At least once a day I have to add a word to my Firefox browser's dictionary or go to the OED for a definition as the normal resources (built-in OS X dictionary, Merriam-Webster Online, Onelook) don't have a very liturgical or religious-minded lexicon. To share the wealth (and as I'm a calendar "Word a Day" junkie) I'm going to put these words online.
phyletism:
An excessive emphasis on the principle of nationalism in the organization of church affairs; a policy which attaches greater importance to ethnic identity than to bonds of faith and worship; (originally) spec. the claim of the Bulgarian Church to jurisdiction over Bulgarian nationals in all parts of the world.
This claim led to the condemnation passed in 1872 by the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, and to a schism between the Greek-speaking Orthodox churches and the Bulgarian Church which lasted until 1945.
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A rare word, yes!
ReplyDeleteA rare experience... Not so much.
sigh
Very true. Maybe we need a religious Olympics to exercise nationalist muscles and get it our of our systems. :)
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