All closeness scores

Every score below is generated by scripts/build_data.py from the doctrine pages and cites the post-750 row (or verdict) it comes from; hover a score or read the note under it for the basis. Scores marked * were set by a documented override (rule O in the method).

Where tiers are contested

The traditions don’t all agree on which doctrines are first-order (see triage §3). This table shows whether any ranking depends on the default tiers.

Tradition	Most correct (default tiers)	Under its own tiers	In the faith (default)	In the faith (own first-order list)
Catholic	#9 · 84%	#9 · 82%	holds all (98%, 16/16)	holds with qualifications (90%, 20 doctrines)
Orthodox	#6 · 86%	#6 · 86%	holds with qualifications (96%, 16/16)	holds with qualifications (94%, 19 doctrines)
Oriental Orthodox	#7 · 85%	#7 · 85%	holds with qualifications (96%, 16/16)	holds with qualifications (93%, 17 doctrines)
Lutheran	#1 · 93%	#1 · 93%	holds all (100%, 16/16)	holds all (100%, 18 doctrines)
Anglican	#2 · 93%	#2 · 93%	holds all (100%, 16/16)	holds all (100%, 16 doctrines)
Presbyterian	#5 · 90%	#5 · 90%	holds all (100%, 16/16)	holds all (98%, 18 doctrines)
Reformed Baptist	#4 · 91%	#4 · 91%	holds all (100%, 16/16)	holds all (99%, 17 doctrines)
General Baptist	#3 · 91%	#3 · 91%	holds all (99%, 16/16)	holds all (99%, 16 doctrines)
Anabaptist	#8 · 84%	#8 · 84%	holds all (93%, 16/16)	holds all (93%, 16 doctrines)

"Own tiers" moves the doctrines a tradition ranks differently (listed under "Where the tier is contested" on each doctrine page) into that tradition's tier, then recomputes the tier-weighted Scripture score for that tradition only. The rank compares it with the other traditions' default scores.

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
F08.1	Real fall; death and corruption passed to all	High (1)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.1	4* Overall verdict: 'No tradition departs on O1.'	4* Affirmed	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.1	4* Affirmed	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.1	4* Affirmed	4* Affirmed	4* Affirmed
F08.2	Grace precedes the beginning of faith (Western conciliar)	High (W) / medium (0.5)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.2	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': F08.2 nearer Cassian than Orange	2* Synergy, like the Greek fathers (to verify)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.2	4* Art. X: 'without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will'	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': F08.2	4* 1689 10.2: effectual call 'of God's free and special grace alone'	3* SC 1660 art. 7: the Spirit makes them able, 'without which they are altogether unable'; art. 4 grace gives all a 'capacity'	3* Dordrecht III: God calls fallen man despite 'utter inability' (prevenient call)

