UPuzzlekey did an excellent rough summary of our theological agreements and disagreements . I will discuss what practices are universal and what practices differ . Universal or near universal practices Everyone recites the Lord ' s Prayer ' sPrayer . Almost everyone celebrates Christmas on a fixed date in JanuaryDecember . Almost everyone celebrates Easter as a moveable feast between March and May . Everyone agrees on at least 40 % of the same books included in Holy Scripture . And we all agree on 100 % of the important books , like the 4 Gospels of the New Testament , and the first 5 books of the Old testament . Almost everyone accepts use of a simple cross , at least in some contexts . Everyone recognizes in some shape or form the rituals of baptism , communion , marriage and penance . Differences Traditions . With some exceptions , Protestants and Catholics usually follow Western traditions Eastern and Oriental Orthodox usually follow Eastern traditions . You are probably more familiar with Western traditions , which are more widespread , have more variety in worship style , tends to be spoken than sung , a tendency to use unleavened bread for communion . Eastern worship is more uniform , usually uses leavened bread for communion , the Sign of the Cross more often , and has stricter fasting practices . Each tradition has its own formula for calculating Easter dates . Length of services . Protestant Sunday services are around 2 hours , but some can be longer . The Catholic standard is 1 hour , but can be much longer on a holy day or in an Eastern Catholic liturgy . Eastern Orthodox services are usually 2 hours long . Communion . Catholics and Eastern Orthodox practice closed communion . To receive you must be a member of the church who is spiritually and physically prepared . Some Protestants practice closed communion , others invite those who are baptized , or those who wish to be .