 3* WCF I.3: Apocrypha 'no otherwise to be approved, or made use of, than other human writings' | 3* 1689 1.3: same as WCF | 3* Orthodox Creed 37 lists the canonical books (to verify list) | 3* Dordrecht II cites 4 Esdras 3:7 alongside Scripture |
| S07.3 | Interpretation within the apostolic churches’ rule of faith and their councils; no single infallible office | Medium (0.5) | 2* Vatican I: papal definitions infallible 'of themselves'; beyond the rule-of-faith model | 4* Councils received by the church as the voice of the fathers | 4* Three councils as the norm of interpretation; to verify | 3* Confessions as a norm normed by Scripture | 4* Art. XX: the Church 'hath authority in Controversies of Faith' but may not 'expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another'; Art. XXI councils 'may err' | 3* WCF XXXI.4: synods 'may err; and many have erred' | 2* 1689 26: congregational; associations advise but have no jurisdiction, which fits Acts 15 less well | 3* Orthodox Creed 39 (General Councils and Assemblies; to verify wording) | 2* Congregational discernment only; no councils |
Papal primacy and infallibility
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S08.1 | Peter led the apostles; the Roman church held a primacy of honour and a leading role in guarding the tradition (T1–T2), without universal jurisdiction | Medium (0.5) | 2* Vatican I: Peter's primacy of jurisdiction passes to the Roman pontiff | 4* Rome's primacy of honour before the schism | 3* Primacy among patriarchates recognised historically; Leo's Tome rejected (to verify) | 2* Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope: no primacy by divine right | 2* Art. XXXVII: 'The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England' | 1* WCF XXV.6: the Pope 'that Antichrist, that man of sin' | 1* 1689 26.4: the Pope 'that antichrist, that man of sin' | 2* No primacy; Orthodox Creed 39 (to verify) | 2* No primacy |
| S08.2 | Not supported: privileges of sees were customary and regional (Nicaea 6; Chalcedon 28); Gregory the Great rejects ‘universal bishop’ | Med–high (0.75) | 1* Vatican I, *Pastor Aeternus* 3–4: universal jurisdiction; definitions 'irreformable of themselves' | 4* Rejected | 4* Rejected | 4* Rejected (Smalcald Articles II.4) | 4* Art. XXXVII; Art. XXI councils may err | 3* Rejected, with the 'Antichrist' identification going beyond the evidence | 3* Rejected, with the 'Antichrist' identification | 4* Rejected | 4* Rejected |
Predestination and election
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S11.1 | Free choice universally affirmed; defended against fate and natures | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S11.1 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S11.1 | 4* Free will strongly affirmed (to verify) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S11.1 (bondage of will) sharper than the fathers | 2* Art. X: man 'cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength' | 2* WCF IX.1 natural liberty; IX.3 total inability to spiritual good | 2* 1689 9.3: 'wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good' | 4* SC 1660 art. 4: all men 'put into such a capacity, as that (through the grace of God) they may be eternally saved' | 4* Dordrecht III/V: salvation offered to all; only the 'unbelieving and disobedient' excluded |
| S11.2 | Split in the fathers: Augustine’s unconditional election vs. the foreknowledge line (no T1 text verified); Scripture favours election by God’s purpose (Rom 9:11–16; Eph 1:5, 11); no double decree in either | Medium (0.5) | 2* Departs column says 'S3 mostly Augustinian': on a split question it follows one named patristic strand (Augustine) rather than departing from all of them | 3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S11.2 (foreknowledge) (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand) | 3* Election by foreknowledge (to verify) | 3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S11.2 single (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand) | 3* Art. XVII: single predestination to life, 'by his counsel secret to us' | 2 Listed under both 'closest' (S11.2 (A)) and 'departs or sharpens' (S11.2 double decree) | 3* 1689 3.3: 'others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation' (preterition; no parallel decree) | 3* SC 1660 art. 8: elect are 'such as believe', yet election 'not ... from fore-seen faith'; art. 9 ungodly ordained to condemnation 'considered as such' | 3* Dordrecht V: no one excluded 'except the unbelieving and disobedient'; no doctrine of decree |
Perseverance of the saints
