What Does the Word Ecumenical Mean?
Diocesan Press Service. December 5, 1967 [60-7]
The Rt. Rev. John Sadiq
(In anticipation of both the World Council of Churches Fourth Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden, and the Lambeth Conference this summer we shall, from time to time, send interpretive material to aid Episcopalians in understanding these major events. The following is an article by the Rt. Rev. John Sadiq, Bishop of Nagpur, India, which appeared in the summer issue of the Nagpur Diocesan News Letter.)
From now on at least part of our attention should be directed at the world gatherings taking place this summer: the Lambeth Conference and the Fourth Assembly of the World Council of Churches. There are ways in which we all can participate in the preparation for these important events, namely the way of. study and the way of intercessory prayer.
Sometimes the word 'ecumenical' is used for world-wide conferences, and this is justified because the Greek word 'Oikoumene' from which 'ecumenical' is derived means 'the whole inhabited world'. But in course of history the word has acquired different meanings and it is good to know something of the history of this word, which will help us to appreciate more deeply the Ecumenical Movement of which the World Council of Churches is a most important and comprehensive expression. For what I write now I am indebted to Dr. Visser't Hooft, till recently the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches. He had contributed a very valuable Appendix to the monumental 'A History of the Ecumenical Movement', edited by Ruth Rouse and Stephen Neill and published by the S. P. C.K. in 1954.
There are at least seven different meanings attached to the word 'ecumenical':
1. Relating to the whole Roman Empire and its culture and civilisation.
2. " " " " inhabited earth.
In these meanings the word is found in Greco-Roman literature as well as in the New Testament where it occurs fifteen times. In Luke 2:1 we read that the whole world (by which was meant the Greco-Roman world) was to be taxed. But it is also used in the larger sense where our Lord says that the Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached to all the world (the whole inhabited earth) and then will the end come. (Matthew 24:14)
3. Relating to the whole Church (geographically).
4. That which has universal ecclesiastical validity (legally and constitutionally).
These two meanings developed with the growth of the Church. In the early centuries it refers to that part of the world which had come with the fellowship of the Church. In a second century document 'Martyrdom of Polycarp' it is used in this sense.
At the Council of Constantinople the Council of Nicea was called an 'ecumenical synod'. Such a Council has an ecclesiastical authority to make rules and pronouncements binding on the whole Church. In the case of the Roman Catholic Church the decisions of such a Council have to be confirmed by the Pope.
5. Connected with the world-wide missionary outreach of the Church.
6. Pertaining to the relations between and unity of two or more Churches or groups of Christians.
7. Quality or attitude which consciously desires Christian unity.
Since the Reformation the above three meanings have been added. In 1665 John Elish, the first missionary to New England Indians, proposed the setting up of an 'ecumenical Council', with its headquarters at Jerusalem, concerned with the missionary outreach of the Church to the ends of the earth. William Carey suggested such a conference to be held at the Cape of Good Hope in 1810. The Ecumenical Missionary Conference held in New York in 1900 and the Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910 were using the term more related to the outreach of the Gospel to all areas of land and life.
The Evangelical Alliance established in 1846 is a good example of 6, but perhaps the most expressive example is the Faith and Order department of the World Council of Churches, which is especially committed to the study and removal of hindrances to unity among the Churches.
Today we talk about 'ecumenical' mind or attitude, which indicates a conscious desire for unity of the Church. Jocularly a person characterised by this mind or attitude is described as an 'ecumaniac', suffering from 'ecumania', a malady which I enjoy suffering from!
A word I think should be said about the phrase 'The Ecumenical Movement' which has already been mentioned. Let me give three descriptions which have been attempted:-
a) "The Ecumenical Movement may properly be described as that Movement among Christians and Christian groups throughout the world which seeks to articulate, enhance, and apply the consciousness of deeply-rooted fellowship which they enjoy in Jesus Christ, their common Saviour and Lord".
b) It is a Movement committed to "the whole task of the whole Church to bring the Gospel to the whole world".
c) The present constitution of the World Council of Churches is another attempt to describe the Movement in relation to its own life". The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of Churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ, as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and therefore seek to fulfil together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit".
It will be seen from the above statements that all the points except (1) are covered by these statements. Basically they are derived from the high-priestly prayer of our Lord recorded in St. John 17:21 'that they all may be one ...... that the world may believe'. Jesus and His agonising prayer must ever remain the motive and inspiration of all that the Church exists and stands for.
Let us pray that the 4th Assembly of the World Council of Churches with its challenging and heart-searching theme: "Behold, I make all things new" may help to bring nearer the goal of Church's Unity and its reconciling and healing mission to the whole world.