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S01.1	Paul: declarative core. Fathers: forensic and transformative held together, undistinguished	High / high (1)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.1/S01.5 decided as a binary (can. 11)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.1 blend	4* Participatory, non-forensic framing in the liturgies and Severus (to verify; sources thin)	2* FC III separates the declaration from renewal; the fathers hold them together	2* Art. XI: 'accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord'	2* WCF XI.1: 'not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous'	2* 1689 11.1: 'not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous' (forensic, separated from renewal)	3* SC 1660 art. 6: faith 'accounted unto them for righteousness', joined to a resolve of 'subjection to all his Commandments'	4* Dordrecht VI: through faith 'we obtain forgiveness of sins, are sanctified, justified, and made children of God, yea, partake of His mind, nature, and image'
S01.2	Augustine: free justification, works do not precede it; content ‘made righteous’; ‘reckoned’ allowed	High (1)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.2 (Augustine)	2* Less Augustinian; follows the Greek fathers	2* Pre-Augustinian Greek line (to verify)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.2 (forensic distinct from renewal)	2* Art. XI forensic, but the Homily of Salvation (to verify) cites Augustine at length	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.2	1* Same as Presbyterian: separates 'reckoned' from 'made righteous' (1689 11.1)	2* SC 1660 art. 6 joins 'accounted' with resolve of obedience	3* Dordrecht VI: 'justified, and made children of God' together
S01.3	Forgiveness tied to baptism; post-baptismal sin handled through almsgiving and penance (Cyprian)	High / medium (0.5)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.3	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.3	4* Baptism for remission in the non-Chalcedonian rites (to verify)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.3	3* Art. XXVII: 'as by an instrument ... the promises of forgiveness of sin ... are visibly signed and sealed'	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.3	1* 1689 29.1: baptism a 'sign of his fellowship with him ... remission of sins' (sign, not instrument)	2* SC 1660 art. 5: 'Baptizes in his name for the remission of Sins'	1* Dordrecht VII: baptism follows regeneration, 'to the burying of their sins'
S01.4	James: living faith perfected and vindicated by works; not a co-ground	Med–high (0.75)	2* Trent VI canon 24: works increase justification	2* Dositheus 13: works 'meriting'	2* Faith and works together toward final salvation (to verify)	4* Works are fruits (AC VI)	4* Art. XII: good works 'spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith'	4* WCF XVI: works are fruits and evidences	4* 1689 16.2: works 'the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith'	4* SC 1660 art. 14: without holiness the profession is 'of no effect'; works as fruit	3* Dordrecht VI: 'genuine fruits of repentance'; obedience emphasised
S01.5	Exchange language compatible with imputation; not the formulated doctrine	Medium (0.5)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S01.1/S01.5 decided as a binary (can. 11)	2* Dositheus rejects faith as a 'hand'	2* No imputation category (to verify)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.5	4* Art. XI: accounted righteous 'only for the merit of our Lord'	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S01.5	4* 1689 11.1: 'imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law, and passive obedience in his death'	4* Orthodox Creed: Christ's 'Mediatoral Righteousness ... is imputed, reckoned, or made over to us' (OCR-verified); SC 1660 art. 6	2* No imputation language in Dordrecht or Schleitheim

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S03.1	Baptism is the ordinary means of regeneration and remission (faith presupposed)	High (1)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.1	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.1 and S03.2 (immersion kept)	4* Baptism as new birth in the Syriac, Coptic and Armenian rites (to verify)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.1	4* Art. XXVII: 'a sign of Regeneration or new Birth, whereby, as by an instrument'; 1662 Publick Baptism: 'Seeing now ... that this Child is regenerate and grafted into the body of Christ's Church' (verified)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S03.1 and S03.2 weakened	1* 1689 29.1: a 'sign' of fellowship, ingrafting, regeneration	1* SC 1660 art. 11: baptism follows profession of 'repentance ... and faith'	1* Schleitheim 1: baptism for those 'who have learned repentance'; Dordrecht VII; Menno: infants 'cannot be taught, therefore, baptism cannot be administered to them' (verified)
S03.2	Ordinarily necessary; martyrdom an exception	High; infants' fate low consensus (0.25)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.2	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.1 and S03.2 (immersion kept)	4* Necessary in the non-Chalcedonian rites (to verify)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S03.2	4* 1662 Catechism: 'Two only, as generally necessary to salvation, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord'	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S03.1 and S03.2 weakened	1* 1689 ch. 29: an ordinance of 'positive and sovereign institution' (28.1); not said to be necessary to salvation	1* SC 1660: necessary for church order, not salvation; Orthodox Creed 28 rejects Limbus for unbaptized infants (OCR-verified)	1* Dordrecht VI: no outward ceremony avails without faith

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S04.1	Real, objective presence; ‘figure’ and ‘sacrament’ language does not deny it	High (1)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S04.1	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S04.1	4* Armenian Badarak: 'let us taste of the holy, holy and precious body and blood of our Lord ... This is life, hope of resurrection, propitiation and remission of sins' (verified)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S04.1	2* Art. XXVIII: 'the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ', 'only after an heavenly and spiritual manner'	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S04.1 realism	1* 1689 30.7: Christ 'spiritually present to the faith of believers'	1* SC 1660 art. 13: 'breaking of Bread' (no doctrine of presence stated; Orthodox Creed 33 to verify)	1* Dordrecht X: kept 'in remembrance of Him'; Menno: 'a living and an affecting sign' (verified)
S04.2	Real change, mode undefined; elements’ nature persists (Theodoret)	High (1)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S04.2 substance metaphysics	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S04.2 ('unsearchable')	4* Real change, mode undefined (to verify)	0 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S04.2 no change	1* Art. XXVIII: transubstantiation 'repugnant to the plain words of Scripture'	1* WCF XXIX.6: transubstantiation 'repugnant ... to common sense'	1* 1689 30.6 rejects transubstantiation	1* No change taught	1* No change taught

