ἐκκλησία
Ekklesia
ek-klay-SEE-ah
The New Testament word for “Church” — an assembly called together by God — behind the Latin ecclesia and every “ecclesiastical” thing.
an assembly; a gathering called together
In the Greek Old Testament, ekklesia translated the assembly of Israel gathered before God at Sinai. The first Christians took the word for themselves: they were the people God has called together in Christ. Jesus uses it — “on this rock I will build my ekklesia” — and Paul writes to “the church of God in Corinth.” The Catechism draws out three meanings the word carries at once: the local assembly, the liturgical assembly, and the whole universal community of believers, since the Church is above all a people gathered by God.
Councils
Where the Church settled or debated this. Follow a council to read our article on it, or the decrees themselves.
- 1962–1965Second Vatican Councilthe decrees
Sources checked 29 September 2026