what IS koinos??

We tried several months ago to get this blog off the ground, and life sort of got busy and, well...it just never happened. So I'm going to try again. While I have a personal blog where I share my personal family stories, useless ramblings, recipes and other random things, I'd like this blog to be a place where people can come to feel a commonality in some way.

I was wrestling with what to re-name this blog for the 're-launch' of it. It was originally called "Koinonia Klips," but none of us liked that. I decided to do a Wikipedia search of the work 'koinonia'. I found lots of interesting things about the whole concept of koinonia, and thought I'd post it below to give you an idea what our church, Koinonia House, and this blog are all about.

The spiritual meaning of koinonia

The word has such a multitude of meanings that no single English word is adequate to express its depth and richness. It is a derivative of "koinos," the word for common. Koinonia, is a complex, rich, and thoroughly fascinating Greek approach to building community or teamwork.

Koinonia embraced a strong commitment to Kalos k'agathos meaning "good and good," – an inner goodness toward virtue, and an outer goodness toward social relationships. In the context of outer goodness, translated into English, the meaning of koinonia holds the idea of joint participation in something with someone, such as in a community, or team or an alliance or joint venture. Those who have studied the word find there is always an implication of action included in its meaning. The definition of the word is quite rich in that there are many connotations because the word used in a variety of related contexts.

Sharing

Koinonos means 'a sharer' as in to share with one another in a possession held in common. It implies the spirit of generous sharing or the act of giving as contrasted with selfish getting. When koinonia is present, the spirit of sharing and giving becomes tangible. In most contexts, generosity is not an abstract ideal, but a demonstrable action resulting in a tangible and realistic expression of giving.

In classical Greek, koinonein means "to have a share in a thing," as when two or more people hold all things in common. It can mean "going shares" with others, thereby having "business dealings,” such as joint ownership of a ship. It can also imply "sharing an opinion" with someone, and therefore agreeing with him, or disagreeing in a congenial way. Participation is vital because vital as the members are sharing in what others have. What is shared, received or given becomes the common ground through which Koinonia becomes real.

Relationships

"Koinonos" in classical Greek means a companion, a partner or a joint-owner. Therefore, koinonia can imply an association, common effort, or a partnership in common." The common ground by which the two parties are joined together creates an aligned relationship, such as a "fellowship" or "partnership".