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S13.1 | Regenerate can fall; final perseverance cannot be known with certainty | High (Augustine) (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S13.1 | 4* Believers can fall away | 4* Believers can fall (to verify) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S13.1 | 3* Art. XVI: 'we may depart from grace given'; Art. XVII offers comfort of election | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S13.1 assurance of perseverance | 1* 1689 17.1: 'can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace' | 2* Standards conflict: Orthodox Creed art. 36 says the elect 'shall certainly persevere unto Eternal Life' (OCR-verified); SC 1660 art. 18: true believers 'may nevertheless for want of watchfulness, swerve and turn aside ... and become as withered Branches' | 4* Dordrecht XVI: a baptised member may sin 'unto death ... forfeiting the kingdom of God' |
Original sin: guilt or corruption
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S14.1 | East: corruption and mortality (with liability); West from Cyprian: another’s sin remitted in infants; Augustine systematizes | Med–high (0.75) | 3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S14.1 (Augustinian) (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand) | 3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S14.1 (East) (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand) | 3* Eastern line: corruption and mortality (to verify) | 3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S14.1 (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand) | 3* Art. IX: 'it deserveth God's wrath and damnation' | 3* WCF VI.3 guilt imputed (Western line, sharpened) | 3* 1689 6.3: 'the guilt of the sin was imputed' | 3* SC 1660 art. 10: infants 'only subject to the first death', not eternal punishment for Adam's sin | 3* Dordrecht II: 'brought upon themselves the wrath of God, and condemnation' |
| S14.2 | ἐφ᾽ ᾧ = ‘because’; the doctrine does not depend on in quo alone | Med–high (0.75) | not assessed | not assessed | not assessed | not assessed | not assessed | not assessed | not assessed | not assessed | not assessed |
| S14.3 | Difference of emphasis, not contradiction | Medium (0.5) | 3* Free will weakened (Trent VI canon 5) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S14.3 | 4* Eastern emphasis (to verify) | 2* Bondage of the will | 3* Art. X | 2* WCF IX.3 | 2* 1689 9.3 | 3* SC 1660 art. 7 | 3* Dordrecht III 'utter inability' with universal call |
Post-750 notes not tied to a question ID (shown for transparency, not scored unless marked *):
Catholic: departs: Concupiscence not sin (vs. Lutheran and Presbyterian)
Lutheran: departs: Concupiscence is truly sin
Orthodox: departs: Modern rejection of any guilt goes beyond Chrysostom's 'liable to punishment'
Presbyterian: departs: Federal imputation; departs: total depravity
Filioque
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S15.1 | Split: from the Father through the Son (East; the 381 creed) vs. from the Father principally and the Son (Augustine); creed insertion of filioque is later | Medium (0.5) | 2* Florence (1439): from the Father and the Son 'as from one principle'; creed insertion | 3* From the Father; Photian 'alone' sharper than 'through the Son' | 3* Nerses Shnorhali: 'emanating, as to its essence, from the Father alone' (verified) | 2* Filioque in the Nicene and Athanasian creeds as used | 2* Art. V: 'proceeding from the Father and the Son' | 2* WCF II.3: 'eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son' | 2* 1689 2.3: 'proceeding from the Father and the Son' | 2* Receives the Nicene and Athanasian creeds in the Western form (Orthodox Creed 38; to verify wording) | not assessed |
Chalcedonian and miaphysite wording
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S16.2 | Two natural wills and operations, not opposed (Constantinople III), grounded in Gregory’s ’not assumed, not healed' | Med–high (0.75) | 4* Constantinople III received | 4* Constantinople III received | 2* Severus rejects Leo's two operations (verified); one theandric will and operation | 3* Two natures with their properties (FC VIII); wills not addressed explicitly | 3* Art. II two natures; wills implicit | 3* WCF VIII.2 'two whole, perfect, and distinct natures'; wills implicit | 3* 1689 8.2; wills implicit | 3* Wills implicit; to verify | not assessed |
Purgatory and prayers for the dead
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S17.1 | Prayers and offerings for the dead from c. 200; liturgical by c. 350 | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S17.1 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S17.1 and S17.2 | 4* Armenian Badarak: 'grant rest to the souls of us that are fallen asleep' (verified); Coptic diptych (secondary-attested) | 2 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': partly S17.1 | 1* Homily concerning Prayer, part 3: 'neither let us dream any more, that the souls of the dead are anything at all holpen by our prayers' (verified) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S17.1 | 1* 1689 22.4: prayer not 'for the dead' | 1* Not practised | 1* Not practised |
