Ecumene

The word Oikumene (the " Inhabited " Passivpartizip of οἰκέω oikéō " live " from the Greek η οἰκουμένη, see also: οἶκος oikos, " house"; German and ecumenism ) designated in the Greco -Roman antiquity, the whole inhabited world (as far as known at the time was ).

For the Greek term which the conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Roman Imperial period on all three continents (Europe, Asia, Africa), the term has come to be Orbis terrarum ( globe ) in the Roman Empire, refers.

Oikumene in Christianity

As a synonym for the whole world the word Oikumene is mostly used in the New Testament or represents the Roman Empire (see Lk 2,1 LUT, Matthew 24:14 LUT). In 2.5 EU Hebrews, the word "future world".

In the early Church the word had not only political meaning ( Roman Empire ) also an ecclesiastical significance, describing the totality of Christians. At the time of Constantine the Great, this distinction faded into the background. A key role was played by the so-called Ecumenical Councils whose decisions for the entire Christendom and the entire empire should apply.

After the end of the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, the word had only an ecclesiastical significance. In the 6th century, the Patriarch of Constantinople Opel called the "ecumenical" to emphasize its primacy among the various Eastern Churches. This aroused strong opposition by Pope Gregory the Great in Rome.

Since the 20th century, the word ecumenism for the Christian ecumenical movement and the Abrahamic ecumenism used. Here, the dialogue and cooperation between denominations, churches and monotheistic religions is sought.