ecumenical movement

Ecumenical movement is an organization for the worldwide cooperation and unity among Christian Churches. The term ecumenical is derived from the Greek word oikoumenç, meaning inhabited. In the 19th century, the term ecumenical came to denote the Roman Catholic Church a concern for Christian unity and for a renewal of the church. On the other hand, to the Protestant who have pioneered and advanced the modern ecumenical movement since the early 20th Century, the term …

…formed by 29 denominations in the United States. The Roman Catholic Church, however, remained uncompromising in its rejection of the movement. From the Roman Catholic viewpoint, Church unity could mean nothing less than the return of schismatic "sects" to the "one true Church". An encyclical issued in 1928 by Pope Pius XI had re-emphasized this position, and as recently as 1954, Roman Catholics were forbidden to attend the second assembly of the World Council of Churches. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**