Young adults got back into the swing of things Aug. 18 as Catholic a la Carte came back from the summer hiatus. The topic was “Differences in Denominations,” presented by Father Shane Baxter, director of campus ministry.
“This all goes back to the first major split which was in 1054, and it’s called the Great Schism. It was a split between the Orthodox church in the east and the Roman church in the west. It was a split that originated over the divinity of Christ,” Father Baxter said.
Father Baxter elaborated that many of the splits that have taken place since then have originated because of a difference in belief about the nature of Christ.
“There are different ways that denominations see the Trinity and also in how they see Jesus. Some see him as on the same level as God, and some see him as a part of God or God himself. This is where people split from one another,” Father Baxter said.
He talked about the Church of England next and one of the political reasons for a split from the Catholic Church.
“The Church of England split off because basically King Henry wanted a second annulment. This happened in 1534 and for a long time the liturgies were essentially the same. From there we got Methodist and Episcopal.
“The Church of England wasn’t reaching out to the poor areas and John Wesley thought they should. He didn’t think you had to be a bishop to ordain anyone so he ordained guys, and they broke off from there, ministering to the poor,” Father Baxter said.
Father Baxter then moved on to some of the denominations in the United States.
“The Mormons are a group that we don’t really consider Christian. We don’t even recognize their sacrament of baptism because even though they say it in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, they don’t mean what we mean in how they see the trinity,” Father Baxter said.
Catholic a la Carte is a monthly meeting for young adults to come together, listen to a presentation and discuss theology or an issue facing the church over a meal. Meetings are usually held on the third Tuesday of the month with the next one scheduled for Sept. 15.
