Evangelist

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˈvændÊ’É™lɪst/

Origin

From Old French evangeliste, from ecclesiastical Latin evangelista, from ecclesiastical Ancient Greek εὐαγγελιστής (euangelistes, "bringer of good news"), from εὐαγγελίζεσθαι ("to evangelize"), from εὐάγγελος (euangelos, "bringing good news"), from εὖ (eu, "well") + ἀγγέλλειν (angelein, "to announce").

Full definition of evangelist

Noun

1. (Christianity) An itinerant or special preacher, especially a revivalist.
2. (Bible) A writer of a gospel, especially the four New Testament Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), usually Evangelist.
3. (primitive Church) A person who first brought the gospel to a city or region.
4. (Mormon Church) A patriarch
5. A person marked by extreme enthusiasm for or support of any cause, particularly with regard to religion.
• 1992, J. D. Douglas, Who's Who in Christian History, ISBN 0842310142, p. 94.Booth, William (1829-1912) English evangelist; founder and first general of the Salvation Army ... his subordinates being expected to give him unquestioning obedience.
• 1994, Frank Lambert, "Pedlar in Divinity", ISBN 0691096163, p. 10.Yet in the spreading consumer market of the mid-1700s, his renditions competed with others offering a far different account of the evangelist and his message. The famous artist William Hogarth mocked Whitefield in two engravings presenting the revivalist as a religious fanatic who held sway over the superstitious lower orders.
• 1996, Peter J. Conn, Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Biography, ISBN 0521639891, p. 149.The film implies that the evangelist, as a type, is a fanatic, a sanctimonious prig, and ultimately a hypocrite.

Related terms

• angel
• angelic
• evangelize
• televangelist