5 Historical Facts About Christianity That Most Churches Hide.
The history of how we went from Christs one true Church, to 45,000 versions our faith.
Archangel L. · Updated October 2026 · 4 min read
Every Church has a founder. Only One has Jesus Christ.
Today there are around 45,000 Christian denominations, and the number grows every year. Each one beginning with someone who came 1,000 years after Christ, except for one.
One date on that list is 1,500 years older than the rest.
📖 The whole family tree is on page 10 of the book "Orthodox Faith Made Clear"
What Church Looked Like in 107 AD.
“They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Ignatius, bishop of AntiochSt Ignatius led the church in Antioch, where believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).
On his way to martyrdom in Rome he wrote seven letters describing bishops, priests and deacons, and Communion as the real body of Christ.
The Orthodox church of Antioch still has a bishop descended from Ignatius, ensuring the service still looks the same.
Written about 74 years after the Resurrection.
“I could not have told you what happened in 1054. That's not a complaint about my church, it simply was never taught.”
Samuel S · USABible was organized 334 years after Pentecost, by a bishop.
The first surviving list naming exactly the 27 books in your New Testament comes from Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria.
The Bible didn't arrive as one bound book. The Church decided which writings belonged in it, and the same Church kept the teaching that came with them.
Until then, literacy was not common, and people learned Christianity through prayers, icons, and traditions.
“Hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15
📖 Isn't Tradition adding to the Bible? p. 193 of Orthodox Faith Made Clear
This Sunday, Orthodox churches will pray a service that's about 1,600 years old.
It carries the name of John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople from 398 to 407, and its central prayers come from his time. It is still the regular Sunday service in Orthodox churches around the world, in English, Greek, Russian, Arabic and dozens of other languages.
Most of us have watched our own church change its music, its format, sometimes even its teaching, within a single lifetime. Claiming to be a new revelation
But Christ preached my way or the high way, and here is a service that hasnt changed for 1600 years.
The same prayers, Sunday after Sunday, for about 1,600 years.
📖 A Sunday in the ancient Church, p. 115 of "The Orthodox Faith Made Clear"
“Why are there so many denominations if there was one church? This gave me a straight answer, with dates attached.”
Linda M · USAJesus never taught "faith alone" Until 1522?
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
In 1522, a German translator who started the protestant reformation, by the name of Martin Luther.
Added the word “alone” to Romans 3:28 in his German Bible. And In 1530 he admitted that he knew it “is not in the Greek or Latin text.”
The first Christians didn't see faith and works as different.
📖 Faith alone, or faith and works? p. 201 of "Orthodox Faith Made Clear"
Where most of us learned church history
| Sunday school | Online videos | Thick theology books | This book | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covers AD 33 to today | ✕ | Varies | ✓ | ✓ |
| Every source listed | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Finished in a week | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Illustrated, one idea per page | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Doesn't attack your church | – | Varies | Varies | ✓ |
The Orthodox Faith Made Clear
A 240-page illustrated hardcover that walks you through the faith of the first Christians, with every source listed in the back.
It won't tell you which church to join, or condemn your current one. But give you enough information to decide, in a way a 10 year old could understand it.
Get the bookIs this trying to convert me, or attack my church?
Neither. You won't find a line telling you your church is wrong. It tells the story of the original Church and lets you decide what it means for you.
I'm Baptist, Catholic or non-denominational. Is it for me?
Yes. It was written for every Christian who's wondered where it all began. There's nothing to renounce and nothing to join.
Can I check what it says?
Yes. Every scriptural claim is quoted in context and every date is documented history. The sources are listed in full at the back.