Ecumenical Historiography Of Christianity In Breaking India By Rajiv Malhotra

challenge to the modern historiography. Writer-politician Arun Shourie re-reads history of Christian missionary works and conversion movements of Dalits from point of Indian nationalism, identity, culture, language and race to erase the memories of Christian contributions and Dalit reaction to Hinduism. Breaking India by Rajiv Malhotra, a highly imaginative self contradicting work, vehemently attacked on Christianity and its works among Dalits and down trodden communities in India terming the works as dividing India and serving Western interests without understanding the oppressive-colonial nature of Hinduism. The challenges of Hindutva, the programs of Ghar Wapsi, and Shuddhi, communalized history textbooks and glorification of Hindu martyrs

Ecumenical Historiography of Christianity: Methodological considerations

3.1. Etymology of the word ‘Ecumenical’

The word ‘ecumenical’ is a widely used term among Protestant Christians since 1910. The Greek term oikumene is derived from the word oikos meant the whole inhabited earth in geographical sense especially to denote Greek inhabited lands, later included the non-Greek lands. During the Roman period the term oikumene was used to refer Imperium Romanum or cultured world.

The early Church father Clement of Rome used the word oikumene to denote the whole world created by God. When Christianity spread into different directions it was called ‘universal church’ hence Origen used the word oikumene to denote the ‘inhabited earth and the inhabited Churches there in.’ Eusebius used the term oikumene to identify with Church of God; similarly Athanasius used this term to denote geographical world and the Church in the known world. During the Roman period the term was used in political sense but the New Testament defines it as “the whole world” without political or cultural connotations (Acts 17:31; Matt. 24:14). The early Christians used this term to denote ‘Church Synods’ ‘general councils’ or ‘church councils’, or councils represented by all churches or ‘Church