Ecumenism

Ecumenism is any effort aimed at the unity of Christians throughout the world. Most often, it specifically means the visible unity of Christian churches in some form.

The adjective ecumenical can also be applied to any interdenominational initiative that encourages greater cooperation among Christians and their churches, whether or not the specific aim of that effort is full, visible unity.

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 Church (Ephesians 4:3) and the "whole inhabited earth" (Matthew 24:14) as the concern of all Christians.

In Christianity the qualification ecumenical is originally (and still) 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 Orthodox Church) rather than being restricted to one of its constituent local churches or dioceses. Used in this original 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.

Catholic Church and ecumenism

The Catholic Church has been heavily involved in the ecumenical movement since the Second Vatican Council (1961–1965).

Definition and practices of ecumenism

Before the Second Vatican Council

The Catholic Church sees itself as one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, founded by Christ himself. Its teachings state the proper Church of Christ is identical with the Catholic Church.

Ecumenism takes as it starting point that Christ founded just one Church, not many churches; hence the Catholic Church has as its ultimate hope and objective - that through prayer, study, and dialogue, the historically separated bodies may come again to be reunited with it.

Unity was always a principal aim of the Catholic Church. Before the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church defined ecumenism as a relations with other Christian groups in order to persuade these to return to a unity that they themselves had broken. Some traditionalist Catholics reject the Second Vatican Council reforms and maintain the pre-reform sense of ecumenism.