Koinonia

Koinonia (/ˌkɔɪnˈnə/)[1] is a transliterated form of the Greek word κοινωνία, which refers to concepts such as fellowship, joint participation, partnership, the share which one has in anything, a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution. In the Politics of Aristotle it is used to mean a community of any size from a single family to a polis. As a polis, it is the Greek for republic or commonwealth. In later Christianity it identifies the idealized state of fellowship and unity that should exist within the Christian church, the Body of Christ. This usage may have been borrowed from the early Epicureans—as it is used by Epicurus' Principal Doctrines 37–38.[2]

The term communion, derived from Latin communio ('sharing in common'),[3] is related. The term "Holy Communion" normally refers to the Christian rite also called the Eucharist.

  1. ^ "Koinonia also spelt Kenonia". New Testament Greek Lexicon – New American Standard. Bible Study Tools.
  2. ^ Norman DeWitt argues in his book St Paul and Epicurus that many early Christian ideas were borrowed from the Epicureans.
  3. ^ American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Archived 2005-09-02 at the Wayback Machine