Concept

Ecumenism

Overview

Ecumenism ( ih-KEW-mə-niz-əm; alternatively spelled oecumenism) – also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalism – is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations and theological traditions should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjective ecumenical is thus applied to any inter-denominational initiative which encourages greater cooperation and union among Christian denominations and churches. Ecumenical dialogue is a central feature of contemporary ecumenism.

The reception of the sacrament of baptism and faith in Jesus is seen as the basis of ecumenism and its goal for Christian unity. Ecumenists cite John 17:20–23 as the biblical grounds of striving for church unity, in which Jesus prays "may all be one" in order "that the world may know" and believe the Gospel message.

In 1920, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Germanus V of Constantinople, wrote a letter "addressed 'To all the Churches of Christ, wherever they may be', urging closer co-operation among separated Christians, and suggesting a 'League of Churches', parallel to the newly founded League of Nations". In 1937, Christian leaders from mainstream Christian churches resolved to establish the World Council of Churches, to work for the cause of Christian unity; it today includes churches from most major traditions of Christianity as full members, including the Assyrian Church of the East, the Old Catholic Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the Anglican Communion, the Baptist World Alliance, the Mennonite churches, the World Methodist Council, the Moravian Church, the Pentecostal churches and the World Communion of Reformed Churches, as well as almost all jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church; the Roman Catholic Church participates as an observer, sending delegates to official gatherings. Substantial agreement between various Christian denominations, especially those of Catholicism and Protestantism, has led to a unified presentation of the Christian religion in The Common Catechism.

Many regional councils affiliated with the World Council of Churches, such as the Middle East Council of Churches, National Council of Churches in Australia and Christian Churches Together, work for the cause of Christian unity on the domestic level, with member denominations including churches from the Oriental Orthodox, Evangelical-Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Methodist, Anglican, and Reformed traditions, among others.

On a local level, ecumenical initiatives occur through holding prayer services and Bible studies, with members of various denominations present, as well as the undertaking of service activities together. A number of Christian religious orders, monasteries and convents are ecumenical, with believers of a number of denominations praying together and living under a common rule of life (a prominent example is the Taizé Community). Each year, Christians observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity for the goal of ecumenism, which is coordinated by the World Council of Churches and adopted by many of its member churches.

The terms ecumenism and ecumenical come from the Greek οἰκουμένη (oikoumene), which means "the whole inhabited world", and was historically used with specific reference to the Roman Empire. The ecumenical vision comprises both the search for the visible unity of the Christian Church (Ephesians 4:3) and the "whole inhabited earth" (Matthew 24:14) as the concern of all Christians. In Christianity, the qualification ecumenical was originally and still is used in terms such as "ecumenical council" and "Ecumenical Patriarch", in the meaning of pertaining to the totality of the larger church (such as the Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church) rather than being restricted to one of its constituent local churches or dioceses. Used in this sense, the term carries no connotation of re-uniting the historically separated Christian denominations but presumes a unity of local congregations in a worldwide communion.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

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And this custom, coming, I suppose, from apostolical tradition (like many other things which are held to have been handed down under their actual sanction, because they are preserved throughout the whole Church, though they are not found either in their letters, or in the Councils of their successors),--this most wholesome custom, I say, according to the holy Cyprian, began to be what is called amended by his…
of Hippo Augustine, Writings in Connection with the Donatist Controversy
States what Ecumenism is; the author is tied to Ecumenism in the knowledge graph.
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While the Church, in the strict sense of the word, is the "communion of saints" and therefore _one_, yet outwardly it has become divided, in the course of time, into many different churches, denominations, and sects. It contains Four Great Branches: _The Greek Catholic Church_; _The Roman Catholic Church_; _The Evangelical Lutheran Church_; and _The Reformed Churches_, comprising a great number of denominations and…
Martin Luther, An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism
States what Ecumenism is.
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Those who are called Evangelicals, that is, those of the Augsburg Confession, hold the latter opinion: they believe that one need not go into the hidden causes of election while one may find a manifest cause of it shown in Holy Scripture, which is faith in Jesus Christ; and it appears to them that the prevision of the cause is also the cause of the prevision of the effect. Those who are called Reformed are of a…
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Theodicy Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil
States what Ecumenism is.
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Ecumenism

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