reunion. Desire for the visible unity of the Church increased in the 20th cent. as growing doctrinal agreement between the major Christian denominations was reinforced by liturgical reforms. In modern times there has also been an increased openness in the attitude of the RC Church towards members of other communions.

Reunion with the Orthodox Church has frequently been attempted by W. Churches. After the short-lived union effected by the Council of Florence (1439), there were other less important rapprochements. Some Orthodox Churches sent observers to the Second Vatican Council, and in 1965 the mutual anathemas of 1054 between the E. and W. Churches were lifted. There have been contacts between the Orthodox and the C of E since the 18th cent. (now impeded by the ordination of women), and Orthodox Churches are engaged in discussions with the Old Catholics and Reformed Churches.

Since the 17th cent. there have been aspirations for reunion between the C of E and the RC Church, notably at the time of the Oxford and post-Tractarian movements and of the Malines Conversations (1921–5). There have also been several efforts to unite the English dissenting bodies with the Established Church, beginning with the abortive attempt at the Restoration to ‘comprehend’ Presbyterians and Independents. The Lambeth Conference of 1888 laid down four conditions for such a union (the Lambeth Quadrilateral). The main difficulty which emerged in conversations between the C of E and the Free Churches concerned questions of ministry. These figured largely in the abortive Anglican-Methodist Conversations and the proposals of the Churches' Council for Covenanting, set up in 1978, but rejected by the C of E in 1982.

Schemes for reunion between the C of E and foreign Protestant bodies have been discussed intermittently since the 16th cent. In the 20th cent. there were agreements to establish mutual Eucharistic hospitality between the C of E and various Lutheran State Churches in Europe. The Porvoo Agreement, reached in 1992, envisaged a relationship between the Anglican Churches of Britain and Ireland and the Nordic and Balkan Lutheran Churches with a common membership and interchangeable ministry: it was ratified by all the Churches except those of Latvia and Denmark. In 2001 a similar scheme brought the Evangelical Luteran Church in America and the Episcopal Church into a relationship described as ‘full communion’.

While numerous negotiations have proved abortive, there have been a series of Church unions since the early 19th cent. Past divisions have been healed by Presbyterians in Scotland in 1847, 1900 and 1929 and in the USA in 1958 and 1983 and between Methodist bodies both in Britain and the USA. Across denominational boundaries, the Lutheran and Reformed Churches of Prussia were brought together in 1817 in the United Evangelical Church of Prussia, later constituted the Church of the Union, and in 1972 the Presbyterian Church of England and the greater part of the Congregational Church of England and Wales united to form the United Reformed Church. Unions formed on a multidenominational basis include united Churches in Canada (formed in 1925), South India (1947), the Philippines (1948), Zambia (1965), Zaire (1970), North India (1970), Pakistan (1970), Bangladesh (1971), and Australia (1977). In these unions Presbyterians and Congregationalists have most often been involved; Anglicans entered only the unions on the Indian subcontinent. In Africa and Asia local unions have played an important part in indigenizing the Church, as several missionary-founded Churches have been succeeded by a single locally funded and locally led Church. In 1970 two world confessional organizations joined to form the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which encourages its member Churches to enter into unions. See also ANGLICAN-ROMAN CATHOLIC INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION, CONSULTATION ON CHURCH UNION, ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT, LEUENBERG CONCORD, UNIAT CHURCHES.

RÉunion

The island of Réunion, located in the Indian Ocean approximately 450 miles (724 kilometers) east of Madagascar, became an overseas department of France in 1946. As of July 2000, the island counted nearly 721,000 inhabitants.

The educational system is based on that of the mother country. School attendance is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16. More than 217,000 students attend some 640 public and private establishments. Nursery schools and kindergartens exist for children between two and six years of age. Elementary schools are for the first five years of study, junior high schools (collège ) for the next four years, and senior high schools (lycées ) for the final three. Overall, the system employs about 17,000 people, including 14,000 teachers and teachers aides. Seventy percent of the students who complete their studies and pass a series of examinations in all major disciplines receive the baccalauréat, or secondary school diploma.

