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The traditions

How different Christians pray — and why it looks the way it does.

None of this is a ranking. Each tradition is described the way it would describe itself, so you can walk in anywhere and understand what's happening.

Each guide now has an optional illustrated back story: where the tradition began, what changed it, and why it looks the way it does today.

An ornate Catholic sanctuary with a stone altar, tabernacle, crucifix, statues and stained glass.

Catholic

The Mass at the centre, the sacraments as ordinary doorways to grace, and a family of saints who pray alongside you.

An Orthodox church interior with a golden iconostasis covered in icons and hanging oil lamps.

Orthodox

The Divine Liturgy sung rather than said, icons as windows, and a very old, very patient way of praying.

An English parish church chancel with a wooden holy table, green frontal, brass candlesticks and choir stalls.

Anglican / Episcopal

A prayer book you can hold, morning and evening prayer as a daily rhythm, and a wide range of styles under one roof.

A Lutheran church with a simple altar, cross and candles beneath a large wooden crucifix, with a pipe organ.

Lutheran

Grace first and grace last, a liturgy kept rather than discarded, and hymns doing much of the teaching.

A plain chapel with a central raised pulpit holding an open Bible and a simple communion table below.

Methodist

Warm-hearted faith, hymns by the hundred, an open communion table, and small groups where honesty is expected.

A plain meeting house interior with a high wooden pulpit holding an open Bible, whitewashed walls and wooden pews.

Presbyterian / Reformed

The Word preached at the centre, plainness on purpose, psalms sung, and churches led by elders rather than one figure.

A plain Baptist church platform with a wooden communion table, pulpit and a baptistry pool behind.

Baptist

Baptism when you choose it, a church that governs itself, a plain room, and the Bible in everybody's hands.

A modern church stage with band instruments, microphones, a clear lectern and warm stage lighting.

Pentecostal / Charismatic

Long sung worship, prayer out loud and unscripted, the gifts of the Spirit expected, and hands laid on the sick.

A modern church auditorium with rows of simple chairs, a low stage with a wooden lectern and a plain cross on the wall.

Evangelical / Non-denominational

The Bible taught carefully, a personal relationship with Jesus, band-led worship, and life lived in small groups.

A congregation room with a wooden ark cabinet and draped curtain, a Torah scroll on a reading table and a seven-branched menorah.

Messianic Jewish

Yeshua as Israel's Messiah, Shabbat kept, the feasts of Leviticus celebrated, and the Hebrew roots of the faith held onto.