Ecumenicist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who seeks to promote unity among different Christian denominations and strives for interfaith dialogue and cooperation
2. An individual engaged in efforts to reconcile and unify diverse strands of Christian belief while encouraging collaborative relationships
3. A person dedicated to fostering cooperation between various Christian denominations through conversations and joint initiatives

Etymology: "Ecumenicist" is built from "ecumenic" plus the suffix "-ist", a combination whose pieces trace back to very different corners of Greek. The adjective "ecumenic" comes from the Greek "oikoumenikos," relating to the inhabited world, from "oikoumene," the inhabited earth as the Greeks saw it. The "-ist" ending carries a long pedigree of its own: it passed from Ancient Greek through Latin and Old French before arriving in Middle English, where it became a standard way to name a person who practises or promotes something. Put together, an ecumenicist is someone who works for the unity of the world's Christian churches, so a word about the whole inhabited earth has narrowed to a single religious aim. The suffix does the same job it does in "dentist" or "activist," turning an idea into a person devoted to it.

Synonyms: interfaith advocate, religious unifier, ecumenical leader, ecumenicalist, reconciler