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S06.1	An anointing and laying on of hands invoking the Spirit followed baptism as part of one rite (T2 onward); a separate later sacrament is a later development	Med–high (0.75)	3* Confirmation a distinct sacrament (Trent VII), separated in time from baptism in the West	4* Chrismation in one rite with baptism	4* Chrismation with baptism (Coptic and Armenian rites; to verify)	2* Not a sacrament; catechetical confirmation (AC XIII lists none)	3* 1662 Confirmation: bishop's laying on of hands; Art. XXV not a sacrament of the Gospel	1* WCF XXVII: only two sacraments; no rite	1* 1689 28: only two ordinances	4* SC 1660 art. 12: baptized believers come to 'Prayer and Laying on of Hands, that they may receive the promise of the holy Spirit' (verified)	1* No rite
S06.2	Confession and reconciliation through the church’s ministers (public penance, T2–T3); obligatory private enumeration is later	Medium (0.5)	2* Trent XIV: auricular confession of all mortal sins necessary by divine law	3* Confession to a priest with absolution	3* Confession and absolution (to verify)	3* AC XI: private absolution retained, enumeration not required	3* 1662 Visitation of the Sick: absolution after special confession	2* WCF XXX: censures and church discipline; no absolution rite	2* 1689 26: discipline by the congregation	2* Congregational discipline	3* Schleitheim 2: the ban, with admonition before the breaking of bread; resembles early public discipline
S06.3	Anointing of the sick by elders for healing and forgiveness (Jas 5; T3); restriction to the dying is later	Medium (0.5)	2* Trent XIV: 'extreme unction', for those in danger of death	4* Euchelaion for the sick	4* Anointing of the sick (to verify)	1* Not practised	1* Art. XXV: 'corrupt following of the Apostles'; no anointing in 1662	1* Not practised	1* Not in the 1689	2* Practised among some General Baptists (to verify)	1* Not in Schleitheim or Dordrecht
S06.4	Marriage a holy, indissoluble bond (sacramentum, Augustine); not yet a counted sacrament	Medium (0.5)	3* Trent XXIV: a sacrament; indissoluble	2* A mystery; divorce and remarriage allowed by economy	3* A mystery (to verify)	3* Holy estate, not a sacrament	3* Art. XXV: 'states of life allowed in the Scriptures'	2* WCF XXIV.5–6: divorce for adultery or desertion	2* 1689 25: marriage; divorce not addressed in detail (to verify)	3* Orthodox Creed 43 on family duties (to verify)	3* Dordrecht XII: marriage 'in the Lord'; separation only for fornication