The University of La Réunion was founded in 1982. More than 13,000 students coming from all over the world attend classes at its four sites. They prepare degrees in one of the University's three schools (law and economics, letters and human sciences, and science and technology) or one of its three institutes (linguistics and anthropology, management, and business administration). University studies are divided into three cycles: the first lasts two years, the second lasts three or four depending upon the degree that is sought, and the third lasts for five years. Each one is sanctioned by a diploma. Students can also prepare a doctorate. Research is done in the Schools of Sciences, Economics and Political Sciences, and Letters and Human Sciences.

Bibliography

Academie de la Réunion, 2001. Available from http://www.acreunion.fr.

—John J. Janc

Réunion , island and overseas department of France (2005 est. pop. 777,000), c.970 sq mi (2,510 sq km), one of the Mascarene Islands , in the Indian Ocean c.430 mi (690 km) E of Madagascar. Saint-Denis (the capital) and Le Port (the leading port) are the chief cities.

Land, People, and Economy

The island is composed mainly of one active and several extinct volcanoes; its highest point is Le Piton des Neiges (10,069 ft/3,069 m). Le Piton de la Fournaise in S Réunion is one of the earth's most active volcanoes. Settlement and cultivation are concentrated in the coastal lowlands. Most of the inhabitants are Roman Catholic and speak a creole patois. Since the 19th cent. sugar has been by far the island's chief product and export. Molasses, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, and rum are also produced.

History

Réunion was known to the Arabs and was visited by the Portuguese in the early 16th cent. The island was uninhabited until settled by the French c.1642; its present mixed population is descended from the French settlers and their East African, South Asian, and Indochinese slaves (after 1848, when slavery was abolished, indentured laborers). At first a penal colony, Réunion became a post of the French East India Company in 1665. In the 18th cent. the island was an exporter of coffee. From 1810 to 1814 Réunion was held by Great Britain. After 1815, when coffee no longer could be produced competitively, sugarcane became the main crop. In 1947 the status of Réunion was changed from a colony to an overseas department. In the 1980s and 90s, the citizens of Réunion sought greater political autonomy and better wages and working conditions.

Réunion Saint Apollina, Île Mascareigne, Île Bourbon, Île de la Réunion, Île Bonaparte Department of Réunion (Département de la Réunion) since 1946, having previously been a French colony. One of the Mascarene Islands and an Overseas Department of France. Most accounts claim that the island was discovered by the Portuguese explorer Pedro de Mascarenhas during his voyage to India in 1512–14. He saw it on 9 February, St Apollina's Day, hence its first name. The French claimed the island in 1638, first calling it Mascarin Island and then in 1642 Bourbon Island after the French royal house; it was finally settled by the French East India Company in 1665 and passed to the French crown in 1767. In 1793, after the French Revolution, it was renamed Reunion Island to mark the ‘reunion’ of some 500 revolutionaries, who had marched from Marseilles, with those in Paris in 1792. In 1801–10 it was known as Bonaparte Island after Napoleon^†, but in 1810 the island was captured by the British and the name reverted to Bourbon. However, it was returned to France four years later. With the creation of the Second Republic of France in 1848 the name was changed once more to Reunion Island. It is now simply called Réunion.

559. Reunion

1. Arafat, Mt . Adam and Eve met here after 200 years. [Muslim Legend: Berra, 44]
2. chickweed flower symbolizing a rejoining. [Flower Symbolism: Jobes, 322]
3. Esau and Jacob after many years, they are reconciled. [O.T.: Genesis 33:1–4]
4. Eurydice and Orpheus reunited despite his backward look. [Ger. Opera: Gluck, Orpheus and Eurydice, Westerman, 72]
5. Joachim and Anna separated spouses joyfully meet at Jerusalem gate on news of her pregnancy. [Ital. Lit.: Golden Legend ]
6. Mary and Elizabeth the two pregnant women meet after many years and rejoice. [N.T.: Luke 1:39–56]
7. prodigal son and his father repentant son returns home to a joyous welcome. [N.T.: Luke 15:11–32]

Réunion Volcanic island in the Indian Ocean, in the Mascarene group, c.700km (440mi) e of Madagascar, forming an overseas department of France; the capital is St Denis. Discovered in 1513 by the Portuguese, France claimed Réunion in 1638. The island became an overseas department in 1948, and part of an administrative region in 1973. Exports: sugar, rum, maize, tobacco. Area: 2510sq km (969sq mi). Pop. (2000) 692,000.

reunion coming together again. XVII. — F. réunion, f. réunir reunite.
So reunite XVI. See RE-, UNION, UNITE.

