04-19-2010, 03:41 AM
Rafa Wrote:On a note here, I would just like to say that the entire Latin Church uses "Ekklesia" or its many derivations (Chiesa, Iglesia, Igreja, etc.) derived from "Edtha" and that only our brothers in the northern countries use the word "Church" so I don't think this is a big deal. I have no idea on the origin of the word, just saying that its one of those peculiarities, like people in English speaking countries calling what in my language is "Pascua" (pascha) "Easter" because it fell in a month of the calendar with that name.
The English language uses the word "Church" to refer to both the body of Christian believers and for the actual building of worship. Does "Ekklesia" mean both also?
In Aramaic and specifically the Church of the East we use " 'edtha " in reference to the body of believers and " 'umra " to refer to the building of worship.