| S17.2 | Post-mortem purification taught from Augustine (T3), anticipated in a T2 vision (Perpetua); no clear Scripture basis; not the later defined purgatory | Medium (0.5) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S17.2 over-defined | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S17.1 and S17.2 | 3* No purgatory, but prayers aid the departed (to verify) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S17.2 | 1* Art. XXII | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S17.2 | 1* No purgatory (1689 31.1) | 1* No purgatory | 1* No purgatory |
Post-750 notes not tied to a question ID (shown for transparency, not scored unless marked *):
Orthodox: departs: Openness to restoration among some (minority)
Veneration of icons and relics
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S19.1 | Honour of relics attested from c. 155; universal by the 4th century | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3 | 4* Relics honoured | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.1 | 1* Art. XXII | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3 | 1* Rejects | 1* Rejects | 1* Rejects |
| S19.2 | Honour distinguished from worship (τιμή, not λατρεία) | High / medium (0.5) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3 | 4* Severus preached at the martyrs' chapel on 'the commemoration of the martyrs' (Select Letters, verified); veneration practice to verify | 1* Memory without veneration | 1* Art. XXII: 'Adoration ... of Reliques' a fond thing | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3 | 1* 1689 22.2 | 1* Rejects | 1* Rejects |
| S19.3 | Miracles through relics affirmed | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3 | 4* Affirmed (to verify) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.3 practice | 1* Not affirmed | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3 | 1* Not affirmed | 1* Not affirmed | 1* Not affirmed |
| S19.4 | Minority objection (Vigilantius) rejected | High (1) | 4* Overall verdict: 'Catholic and Orthodox match the patristic consensus' (which rejected Vigilantius) | 4* Overall verdict: 'Catholic and Orthodox match the patristic consensus' (which rejected Vigilantius) | 4* Patristic consensus | 1* Rejects veneration, Vigilantius's side in effect | 0* Art. XXII | 0* Closest column: 'Vigilantius's side'; overall verdict: 'revives an objection the patristic church rejected' | 0* Vigilantius's side | 0* Vigilantius's side | 0* Vigilantius's side |
| S19.5 | Scripture permits made images (cherubim) but forbids representing the invisible God; no T1–T2 support for images in worship; early evidence hostile (Epiphanius); settled for icons only in 787 (T4) | Med–high (0.75) | 4* Closest column: 'Nicaea II', the council the I1 verdict says settled the question in 787 | 4* Closest column: 'Nicaea II (fullest)' | 3* Icons used; did not receive Nicaea II; Armenian iconophobic currents (to verify) | 3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.5 partly | 1* Homily against Peril of Idolatry, part 3: 'all images of Christ and his saints also were forbidden by God's word' in churches (verified) | 1* Departs column: 'Nicaea II', the settlement named in the I1 verdict | 1* 1689 22.1: not worshipped 'under any visible representations' | 1* Rejects images in worship (Orthodox Creed, to verify) | 1* No images in worship |
| S19.6 | προσκύνησις/λατρεία distinction applied to images has no biblical warrant (Exod 20:5 forbids bowing to images) and no T1–T3 support; a T4 (7th–8th-c.) development | Medium (0.5) | 3* Follows Nicaea II, but the revised I2 verdict (proximity review) finds that applying the distinction to images is a T4 development with no T1–T3 support. The tradition matches one late strand only (rule 3). | 3* Same as Catholic: matches the T4 strand (Nicaea II), which has no T1–T3 support per the revised I2 verdict. | 3* Veneration practised (to verify) | 2* Rejects veneration (departs from T4) but agrees with the T1–T3 silence: mixed. | 2* Art. XXII: adoration of images 'a fond thing vainly invented' | 2* Rejects the T4 settlement but agrees with the T1–T3 silence on icon veneration: mixed (rule 2). | 2* 1689 22.2: worship 'not to angels, saints, or any other creatures' | 2* No veneration | 2* No veneration |
| S19.7 | Real early opposition (Epiphanius) | Medium (0.5) | not assessed | not assessed | not assessed | not assessed | 3* The Homily against Peril of Idolatry, part 2, quotes Epiphanius tearing the painted curtain (verified) | 3* Closest column: 'Epiphanius', the early opposition named in I3; overall verdict: 'a real patristic foothold ... but not a consensus' | 3* Agrees with early opposition | 3* Agrees with early opposition | 3* Agrees with early opposition |
Post-750 notes not tied to a question ID (shown for transparency, not scored unless marked *):
Catholic: close: Nicaea II
Lutheran: close: Memory of saints
Orthodox: close: Nicaea II (fullest)