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S07.1	Scripture the supreme and sufficient norm of doctrine, read within the apostolic rule of faith; unwritten customs honoured (Basil) but not a second source of doctrine	Med–high (0.75)	3* Trent IV: Scripture and traditions received 'with an equal affection of piety'; Basil supports honouring tradition, but co-equality goes beyond the evidence	4* Dositheus 2: the Church's witness 'not of inferior authority' to Scripture; matches Basil's 'same force' but lacks biblical warrant	4* Scripture within the tradition of the three councils (Nerses Shnorhali, I Confess with Faith: 'Instructed by the holy Doctors'); co-equality inferred, to verify	3* Scripture the norming norm; confessions normed by it; little room for the rule-of-faith role Irenaeus gives the churches	4* Art. VI: 'whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required'; Art. VIII receives the creeds; Art. XX: the Church 'a witness and a keeper of holy Writ'	3* WCF I.6: 'nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men'	3* 1689 1.1: 'the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule'	4* Orthodox Creed 37 (OCR-verified): Scripture's authority 'dependeth not upon the Authority of any Man'; art. 38 receives the three creeds	2* Dordrecht V: nothing may be added to Christ's New Testament; no creeds or rule of faith received; New Testament priority strains the OT's place
S07.2	Split: Hebrew canon plus books ‘read’ (Athanasius, Cyril) vs. wider canon (Augustine, Carthage)	Medium (0.5)	3* Trent IV: wider canon defined	3* Wider canon (Jerusalem 1672); anagignoskomena distinction survives in practice	3* Widest canon in the Ethiopian church (1 Enoch, Jubilees); to verify	3* Apocrypha printed and read, not held equal (Luther's Bible prefaces; to verify)	3* Art. VI: the other books 'the Church doth read for example of life ... but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine', Athanasius's two tiers exactly	3* WCF I.3: Apocrypha 'no otherwise to be approved, or made use of, than other human writings'	3* 1689 1.3: same as WCF	3* Orthodox Creed 37 lists the canonical books (to verify list)	3* Dordrecht II cites 4 Esdras 3:7 alongside Scripture
S07.3	Interpretation within the apostolic churches’ rule of faith and their councils; no single infallible office	Medium (0.5)	2* Vatican I: papal definitions infallible 'of themselves'; beyond the rule-of-faith model	4* Councils received by the church as the voice of the fathers	4* Three councils as the norm of interpretation; to verify	3* Confessions as a norm normed by Scripture	4* Art. XX: the Church 'hath authority in Controversies of Faith' but may not 'expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another'; Art. XXI councils 'may err'	3* WCF XXXI.4: synods 'may err; and many have erred'	2* 1689 26: congregational; associations advise but have no jurisdiction, which fits Acts 15 less well	3* Orthodox Creed 39 (General Councils and Assemblies; to verify wording)	2* Congregational discernment only; no councils

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S08.1	Peter led the apostles; the Roman church held a primacy of honour and a leading role in guarding the tradition (T1–T2), without universal jurisdiction	Medium (0.5)	2* Vatican I: Peter's primacy of jurisdiction passes to the Roman pontiff	4* Rome's primacy of honour before the schism	3* Primacy among patriarchates recognised historically; Leo's Tome rejected (to verify)	2* Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope: no primacy by divine right	2* Art. XXXVII: 'The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England'	1* WCF XXV.6: the Pope 'that Antichrist, that man of sin'	1* 1689 26.4: the Pope 'that antichrist, that man of sin'	2* No primacy; Orthodox Creed 39 (to verify)	2* No primacy
S08.2	Not supported: privileges of sees were customary and regional (Nicaea 6; Chalcedon 28); Gregory the Great rejects ‘universal bishop’	Med–high (0.75)	1* Vatican I, Pastor Aeternus 3–4: universal jurisdiction; definitions 'irreformable of themselves'	4* Rejected	4* Rejected	4* Rejected (Smalcald Articles II.4)	4* Art. XXXVII; Art. XXI councils may err	3* Rejected, with the 'Antichrist' identification going beyond the evidence	3* Rejected, with the 'Antichrist' identification	4* Rejected	4* Rejected

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S11.1	Free choice universally affirmed; defended against fate and natures	High (1)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S11.1	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S11.1	4* Free will strongly affirmed (to verify)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S11.1 (bondage of will) sharper than the fathers	2* Art. X: man 'cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength'	2* WCF IX.1 natural liberty; IX.3 total inability to spiritual good	2* 1689 9.3: 'wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good'	4* SC 1660 art. 4: all men 'put into such a capacity, as that (through the grace of God) they may be eternally saved'	4* Dordrecht III/V: salvation offered to all; only the 'unbelieving and disobedient' excluded
S11.2	Split in the fathers: Augustine’s unconditional election vs. the foreknowledge line (no T1 text verified); Scripture favours election by God’s purpose (Rom 9:11–16; Eph 1:5, 11); no double decree in either	Medium (0.5)	2* Departs column says 'S3 mostly Augustinian': on a split question it follows one named patristic strand (Augustine) rather than departing from all of them	3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S11.2 (foreknowledge) (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand)	3* Election by foreknowledge (to verify)	3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S11.2 single (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand)	3* Art. XVII: single predestination to life, 'by his counsel secret to us'	2 Listed under both 'closest' (S11.2 (A)) and 'departs or sharpens' (S11.2 double decree)	3* 1689 3.3: 'others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation' (preterition; no parallel decree)	3* SC 1660 art. 8: elect are 'such as believe', yet election 'not ... from fore-seen faith'; art. 9 ungodly ordained to condemnation 'considered as such'	3* Dordrecht V: no one excluded 'except the unbelieving and disobedient'; no doctrine of decree

