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Ecclesiology comes from the Greek ekklesia (ἐκκλησία). While the term today is closely tied to the Christian church, its roots are broader. It is a compound of the Greek preposition ek (ἐκ), which denotes origin and could be independently translated from, and kaleo (καλέω), meaning to call or bid.
Ecclesiology - Biblical Etymology
The Septuagint used ekklesia to translate the Hebrew word qâhâl (קהל), meaning a congregation, assembly, company or other organized body (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions). These Old Testament uses of ekklesia are not regarded as referring to the church. For example, the word church does not appear in the King James Version of the Old Testament.
The most generic definition given by Thayer's Greek Lexicon is “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place.” This generic sense of the word is used several times in one passage of the New Testament (Acts 19:32, 39 & 41) in reference not to the church but to a group of Ephesian craftsmen speaking out against the Apostle Paul and his companions.
Other related archivesApocrypha, Apostle Paul, Apostolic succession, Archbishop, Autocephaly, Baptism, Believers Baptism, Biblical canon, Bishop, Body of Christ, Canon Law, Catholicism, Chrismation, Christ the Son, Christian Church,
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Etymology", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page |
