The word for the Christian unity movement — “ecumenical” — is derived from Greek oikoumene, which means “the whole inhabited world”. The concept was first proposed by the Orthodox Synod of Constantinople — a “fellowship of churches” modeled on the League of Nations. The idea caught on, and churches voted heavily in favor, though faced a delay of almost a decade brought on by WW II.

On this day, August 23, in 1948, the World Council of Churches formed in Amsterdam, with delegates of 147 member churches uniting previously separate movements.

The WCC takes credit for facilitating dialogue between the Eastern Bloc and the West during the Cold War, and for helping to end apartheid in South Africa. But the WCC was also heavily influenced by the KGB members within its ranks. The “Moscow Patriarchate”, a religious order established by Stalin to penetrate religious groups, helped the WCC to turn a blind eye towards religious persecution in Eastern Europe.