Faith & RitualGreek → English
Ecumenical
/ˌɛkjʊˈmɛnɪkəl/adjective
Concerning the whole Christian church, or promoting unity between its divided branches.
The Greek roots
οἰκουμένη
oikouménē
the inhabited world
Literally: “of the inhabited world”
Follow a root:οἰκουμένη1 word
The story of the word
οἰκουμένη meant the inhabited world, a participle of οἰκέω, to dwell, and in practice it meant as much of the world as Greeks and then Romans knew. Councils called themselves ecumenical when they claimed to speak for all of it, beginning at Nicaea in 325. The same οἶκος, house, sits inside economy, ecology and diocese, so household management, world-wide councils and the study of habitats all begin at the front door.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Late Latin → English
- First recorded
- 1580s
Same family
economyecologydioceseparish
In a sentence
The service was ecumenical, which meant a long argument beforehand about the wording.
Seven councils are recognised as ecumenical by both East and West.