bema

American  

[bee-muh] / ˈbi mə /

noun

plural

bemata, bemas

1. Eastern Church. the enclosed space surrounding the altar; the sanctuary or chancel.

2. (in a Christian basilica) an open space between the end of the nave arcade and the apse.

3. bimah.

4. a platform for public speaking.

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bema British  

/ ˈbiːmə /

noun

1. the speaker's platform in the assembly in ancient Athens

2. Eastern Orthodox Church a raised area surrounding the altar in a church; the sanctuary

3. Judaism another word for almemar

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Etymology

Origin of bema

1675–85; < Greek bêma step, platform, equivalent to bē- (verbid stem of baínein to step, go; see come) + -ma (noun suffix denoting result of action)

Example Sentences

Dr. Freshfield thinks these frames formed part of the eikonostasis, but on that view the bema would have been unusually large.

From Byzantine Churches in Constantinople Their History and Architecture by Van Millingen, Alexander

Across the eastern side of the central square was a screen which divided off the bema, where the altar was situated, from the body of the church; this screen, bearing images, is the iconastasis.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various

Different from the man of unruffled brow who ruled from the bema was he who paced the state cabin of the Nausicaä a few nights after the evacuation.

From A Victor of Salamis by Davis, William Stearns

The niches in the bema only rise to a short distance above the floor, not, as on the opposite side, to above the cornice.

From Byzantine Churches in Constantinople Their History and Architecture by Van Millingen, Alexander

This allows of an east window in the tympanum of the dome arch above the bema.

From Byzantine Churches in Constantinople Their History and Architecture by Van Millingen, Alexander