ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT. This phrase signifies the general impetus toward Christian unity that took form as a movement, beginning with the larger Protestant communities, at the beginning of this century and that resulted, in 1948, in the formation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and various national bodies such as, in the United States, the National Council of Churches (NCC). Orthodox participation, led in particular by the Ecumenical Patriarch (q.v.) since the 1920s, has been consistent, though not without controversy. Notable Orthodox theologians, e.g., Georges Florovsky and Joh n Meyendorff (qq.v.), have played important roles in the Faith and Order commission of the WCC. They have also taken care not to compromise the catholic (q.v.) claims of Orthodoxy. Not all Orthodox participants over the years have been so careful. As a result, sharp criticisms have been leveled against any involvement in ecumenism by the more conservative elements in the Orthodox world, in particular the monasteries of Mt. Athos (q.v.). The issue remains a source of contention to the present.