Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Oeconomus

The person who manages the monetary matters for a religious society. The steward of a college. Directly related to the modern words “economy,” "economical," “economist,” etc. (Originally from the ancient Greek word for “house”).

“All the Alms, and all the Revenues were kept in common, under the Care of the Deacons, and Oeconomi.” Dupin’s New Ecclesiastical History of the 17th Century (1725).

Scale of 1 to 10: 7. It may be a house of God, but its eggs and nails and linen come from the world of Mammon, and that’s where the oeconomus comes in.

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