Take the 2-minute tour ×  Before 1054 a reasonable claim could
be made that there existed "one holy catholic and apostolic
Church", as the Nicene Creed puts it. Since then, the visible
church has divided into at least three strands, if not many
more.  Given ongoing efforts to reconcile the Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox branches, I assume that each believes that
schism does not serve God's greater purpose. (Feel free to
provide an answer if I'm wrong or miss some nuance, however.)
Many Protestants believe that both the Western and Eastern
churches are wrong or at least misguided to the extent that they
are no longer the one true church.  But many Protestants, myself
included, believe that the invisible church is infused within
all the traditions of the church. We hold that while some
traditions (notably our own) are more faithful to Jesus'
original call, all Christian traditions that cling to the
ancient creeds will be represented in the Resurrection at the
end of this world. But if so, what good purpose