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S14.1	East: corruption and mortality (with liability); West from Cyprian: another’s sin remitted in infants; Augustine systematizes	Med–high (0.75)	3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S14.1 (Augustinian) (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand)	3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S14.1 (East) (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand)	3* Eastern line: corruption and mortality (to verify)	3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S14.1 (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand)	3* Art. IX: 'it deserveth God's wrath and damnation'	3* WCF VI.3 guilt imputed (Western line, sharpened)	3* 1689 6.3: 'the guilt of the sin was imputed'	3* SC 1660 art. 10: infants 'only subject to the first death', not eternal punishment for Adam's sin	3* Dordrecht II: 'brought upon themselves the wrath of God, and condemnation'
S14.2	ἐφ᾽ ᾧ = ‘because’; the doctrine does not depend on in quo alone	Med–high (0.75)	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed
S14.3	Difference of emphasis, not contradiction	Medium (0.5)	3* Free will weakened (Trent VI canon 5)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S14.3	4* Eastern emphasis (to verify)	2* Bondage of the will	3* Art. X	2* WCF IX.3	2* 1689 9.3	3* SC 1660 art. 7	3* Dordrecht III 'utter inability' with universal call

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S16.1	Split after 451: ‘in two natures’ (Chalcedon, Leo) vs ‘one incarnate nature of God the Word’ (Cyril as read by Severus); both confess full deity and humanity without mixture	Medium (0.5)	3* Chalcedon received; the patristic witness is split on the formula	3* Chalcedon received; the patristic witness is split on the formula	3* Severus's Cyrilline formula (verified); the patristic witness is split on the formula	3* AC III; FC VIII; the patristic witness is split on the formula	3* Art. II; the patristic witness is split on the formula	3* WCF VIII.2; the patristic witness is split on the formula	3* 1689 8.2; the patristic witness is split on the formula	3* Orthodox Creed (to verify); the patristic witness is split on the formula	not assessed
S16.2	Two natural wills and operations, not opposed (Constantinople III), grounded in Gregory’s ’not assumed, not healed'	Med–high (0.75)	4* Constantinople III received	4* Constantinople III received	2* Severus rejects Leo's two operations (verified); one theandric will and operation	3* Two natures with their properties (FC VIII); wills not addressed explicitly	3* Art. II two natures; wills implicit	3* WCF VIII.2 'two whole, perfect, and distinct natures'; wills implicit	3* 1689 8.2; wills implicit	3* Wills implicit; to verify	not assessed

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S18.1	Martyrs honoured from Era II; intercession of saints invoked in the liturgy from Era III; direct invocation later; no Era I–II evidence	Medium (0.5)	3* Trent XXV: 'good and useful suppliantly to invoke them'	4* Invocation of saints and the Theotokos in the liturgy	4* Coptic commemoration asks the saints' intercession (secondary-attested)	2* AC XXI: saints remembered as examples, but Scripture 'does not teach the invocation of saints'	1* Art. XXII: 'Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented'	1* WCF XXI.2: worship 'to God alone; not to angels, saints'	1* 1689 22.2 (same)	1* No invocation (Orthodox Creed; to verify)	1* No invocation
S18.2	Perpetual virginity attested from Era II (Protevangelium) and the consensus by Era III (Jerome)	Med–high (0.75)	4* Lateran (649); 'ever virgin'	4* 'Ever-virgin' in the liturgy	4* Ever-virgin (to verify)	4* Smalcald Articles I.4: 'the pure, holy, ever-virgin Mary'	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed
S18.3	Not patristic dogma: Augustine exempts Mary from actual sin only; the Assumption is an Era IV tradition	Medium (0.5)	1* Ineffabilis Deus (1854); Munificentissimus Deus (1950)	3* Rejects the Immaculate Conception; Dormition feast and Assumption as liturgical tradition, not dogma	3* Dormition/Assumption feast (to verify); no Immaculate Conception	4* Not taught	4* Not taught; Art. XV: Christ 'alone without sin'	4* Not taught	4* Not taught	4* Not taught	4* Not taught

