- ἐκκλησία
- ἐκκλησία, ας, ἡ (ἐκ + καλέω; Eur., Hdt.+)① a regularly summoned legislative body, assembly, as gener. understood in the Gr-Rom. world (Jos., Ant. 12, 164; 19, 332, Vi. 268) Ac 19:39 (on ‘[regular] statutory assembly’, s. ἔννομος and IBM III/2, p. 141. The term ἐννόμη ἐ. here contrasts w. the usage vss. 32 and 40, in which ἐ. denotes simply ‘a gathering’; s. 2 below. On the ἐ. in Ephesus cp. CIG III, 325; IBM III/1, 481, 340; on the ἐ. in the theater there s. the last-named ins ln. 395; OGI 480, 9).—Pauly-W. V/2, 1905, 2163–2200; RAC IV 905–21 (lit.).② a casual gathering of people, an assemblage, gathering (cp. 1 Km 19:20; 1 Macc 3:13; Sir 26:5) Ac 19:32, 40.③ people with shared belief, community, congregation (for common identity, cp. the community of Pythagoras [Hermippus in Diog. L. 8, 41]. Remarkably, in Himerius, Or. 39 [Or. 5], 5 Orpheus forms for himself τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, a group of wild animals, who listen to him, in the Thracian mountains where there are no people), in our lit. of common interest in the God of Israel.ⓐ of OT Israelites assembly, congregation (Dt 31:30; Judg 20:2; 1 Km 17:47; 3 Km 8:14; PsSol 10:6; TestJob 32:8 τῆς εὐώδους ἐ.; Philo; Jos., Ant. 4, 309; Diod S 40, 3, 6) Hb 2:12 (Ps 21:23); e.g. to hear the law (Dt 4:10; 9:10; 18:16) Ac 7:38.ⓑ of Christians in a specific place or area (the term ἐ. apparently became popular among Christians in Greek-speaking areas for chiefly two reasons: to affirm continuity with Israel through use of a term found in Gk. translations of the Hebrew Scriptures, and to allay any suspicion, esp. in political circles, that Christians were a disorderly group).α. of a specific Christian group assembly, gathering ordinarily involving worship and discussion of matters of concern to the community: Mt 18:17; συνερχομένων ὑμῶν ἐν ἐ. when you come together as an assembly 1 Cor 11:18; cp. 14:4f, 12, 19, 28, 35; pl. vs. 34. ἐν ἐ. ἐξομολογεῖσθαι τὰ παραπτώματα confess one’s sins in assembly D 4:14; cp. 3J 6 (JCampbell, JTS 49, ’48, 130–42; for the Johannines s. ESchweizer below). In Ac 15:22 the ‘apostles and elders’ function in the manner of the βουλή or council, the committee of the whole that was responsible in a Gr-Rom. polis for proposing legislation to the assembly of citizens.—Of Christians gathering in the home of a patron house-assembly (‘house-church’) Πρίσκαν καὶ Ἀκύλαν … καὶ τὴν κατʼ οἶκον αὐτῶν ἐ. Ro 16:5; cp. 1 Cor 16:19. Νύμφαν καὶ τὴν κατʼ οἶκον αὐτῆς ἐ. Col 4:15; ἡ κατʼ οἶκόν σου ἐ. Phlm 2.—FFilson, JBL 58, ’39, 105–12; other reff. οἶκος 1aα.—Pl. ἐ. τῶν ἁγίων 1 Cor 14:33; ἐ. τῶν ἐθνῶν Ro 16:4.—1 Ti 5:16 prob. belongs here, s. βαρέω b.β. congregation or church as the totality of Christians living and meeting in a particular locality or larger geographical area, but not necessarily limited to one meeting place: Ac 5:11; 8:3; 9:31 (so KGiles, NTS 31, ’85, 135–42; s. c below), 11:26; 12:5; 15:3; 18:22; 20:17; cp. 12:1; 1 Cor 4:17; Phil 4:15; 1 Ti 5:16 perh., s. α above; Js 5:14; 3 J 9f; 1 Cl 44:3; Hv 2, 4, 3. More definitely of the Christians in Jerusalem Ac 8:1; 11:22; cp. 2:47 v.l.; 15:4, 22; Cenchreae Ro 16:1; cp. vs. 23; Corinth 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1; 1 Cl ins; 47:6; AcPlCor 1:16; Laodicea Col 4:16; Rv 3:14; Thessalonica 1 Th 1:1; 2 Th 1:1; Colossae Phlm subscr. v.l. Likew. w. other names: Rv 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7; IEph ins; 8:1; IMg ins; ITr ins; 13:1; IRo 9:1; IPhld ins; 10:1; ISm 11:1; Pol ins. Plural: Ac 15:41; 16:5; Ro 16:16; 1 Cor 7:17; 2 Cor 8:18f, 23f; 11:8, 28; 12:13; Rv 2:7, 11, 17, 23, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 22:16; the Christian community in Judea Gal 1:22; 1 Th 2:14; Galatia Gal 1:2; 1 Cor 16:1; Asia vs. 19; Rv 1:4, and cp. vss. 11 and 20; Macedonia 2 Cor 8:1. κατʼ ἐκκλησίαν in each individual congregation or assembly Ac 14:23 (on the syntax cp. OGI 480, 9 [s. 1 above]: ἵνα τιθῆνται κατʼ ἐκκλησίαν in order that they [the statues] might be set up at each [meeting of the] ἐ.). On κατὰ τ. οὖσαν ἐ. Ac 13:1 cp. εἰμί 1 end.