Reunion

a meeting or social gathering of persons acquainted with each other through some former event or connection.

Réunion Two normal polarity subchrons which occur within the Matuyama reversed chron.

Réunion •antipodean, Crimean, Judaean, Korean •Albion •Gambian, Zambian •lesbian •Arabian, Bessarabian, Fabian, gabion, Sabian, Swabian •amphibian, Libyan, Namibian •Sorbian •Danubian, Nubian •Colombian • Serbian • Nietzschean •Chadian, Trinidadian •Andean, Kandyan •guardian •Acadian, Akkadian, Arcadian, Barbadian, Canadian, circadian, Grenadian, Hadean, Orcadian, Palladian, radian, steradian •Archimedean, comedian, epicedian, median, tragedian •ascidian, Derridean, Dravidian, enchiridion, Euclidean, Floridian, Gideon, Lydian, meridian, Numidian, obsidian, Pisidian, quotidian, viridian •Amerindian, Indian •accordion, Edwardian •Cambodian, collodion, custodian, melodeon, nickelodeon, Odeon •Freudian • Bermudian • Burundian •Burgundian •Falstaffian, Halafian •Christadelphian, Delphian, Philadelphian •nymphean • ruffian • Brobdingnagian •Carolingian • Swedenborgian •logion, Muskogean •Jungian •magian, Pelagian •collegian •callipygian, Cantabrigian, Phrygian, Stygian •Merovingian • philologian • Fujian •Czechoslovakian • Pickwickian •Algonquian • Chomskian •Kentuckian •battalion, galleon, medallion, rapscallion, scallion •Anglian, ganglion •Heraklion •Dalian, Malian, Somalian •Chellean, Machiavellian, Orwellian, Sabellian, Trevelyan, triskelion •Wesleyan •alien, Australian, bacchanalian, Castalian, Deucalion, episcopalian, Hegelian, madrigalian, mammalian, Pygmalion, Salian, saturnalian, sesquipedalian, tatterdemalion, Thessalian, Westphalian •anthelion, Aristotelian, Aurelian, carnelian, chameleon, Karelian, Mendelian, Mephistophelian, Pelion, Sahelian •Abbevillian, Azilian, Brazilian, caecilian, Castilian, Chilean, Churchillian, civilian, cotillion, crocodilian, epyllion, Gillian, Lilian, Maximilian, Pamphylian, pavilion, postilion, Quintilian, reptilian, Sicilian, Tamilian, vaudevillian, vermilion, Virgilian •Aeolian, Anatolian, Eolian, Jolyon, Mongolian, napoleon, simoleon •Acheulian, Boolean, cerulean, Friulian, Julian, Julien •bullion •mullion, scullion, Tertullian •Liverpudlian •Bahamian, Bamian, Damian, Mesopotamian, Samian •anthemion, Bohemian •Endymion, prosimian, Simeon, simian •isthmian • antinomian •Permian, vermian •Oceanian •Albanian, Azanian, Iranian, Jordanian, Lithuanian, Mauritanian, Mediterranean, Panamanian, Pennsylvanian, Pomeranian, Romanian, Ruritanian, Sassanian, subterranean, Tasmanian, Transylvanian, Tripolitanian, Turanian, Ukrainian, Vulcanian •Armenian, Athenian, Fenian, Magdalenian, Mycenaean (US Mycenean), Slovenian, Tyrrhenian •Argentinian, Arminian, Augustinian, Carthaginian, Darwinian, dominion, Guinean, Justinian, Ninian, Palestinian, Sardinian, Virginian •epilimnion, hypolimnion •Bosnian •Bornean, Californian, Capricornian •Aberdonian, Amazonian, Apollonian, Babylonian, Baconian, Bostonian, Caledonian, Catalonian, Chalcedonian, Ciceronian, Devonian, draconian, Estonian, Etonian, gorgonian, Ionian, Johnsonian, Laconian, Macedonian, Miltonian, Newtonian, Oregonian, Oxonian, Patagonian, Plutonian, Tennysonian, Tobagonian, Washingtonian •Cameroonian, communion, Mancunian, Neptunian, Réunion, union •Hibernian, Saturnian •Campion, champion, Grampian, rampion, tampion •thespian • Mississippian • Olympian •Crispian •Scorpian, scorpion •cornucopian, dystopian, Ethiopian, Salopian, subtopian, Utopian •Guadeloupian •Carian, carrion, clarion, Marian •Calabrian, Cantabrian •Cambrian • Bactrian •Lancastrian, Zoroastrian •Alexandrian • Maharashtrian •equestrian, pedestrian •agrarian, antiquarian, apiarian, Aquarian, Arian, Aryan, authoritarian, barbarian, Bavarian, Bulgarian, Caesarean (US Cesarean), centenarian, communitarian, contrarian, Darien, disciplinarian, egalitarian, equalitarian, establishmentarian, fruitarian, Gibraltarian, grammarian, Hanoverian, humanitarian, Hungarian, latitudinarian, libertarian, librarian, majoritarian, millenarian, necessarian, necessitarian, nonagenarian, octogenarian, ovarian, Parian, parliamentarian, planarian, predestinarian, prelapsarian, proletarian, quadragenarian, quinquagenarian, quodlibetarian, Rastafarian, riparian, rosarian, Rotarian, sabbatarian, Sagittarian, sanitarian, Sauveterrian, sectarian, seminarian, septuagenarian, sexagenarian, topiarian, totalitarian, Trinitarian, ubiquitarian, Unitarian, utilitarian, valetudinarian, vegetarian, veterinarian, vulgarian •Adrian, Hadrian •Assyrian, Illyrian, Syrian, Tyrian •morion • Austrian •Dorian, Ecuadorean, historian, Hyperborean, Nestorian, oratorian, praetorian (US pretorian), salutatorian, Salvadorean, Singaporean, stentorian, Taurean, valedictorian, Victorian •Ugrian • Zarathustrian •Cumbrian, Northumbrian, Umbrian •Algerian, Cancerian, Chaucerian, Cimmerian, criterion, Hesperian, Hitlerian, Hyperion, Iberian, Liberian, Nigerian, Presbyterian, Shakespearean, Siberian, Spenserian, Sumerian, valerian, Wagnerian, Zairean •Arthurian, Ben-Gurion, centurion, durian, holothurian, Khachaturian, Ligurian, Missourian, Silurian, tellurian •Circassian, Parnassian •halcyon • Capsian • Hessian •Albigensian, Waldensian •Dacian • Keatsian •Cilician, Galician, Lycian, Mysian, Odyssean •Leibnizian • Piscean • Ossian •Gaussian • Joycean • Andalusian •Mercian • Appalachian • Decian •Ordovician, Priscian •Lucian •himation, Montserratian •Atlantean, Dantean, Kantian •bastion, Erastian, Sebastian •Mozartian • Brechtian • Thyestean •Fortean • Faustian • protean •Djiboutian •fustian, Procrustean •Gilbertian, Goethean, nemertean •pantheon •Hogarthian, Parthian •Lethean, Promethean •Pythian • Corinthian • Scythian •Lothian, Midlothian •Latvian • Yugoslavian •avian, Batavian, Flavian, Moldavian, Moravian, Octavian, Scandinavian, Shavian •Bolivian, Maldivian, oblivion, Vivian •Chekhovian, Harrovian, Jovian, Pavlovian •alluvion, antediluvian, diluvian, Peruvian •Servian • Malawian • Zimbabwean •Abkhazian • Dickensian •Caucasian, Malaysian, Rabelaisian •Keynesian •Belizean, Cartesian, Indonesian, Milesian, Salesian, Silesian •Elysian, Frisian, Parisian, Tunisian •Holmesian •Carthusian, Malthusian, Venusian