Phyletism

Phyletism or ethnophyletism (from Ancient Greek: ἔθνος, romanized: ethnos, lit. 'nation' and φυλετικός, phyletikos, 'tribal') is the principle of nationalities applied in the ecclesiastical domain: in other words, the conflation between church and nation. The term ethnophyletism designates the idea that a local autocephalous church should be based not on a local (ecclesial) criterion, but on an ethnophyletist, national or linguistic one. It was used at the Council of Constantinople of 1872 to qualify "phyletist (religious) nationalism", which was condemned as a modern ecclesial heresy: the church should not be confused with the destiny of a single nation or a single race.