ⓒ the global community of Christians, (universal) church (s. AvHarnack, Mission I4 420 n. 2 on Ac 12:1): Mt 16:18 (OBetz, ZNW 48, ’57, 49–77: Qumran parallels; s. HBraun, Qumran I, ’66, 30–37); Ac 9:31 (but s. 3bβ); 1 Cor 6:4; 12:28; Eph 1:22; 3:10, 21; 5:23ff, 27, 29, 32 (HSchlier, Christus u. d. Kirche im Eph 1930; also ThBl 6, 1927, 12–17); Col 1:18, 24; Phil 3:6; B 7:11; Hv 2, 2, 6; 2, 4, 1 (with the depiction of the church as an elderly lady cp. Ps.-Demetr. 265 where Hellas, the homeland, is represented as λαβοῦσα γυναικὸς σχῆμα); 3, 3, 3; IEph 5:1f and oft.—The local assembly or congregation as well as the universal church is more specif. called ἐ. τοῦ θεοῦ or ἐ. τ. Χριστοῦ. This is essentially Pauline usage, and it serves to give the current Gk. term its Christian coloring and thereby its special mng.:α. ἐ. τοῦ θεοῦ (Orig., C. Cels. 1, 63, 22) 1 Cor 1:2; 10:32; 11:16, 22; 15:9; 2 Cor 1:1; Gal 1:13; 1 Th 2:14; 2 Th 1:4; 1 Ti 3:5, 15; Ac 20:28; ITr 2:3; 12:1; IPhld 10:1; ISm ins al.β. ἐ. τοῦ Χριστοῦ (Orig., C. Cels. 5, 22, 14) Ro 16:16.γ. both together ἐ. ἐν θεῷ πατρὶ καὶ κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ 1 Th 1:1.δ. ἡ ἐ. ἡ πρώτη ἡ πνευματική the first, spiritual church (conceived in a Platonic sense as preexistent) 2 Cl 14:1; ἐ. ζῶσα the living church the body of Christ vs. 2; ἡ ἁγία ἐ. Hv 1, 1, 6; 1, 3, 4; ἡ καθολικὴ ἐ. ISm 8:2; ἡ ἁγία καὶ καθολικὴ ἐ. MPol ins; ἡ κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην καθολικὴ ἐ. 8:1; 19:2; ἓν σῶμα τῆς ἐ. ISm 1:2.—The literature before ’32 is given in OLinton, D. Problem der Urkirche in d. neueren Forschung (s. esp. 138–46) ’32 and AMedebielle, Dict. de la Bible, Suppl. II ’34, 487–691; before ’60, s. RAC; also s. TW, Sieben, and JHainz, Ekklesia ’72. Esp. important: EBurton, Gal (ICC) 1921, 417–20; KHoll, D. Kirchenbegriff des Pls usw.: SBBerlAk 1921, 920–47=Ges. Aufs. II 1928, 44ff; FKattenbusch, D. Vorzugsstellung d. Petrus u. d. Charakter d. Urgemeinde zu Jerusalem: KMüller Festschr. 1922, 322–51; KLSchmidt, D. Kirche des Urchristentums: Dssm. Festschr. 1927, 259–319, TW III 502–39. S. also: EPeterson, D. Kirche aus Juden u. Heiden ’33; KLSchmidt, D. Polis in Kirche u. Welt ’39; WBieder, Ekkl. u. Polis im NT u. in d. alten Kirche ’41; OMichel, D. Zeugnis des NTs v. d. Gemeinde ’41; NDahl, D. Volk Gottes ’41; RFlew, Jesus and His Church2, ’43; GJohnston, The Doctrine of the Church in the NT ’43; WKümmel, Kirchenbegriff u. Geschichtsbewusstsein in d. Urg. u. b. Jesus ’43; DFaulhaber, D. Johev. u. d. Kirche ’38; AFridrichsen, Kyrkan i 4. ev.: SvTK 16, ’40, 227–42; ESchweizer, NT Essays (Manson memorial vol.) ’59, 230–45; EWolf, Ecclesia Pressa—eccl. militans: TLZ 72, ’47, 223–32; SHanson, Unity of the Church in the NT ’46; HvCampenhausen, Kirchl. Amt u. geistl. Vollmacht in den ersten 3 Jahrh. ’53; EKäsemann, Sätze hlg. Rechtes im NT, NTS 1, ’55, 248–60; AGeorge, ET 58, ’46/47, 312–16; in ATR: JBernardin 21, ’39, 153–70; BEaston 22, ’40, 157–68; SWalke 32, ’50, 39–53 (Apost. Fath.); JMurphy, American Ecclesiastical Review 140, ’59, 250–59; 325–32; PMinear, Images of the Church in the NT, ’60; BMetzger, Theology Today 19, ’62, 369–80; ESchweizer, Church Order in the NT, tr. FClarke ’61; RSchnackenburg, The Church in the NT, tr. WO’Hara ’65; LCerfaux, JBL 85, ’66, 250–51; AHilhorst, Filología Neotestamentaria 1, ’88, 27–34. S. also ἐπίσκοπος 2 end; Πέτρος; πέτρα 1.—B. 1476f. DELG s.v. καλέω. M-M. EDNT. TW. Sv.
Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά παλαιοχριστιανική Λογοτεχνία. 2015.
