Evangel

Evangel is a term meaning the Gospel or good news, particularly within Christian contexts. It comes from Latin evangelium, itself from Greek euangelion, literally "good news" or "a good message." In English, evangel is now rare and typically found in historical or scholarly writing; the everyday equivalent is gospel.

Historically, evangel referred to the Christian message itself or to the four canonical Gospels. The phrase "the Evangel" or "the Evangelion" was used in early Christianity to denote the Gospel truth proclaimed by Jesus and the apostles. The authors of the Gospels are called Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The term also yields the plural evangelia in Latin and euangelia in Greek, referring to the Gospels or their contents.

In modern usage, evangel appears almost exclusively in ecclesiastical or academic contexts, or as part of fixed phrases such as "the Evangel" referring to the Gospel narrative, or to the broader Christian message. In other languages the equivalent term is common: German Evangelium, Italian Vangelo, Spanish Evangelio, Swedish evangelium. English usage tends to prefer "gospel" and related forms like "evangelist" and "evangelical."

See also: Gospel, Evangelist, Evangelical, Evangelism, Evangelium.