Oecumene - is an ancient Greek word that means "inhabited" by οἰκέω - «inhabit dwell."Greek geographer Hecataeus of Miletus called that word known to the Greeks of the planet to the city center in Greece.Gradually, Hecataeus of Miletus changed the term - first he called so only the Greek land, and later - all the territory inhabited by people in general.
Oecumene in literature and culture
Besides the geographical sense, there are others.In the history of a concept known as the "Old World" - a cultural ecumene populated piece of land, which included the territory known to Europeans before they discovered America.After the discovery of America, the notion of "New World".Old World - is not just a collection of the land, it is a culture, a world of people.Historically, the land that belonged to the concept of "Old World", is divided into Europe, Asia and Africa.
Ivan Efremov "At the edge of the known world»
Oecumene - is not only a Greek term and historical territory: it is also the name of the novel by the Soviet writer Ivan Efremov.Artwork Ephraim "At the edge of the known world" tells the story of the world ancient Greece Aegean period.
young sculptor Pandion had to make a trip to the famous then inhabited areas, visit the slavery of the Egyptians, to cross Africa from east to west, passing the lands of present Sudan, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and to complete their journey traveling through the Strait of Gibraltar on the ship of the Phoenicians.He visited Greece very far from land, literally on the edge of the ecumene - then known to the Greeks inhabited earth.
«Oecumene" H. L. Oldie
Efremov not the only one who turned in his work to this not very common name.Henry Lion Oldie also used resounding in his fantastic "World of the known world", which includes a total of nine books, divided into three parts.
first ("Ecumene") and the third ("The Savages of the known world") - are linked by the story.Second - «Urbi et orbi, or the city and the world" - takes place in the universe "known world", but is not connected with other parts.
In this cycle, under the "known world" refers to the undeveloped land.There is a word used to mean "the universe" refers to all known and visited by people places - and on Earth and in space and on other planets in the universe.
evolution of the concept of "ecumene»
In Russian ecumene - a "universe", "the inhabited universe."With the passage of time that has passed since the introduction of the term to the present day, its value is not only expanded, but has acquired new shades.
about the second half of the nineteenth century in the Russian language, the term came to an original - in two different ways, with different pronunciation and different meaning.Since ecumene - a geographic, ecological, cultural and historical concept.The second one concerns the relationship between the various religions and churches, and sounds like "ecumenism."
Ecumenism as a phenomenon began to emerge in the Middle Ages.The term was proposed in 1937 - the origin of the word is the same as the term "ecumene."
At the very core of ecumenism - the theory of the branches of the church.In other words, all Christian denominations and faiths (Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox and others) there are different branches of the same Christian church.They have a lot in common - belief in Christ, svyaschestva Institute.The main motive of this movement - closer, the desire for unity and mutual enrichment in the spiritual plane.
Both values are quite independent in the Russian language, each has its place.It is possible that over time the value will expand even further enriching the language with new shades of meaning and concepts.
