Evangelic

Evangelic or evangelical means "to be rooted in the gospels" from the Latin: evangelium or Ancient Greek: εὐαγγέλιον (from εὖ eu, "good" + ἀγγελία angelía, "message"). This is the core meaning in theology that can be found in terms like the Evangelical Counsels. "Evangelical" can also be the adjective to Evangelicalism. As this has become the common meaning in English by now, evangelic (from German: evangelisch, Dutch: evangelisch or Swedish: evangelisk) is often used for the original meaning. This makes the use of the adjective "evangelical" rather confusing if the context is unknown.

Evangelic as denomination

Many denominations of Protestantism use "evangelic" or "evangelical" as part of their name, most commonly Lutheran and Reformed churches (one of the two biggest organised churches in Germany is the Evangelical Church in Germany, consisting of Lutheran, Reformed and united Protestant congregations).

After the reformation, this was chosen to highlight the sola scriptura dogma that only accepts the Bible as authoritarian scripture, while in contrast the Sacred Tradition and apostolic age documents like the Apostolic Fathers or credos are only considered "normed standards".

External links

• www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evangelical Merriam-Webster dictionary entry "evangelical"