First of all, this is the wrong question. The "church" doesn't belong to people.
The true Church is not an organization; the Church is a living organism.
The true Church is not brick and mortar.
In the ultimate meaning of the word, the Church is not really even an institution -- even though out of necessity these days, it has institutional dimensions.
The Greek word for "church" is ecclesia -- or ekklesia. It means "called-out ones." In other words, the church is "people."
Yes, people wear all kinds of distinct identity labels. But ultimately God's people belong to...yup, you guessed it: God (not people -- as thesaleboat mistakenly implies).
What thesaleboat is really asking here is: "How Old are your denominational traditions?"
thesaleboat seems to be attempting to make a few points here:
* The Protestant church is divided; Roman Catholics aren't;
* Due to latter "start dates" for Protestant traditions, these are somehow not genuine.
Allow me to address the second point briefly here...and then I'll reinforce it AND tackle the first bullet point in the next post.
At least four Roman Catholic "orders" are commonly known:
* Benedictines, 6th century start;
* Franciscans, 13th century start;
* Dominicans, 13th century start though following in Augustinian rules going back centuries previous to that;
* Jesuits, 16th century start
Are you telling us, the saleboat...that because these were "man-made enterprises" (along with the dozens of other Catholic-umbrella orders)...and that ALL of them started quite Johnny-come-lately...that there's something not "genuine" or "authentic" about ALL of them?
Really?
And aren't these man-made orders simply set-apart sanctuaries and outposts for ministry and spiritual growth, with a thematic “rule” governing each one?
Hence, haven't they operated as a sort of “mini-denominations” operating under the broader umbrella of Roman Catholicism?
Not really. They are set up to focus on one particular aspect of the Faith - but they are required to be wholly compliant with the Faith.
Some are monastic, some mendicant, some teaching, but again, they are fully and wholly Catholic. Or else, like the nuns in Quebec who were excommunicated last year for Mariolatry, they are gone.