Ecumenism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Modern ecumenical movement== One understanding of the ecumenical movement is that it came from the Catholic Church's attempts to reconcile with Christians who had become separated over theological issues.<ref name="Howard C. Kee 1998">Howard C. Kee et al., ''Christianity: a Social and Cultural History'', 2nd ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ.: Prentice Hall, 1998), 379–81.</ref> Others see the [[1910 World Missionary Conference]] as the birthplace of the ecumenical movement.<ref>Latourette, Kenneth Scott. "Ecumenical Bearings of the Missionary Movement and the International Missionary Council." In "A History of the Ecumenical Movement 1517–1948", edited by Ruth Rouse and Stephen Charles Neill, 353–73, 401–02. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1954.</ref> Others yet point to the 1920 encyclical of the Eastern Orthodox [[Ecumenical Patriarch]] [[Germanus V of Constantinople|Germanus V]] "To the Churches of Christ Everywhere" that suggested a "fellowship of churches" similar to the [[League of Nations]].<ref>Grdzelidze, Tamara. "Ecumenism, Orthodoxy and" In "The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity", edited by John Anthony McGuckin, 208–15. Wiley Blackwell, 2011.</ref> Earlier, Nicolaus Ludwig, Count von [[Zinzendorf]] (1700–1760), the renewer of the Moravian Church in the 18th century, was the first person to use the word "ecumenical" in this sense. His pioneering efforts to unite all Christians, regardless of denominational labels, into a "Church of God in the Spirit"—notably among [[Germany|German]] immigrants in [[Pennsylvania]]—were misunderstood by his contemporaries. The founding of the [[London Missionary Society]], a [[Mission (Christianity)|missionary]] society, occurred in 1795 by various evangelical denominations who had an interdenominational vision of the mission.<ref>Martin I. Klauber, Scott M. Manetsch, Erwin W. Lutzer, ''The Great Commission: Evangelicals and the History of World Missions'', B&H Publishing Group, USA, 2008, p. 54</ref> It developed with the founding of the [[Evangelical Alliance]] in 1846 in [[London]], England, by 52 evangelical denominations. <ref>Frank Leslie Cross, Elizabeth A. Livingstone, ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'', Oxford University Press, UK, 2005, p. 582</ref><ref>Donald F. Durnbaugh, ''The Believers' Church: The History and Character of Radical Protestantism'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2003, p. 293</ref> Various other evangelical organizations have also contributed to the interdenominational movement. <ref>Donald M. Lewis, Richard V. Pierard, ''Global Evangelicalism: Theology, History & Culture in Regional Perspective'', InterVarsity Press, USA, 2014, p. 267</ref> In the [[Biblical studies]], there was the [[International Fellowship of Evangelical Students]] in 1947. In the area of [[Christian humanitarian aid]], [[World Vision International]] was established in 1950. There was also the emergence of various interdenominational [[Bible college]]s. In 1951, the [[World Evangelical Alliance]] (formerly the World Evangelical Fellowship) was founded by evangelical leaders from 21 countries at the first general assembly in Woudschoten ([[Zeist]]) in [[Netherlands]]. <ref>Ed Hindson, Dan Mitchell, ''The Popular Encyclopedia of Church History'', Harvest House Publishers, USA, 2013, p. 141</ref> [[Nathan Söderblom]], [[Archbishop of Uppsala]], the head of the Lutheran [[Church of Sweden]], is known as the architect of the ecumenical movement of the twentieth century. During the First World War, he called on all Christian leaders to work for peace and justice. His leadership of the Christian "[[Life and Work (conference)|Life and Work]]" movement in the 1920s has led him to be recognised as one of the principal founders of the ecumenical movement. He was instrumental in chairing the [[World Conference of Life and Work]] in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]] in 1925. At the Stockholm Conference in 1925, the culminating event in Söderblom's ecumenical work, Protestant and Orthodox Christians from the major Christian denominations, such as the Lutheran and Anglican Churches, were all present and participating,<ref>{{cite book |title=The New American Church Monthly, Volume 20, Issue 3 |date=1926 |publisher=Temple Publishing Corporation |page=252 |language=English |quote=The Lutheran, Anglican, and Oriental free Catholicism seem to have been in the lead and given the tone at Stockholm. Yet all Christian bodies were" united there, on the basis of Christian life and work.}}</ref> with the exception of the Catholic Church. He was a close friend of the English ecumenist [[George Bell (bishop)|George Bell]]. In 1930, Söderblom was one of the [[List of Nobel laureates|recipients]] of the [[Nobel Prize]] for promoting Christian unity and helping create 'that new attitude of mind which is necessary if peace between nations is to become reality'. He was first clergyman to receive a Nobel prize.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1930/soderblom-bio.html|title=Nathan Söderblom, Nobel Prize Winner |publisher=/www.nobelprize.org|access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1930/soderblom-facts.html|title=nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1930/soderblom-facts|publisher=www.nobelprize.org|access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref> The contemporary ecumenical movement gained speed through the 1910 [[Edinburgh Missionary Conference]]. However this conference would not have been possible without the pioneering ecumenical work of the Christian youth movements: the [[Young Men's Christian Association]] (founded 1844), the [[Young Women's Christian Association]] (founded 1855), the [[World Student Christian Federation]] (founded 1895), and the Federal Council of Churches (founded 1908), predecessor to today's [[National Council of Churches USA]]. Led by Methodist layman [[John R. Mott]] (former YMCA staff and in 1910 the General Secretary of WSCF), the World Mission conference marked the largest Protestant gathering to that time, with the express purposes of working across denominational lines for the sake of [[Mission (Christian)|world missions]]. After the [[First World War]] further developments were the "[[Faith and Order Movement|Faith and Order]]" movement led by [[Charles Henry Brent]], and the "[[Life and Work (conference)|Life and Work]]" movement led by [[Nathan Soderblom]]. In the 1930s, the tradition of an annual [[World Communion Sunday]] to celebrate ecumenical ties was established in the [[Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)|Presbyterian Church]] and was subsequently adopted by several other denominations. After [[World War II]], which had brought much devastation to many people, the church became a source of hope to those in need. In 1948, the first meeting of the World Council of Churches took place. Despite the fact that the meeting had been postponed due to World War II, the council took place in Amsterdam with the theme of "Man's Disorder and God's Design".<ref name="Howard C. Kee 1998" /> The focus of the church and the council following the gathering was on the damage created by the Second World War. The council and the movement went forward to continue the efforts of unifying the church globally in the mission of helping all those in need, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. The movement led to an understanding amongst the churches that, despite difference, they could join together to be an element of great change, hope, and peace in the world. More importantly, the council and the movement lead to not only wider ecumenism but to the forming of councils amongst the denominations that connected churches across continental lines.<ref name="Howard C. Kee 1998" /> Today, the World Council of Churches sees its role as sharing "the legacy of the one ecumenical movement and the responsibility to keep it alive" and acting "as a trustee for the inner coherence of the movement".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/about-us/achievements|title=The WCC and the ecumenical movement|publisher=oikoumene.org|access-date=2014-02-11}}</ref> Some scholars, such as [[Antoaneta Sabău]], think that "the features that ecumenism may display today could testify against the idea of a diminished interest in ecumenical matters, and rather for the fact that essential concepts of ecumenism have already become integrative parts of contemporary theologies."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sabău|first=Antoaneta|date=2020-04-01|title=Editorial RES 1/2020|journal=Review of Ecumenical Studies Sibiu|language=en|volume=12|issue=1|pages=10–11|doi=10.2478/ress-2020-0001|s2cid=219168150 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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