Presbyterian: close: Epiphanius; departs: Nicaea II; close: Vigilantius's side
Penal substitution and satisfaction
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S20.1 | Substitution widely present | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.1 | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': Underplays S20.1 and S20.2 | 3* Present (to verify) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.1 | 4* Art. XXXI: 'perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction' | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.1 | 4* 1689 8.4–5 | 4* SC 1660 art. 3: 'gave himself a ransome for all ... a propitiation' | 3* Dordrecht IV: 'yielded up as a sacrifice and offering' |
| S20.2 | Divine sentence/law satisfied; not honour-satisfaction or explicit wrath on the Son | Medium (0.5) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.2 | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': Underplays S20.1 and S20.2 | 3* Not penal (to verify) | 2* Sharper penal accent than the fathers | 4* Art. II: 'a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins' | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.2 | 4* 1689 8.5: 'fully satisfied the justice of God' | 4* SC 1660 art. 3 propitiation | 3* Sacrifice, little penal precision (Dordrecht IV) |
Post-750 notes not tied to a question ID (shown for transparency, not scored unless marked *):
Catholic: departs: Anselmic framework (1098)
Lutheran: departs: Sharper penal accent
Presbyterian: departs: Penal precision; departs: limited atonement
Mode of baptism
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T04.1 | Immersion (threefold) is the norm; pouring permitted | High (1) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': T04.1 (pouring normal) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T04.1 (immersion kept) | 4* Immersion kept (to verify) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': T04.1 practice | 4* 1662 rubric: the priest 'shall dip it in the Water discreetly and warily', 'But if they certify that the Child is weak, it shall suffice to pour Water upon it' (verified) | 1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': T04.1 | 3* 1689 29.4: 'Immersion, or dipping of the person in water, is necessary' (immersion, but pouring not permitted) | 3* SC 1660 art. 11: 'Baptise (that is in English to Dip)'; Orthodox Creed 28 'by Immersion or Dipping' (OCR-verified) | 2* Dordrecht VII is silent on mode; Dutch Mennonite practice was pouring (to verify) |
Atonement models beyond the core
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T06.1 | Victory pervasive; devil-ransom disputed (Nyssa vs Nazianzen) | High / low (0.25) | 3* Affirmed, less central | 3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T06.1 (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand) | 4* Central in the Syriac and Coptic liturgies (to verify) | 4* Central in Luther | 3* Affirmed in the BCP collects | 3* Affirmed (WCF VIII) | 3* 1689 8.10 | 3* Affirmed (to verify article) | 4* Dordrecht IV: 'bruised the serpent's head, destroyed the works of the devil' |
| T06.2 | Recapitulation foundational, integrates the other motifs | High (1) | 3* Affirmed | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T06.2 | 4* Central (to verify) | 3* Affirmed | 3* Affirmed | 3* Federal Adam–Christ | 3* Federal Adam–Christ (1689 ch. 7) | 3* Adam–Christ (SC 1660 art. 10) | 3* Dordrecht III–IV: Christ restores the fallen race |
Intermediate state
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T09.1 | Conscious intermediate state (rest or affliction) | High (1) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T09.1 | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T09.1 | 4* Affirmed (to verify) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T09.1 | 4* Affirmed | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T09.1 | 4* Affirmed | 4* Affirmed | 4* Affirmed |
Final punishment
Category page · overall verdict
| Q | Verdict | Confidence (weight) | Catholic | Orthodox | Oriental Orthodox | Lutheran | Anglican | Presbyterian | Reformed Baptist | General Baptist | Anabaptist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T10.1 | Eternal punishment the consensus; restoration a real minority (Nyssa); annihilation negligible; 553 targets the Origenist system | High / medium (0.5) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T10.1 | 2* Departs column: 'Openness to restoration among some (minority)'; the L5 verdict names restoration as a real patristic minority (Nyssa), and the overall verdict says 'L5 majority A, with tolerance of a minority hope' | 4* Eternal punishment (to verify) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T10.1 | 4* Athanasian Creed (Art. VIII) | 4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T10.1 | 4* 1689 32.2 | 4* SC 1660 art. 21: 'An eternal Judgment' | 4* Dordrecht XVIII: 'everlasting pains of hell, where their worm shall not die' |