ecclesia

American  

[ih-klee-zhee-uh, -zee-uh] / ɪˈkli ʒi ə, -zi ə /

noun

plural

ecclesiae

1. an assembly, especially the popular assembly of ancient Athens.

2. a congregation; church.

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ecclesia British  

/ ɪˈkliːzɪə /

noun

1. (in formal Church usage) a congregation

2. the assembly of citizens of an ancient Greek state

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Etymology

Origin of ecclesia

1570–80; < Latin < Greek ekklēsía assembly, equivalent to ékklēt ( os ) summoned ( ek- ec- + klē-, variant of kal-, stem of kaleîn to call, + -tos past participle suffix) + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

All Athenian citizens could attend the public assembly or ecclesia.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 8 "Chariot" to "Chatelaine" by Various

Et si negative, supplicatur pro gratia ad promovendum cultum qui ipsos decet in ecclesia cathedrali ac tota dioecesi ratione sui specialissimi patronatus”.

From The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, November 1864 by

Compare Peckham’s injunction to Wherwell in 1284: “Iterum ob Dei reverentiam et ecclesiae honestatem perpetuo inhibemus ne mercatores sedere in ecclesia cum suis mercibus permittantur.”

From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Power, Eileen

Iuratores dicunt quod terra illa est feodum eiusdem ecclesie ita quod idem G. et antecessores sui semper tenuerunt de ecclesia....

From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Vinogradoff, Paul

He did indeed firmly maintain the fundamental idea of pietism, ecclesiolæ in ecclesia, but in his mind it gained a wider significance than pietism had given it.

From Church History, Vol. 3 of 3 by Kurtz, J. H.