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S17.1	Prayers and offerings for the dead from c. 200; liturgical by c. 350	High (1)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S17.1	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S17.1 and S17.2	4* Armenian Badarak: 'grant rest to the souls of us that are fallen asleep' (verified); Coptic diptych (secondary-attested)	2 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': partly S17.1	1* Homily concerning Prayer, part 3: 'neither let us dream any more, that the souls of the dead are anything at all holpen by our prayers' (verified)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S17.1	1* 1689 22.4: prayer not 'for the dead'	1* Not practised	1* Not practised
S17.2	Post-mortem purification taught from Augustine (T3), anticipated in a T2 vision (Perpetua); no clear Scripture basis; not the later defined purgatory	Medium (0.5)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S17.2 over-defined	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S17.1 and S17.2	3* No purgatory, but prayers aid the departed (to verify)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S17.2	1* Art. XXII	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S17.2	1* No purgatory (1689 31.1)	1* No purgatory	1* No purgatory

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S19.1	Honour of relics attested from c. 155; universal by the 4th century	High (1)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3	4* Relics honoured	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.1	1* Art. XXII	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3	1* Rejects	1* Rejects	1* Rejects
S19.2	Honour distinguished from worship (τιμή, not λατρεία)	High / medium (0.5)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3	4* Severus preached at the martyrs' chapel on 'the commemoration of the martyrs' (Select Letters, verified); veneration practice to verify	1* Memory without veneration	1* Art. XXII: 'Adoration ... of Reliques' a fond thing	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3	1* 1689 22.2	1* Rejects	1* Rejects
S19.3	Miracles through relics affirmed	High (1)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3	4* Affirmed (to verify)	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.3 practice	1* Not affirmed	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': S19.1 and S19.2 and S19.3	1* Not affirmed	1* Not affirmed	1* Not affirmed
S19.4	Minority objection (Vigilantius) rejected	High (1)	4* Overall verdict: 'Catholic and Orthodox match the patristic consensus' (which rejected Vigilantius)	4* Overall verdict: 'Catholic and Orthodox match the patristic consensus' (which rejected Vigilantius)	4* Patristic consensus	1* Rejects veneration, Vigilantius's side in effect	0* Art. XXII	0* Closest column: 'Vigilantius's side'; overall verdict: 'revives an objection the patristic church rejected'	0* Vigilantius's side	0* Vigilantius's side	0* Vigilantius's side
S19.5	Scripture permits made images (cherubim) but forbids representing the invisible God; no T1–T2 support for images in worship; early evidence hostile (Epiphanius); settled for icons only in 787 (T4)	Med–high (0.75)	4* Closest column: 'Nicaea II', the council the I1 verdict says settled the question in 787	4* Closest column: 'Nicaea II (fullest)'	3* Icons used; did not receive Nicaea II; Armenian iconophobic currents (to verify)	3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S19.5 partly	1* Homily against Peril of Idolatry, part 3: 'all images of Christ and his saints also were forbidden by God's word' in churches (verified)	1* Departs column: 'Nicaea II', the settlement named in the I1 verdict	1* 1689 22.1: not worshipped 'under any visible representations'	1* Rejects images in worship (Orthodox Creed, to verify)	1* No images in worship
S19.6	προσκύνησις/λατρεία distinction applied to images has no biblical warrant (Exod 20:5 forbids bowing to images) and no T1–T3 support; a T4 (7th–8th-c.) development	Medium (0.5)	3* Follows Nicaea II, but the revised I2 verdict (proximity review) finds that applying the distinction to images is a T4 development with no T1–T3 support. The tradition matches one late strand only (rule 3).	3* Same as Catholic: matches the T4 strand (Nicaea II), which has no T1–T3 support per the revised I2 verdict.	3* Veneration practised (to verify)	2* Rejects veneration (departs from T4) but agrees with the T1–T3 silence: mixed.	2* Art. XXII: adoration of images 'a fond thing vainly invented'	2* Rejects the T4 settlement but agrees with the T1–T3 silence on icon veneration: mixed (rule 2).	2* 1689 22.2: worship 'not to angels, saints, or any other creatures'	2* No veneration	2* No veneration
S19.7	Real early opposition (Epiphanius)	Medium (0.5)	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	not assessed	3* The Homily against Peril of Idolatry, part 2, quotes Epiphanius tearing the painted curtain (verified)	3* Closest column: 'Epiphanius', the early opposition named in I3; overall verdict: 'a real patristic foothold ... but not a consensus'	3* Agrees with early opposition	3* Agrees with early opposition	3* Agrees with early opposition

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
S20.1	Substitution widely present	High (1)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.1	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': Underplays S20.1 and S20.2	3* Present (to verify)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.1	4* Art. XXXI: 'perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction'	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.1	4* 1689 8.4–5	4* SC 1660 art. 3: 'gave himself a ransome for all ... a propitiation'	3* Dordrecht IV: 'yielded up as a sacrifice and offering'
S20.2	Divine sentence/law satisfied; not honour-satisfaction or explicit wrath on the Son	Medium (0.5)	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.2	1 Listed under 'departs or sharpens on': Underplays S20.1 and S20.2	3* Not penal (to verify)	2* Sharper penal accent than the fathers	4* Art. II: 'a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins'	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': S20.2	4* 1689 8.5: 'fully satisfied the justice of God'	4* SC 1660 art. 3 propitiation	3* Sacrifice, little penal precision (Dordrecht IV)

Q	Verdict	Confidence (weight)	Catholic	Orthodox	Oriental Orthodox	Lutheran	Anglican	Presbyterian	Reformed Baptist	General Baptist	Anabaptist
T06.1	Victory pervasive; devil-ransom disputed (Nyssa vs Nazianzen)	High / low (0.25)	3* Affirmed, less central	3 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T06.1 (verdict is split; this follows one patristic strand)	4* Central in the Syriac and Coptic liturgies (to verify)	4* Central in Luther	3* Affirmed in the BCP collects	3* Affirmed (WCF VIII)	3* 1689 8.10	3* Affirmed (to verify article)	4* Dordrecht IV: 'bruised the serpent's head, destroyed the works of the devil'
T06.2	Recapitulation foundational, integrates the other motifs	High (1)	3* Affirmed	4 Listed under 'closest to the fathers on': T06.2	4* Central (to verify)	3* Affirmed	3* Affirmed	3* Federal Adam–Christ	3* Federal Adam–Christ (1689 ch. 7)	3* Adam–Christ (SC 1660 art. 10)	3* Dordrecht III–IV: Christ restores the fallen race

All closeness scores

Where tiers are contested

Every question

The Trinity

Deity of Christ

True humanity of Christ

One person, God and man

Virgin birth and incarnation

Deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit

Creation out of nothing

Sin and the need for grace

Christ's saving death

Bodily resurrection of Christ

Ascension and session

Salvation by grace through faith in Christ

Return of Christ and final judgement

General resurrection and eternal life

Authority and truthfulness of Scripture

One holy catholic and apostolic Church

Nature of justification

Baptism: subjects

Baptism: effect

Eucharist: presence

Eucharist: sacrifice

Number and nature of sacraments

Scripture and tradition

Papal primacy and infallibility

Church government

Ordination to the presbyterate

Predestination and election

Extent of the atonement

Perseverance of the saints

Original sin: guilt or corruption

Filioque

Chalcedonian and miaphysite wording

Purgatory and prayers for the dead

Invocation of saints and Marian dogmas

Veneration of icons and relics

Penal substitution and satisfaction

Millennium

Timing of end-times events

Age of the earth and days of creation

Mode of baptism

Frequency of communion

Atonement models beyond the core

Order of decrees

Origin of the soul

Intermediate state

Final punishment

Universal restoration as a hope

Spiritual gifts

Sabbath and Lord's Day

Regulative or normative worship

Liturgical calendar

Clerical celibacy

Fasting rules

Theosis vocabulary