ecclesia means the public legislative assembly of the Athenians. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 81 out of 100.
ecclesia is pronounced /ɪˈkli.zi.ə/.
Why “ecclesia” is a great word
ECCLESIA — [Noun] A summoned assembly; originally the sovereign democratic body of ancient Athens, later the universal community of Christian believers. From Latin ecclēsia, from Ancient Greek ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía), from ἐκ (ek, "out") + καλέω (kaléō, "to call"), thus meaning "a called-out assembly". Unlike synagogue, which centers a community in a physical place, or congress, which denotes a formal, secular legislature, ecclesia is fundamentally constituted by a summons. It is the citizen leaving his workshop for debate on the sun-baked Pnyx, the whispered creed in a Roman catacomb, and the silent, vaulted space of a cathedral holding a thousand hopes—the fragile, enduring project of forming a public from the scattered private.
noun
- The public legislative assembly of the Athenians.
- A church, either as a body or as a building.“The 1880s were no more peaceful for the ecclesias than had been the 1870s. Generally membership was increasing; so much so in London that two new ecclesias were formed, leaving about 200 in the older ecclesia at Islington.”
- The congregation, the group of believers, symbolic body or building.