ecclesia

Forms

ecclēsia f (genitive ecclēsiae); first declension^[1] Christian inscriptions have many spellings, such as eclesia, aeclesia, eclisia and aeclisia.^[2] Late poets sometimes scan the first syllable short.^[3][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía, “assembly”),^[4][1][5] from ἐκκαλέω (ekkaléō, “to call out, summon”), from ἐκ- (ek-, “out”) and καλέω (kaléō, “to call”).^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Classical Latin it is the assembly of the people in a Greek city: in Pliny the Younger's correspondence with Trajan a measure is passed with the consent of council and assembly, būlē et ecclēsiā cōnsentiente.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

In Christian Latin it became the congregation of believers.^[3][6] Tertullian already uses it of the Christian community, setting it against pagan philosophy (the Academy and the Porch),^[2][5] and the Old Latin Bible and the Vulgate use it for the churches of single cities, such as Ephesus or Smyrna, and for the Church as a whole: Chrīstus dīlēxit ecclēsiam, “Christ loved the Church”.^[2][3] It also named the building: Augustine explains that the place is called after the people it holds.^[3] Ausonius uses it of an assembly in general.^[3]

Medieval writers used it also for Christendom, for the monks of an abbey and for the clergy of a diocese,^[6] and spoke of the Church as mother and as bride of Christ.^[7] It lives on in Italian chiesa, Old French eglise and Sardinian crèsia, and was borrowed into Old Irish as eclais.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of the Christian community.^[2][5]
• after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses it.^[2][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate: the churches of single cities, and the Church as a whole.^[2][3][5]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine explains its use for the church building.^[3][5]
• c. 510–570 AD – Gildas speaks of “mother Church”.^[7][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (in a Greek city) The assembly of the people; a meeting of it.^[4][3]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A congregation of Christians, a local church.^[3][6][8]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The Church, the whole body of believers.^[3][6]
4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A church building.^[3][6]
5. (Late Latin) Any assembly or meeting.^[3]
6. (Medieval Latin) Christendom; the monks of an abbey; the clergy of a diocese.^[6]

Word family

• ecclēsiola

Related words

• ecclēsiasticus
• synagōga

Usage notes

The question quid Acadēmīae et ecclēsiae?, “what has the Academy to do with the Church?”, comes from Tertullian.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson