Western Christendom

Western Christianity consists of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church and a variety of Protestant denominations. The name has been applied in order to distinguish these from Eastern Christianity.

Western Christianity initially developed in Europe and Northwest Africa during the first centuries A.D., and later also came to predominate in Southern Africa, throughout Australia, and the Western Hemisphere. Thus, when used for historical periods since the 16th century, the term "Western Christianity" often refers collectively to the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations combined, especially to their shared theological, doctrinal, and liturgical traits, rather than to their differences.

Today, the geographical distinction between Western and Eastern Christianity is not nearly as absolute, due to the spread of missionary activities, migrations, and general globalisation. The adjectives "Western Christianity" and "Eastern Christianity" are thus typically used to refer to historical origins rather than present geographical locations.

For most of its history the church in Europe has been divided between the Latin-speaking west, whose centre was Rome, and the Greek-speaking east, whose centre was Constantinople. Cultural differences and political rivalry created tensions between the two churches, leading to disagreement over doctrine and ecclesiology and ultimately to schism.

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