CHURCH. The word church refers both to the Christian reli gious community and to the building used for Christian worship. This article, after discussing the etymology of the word itself, will deal separately with these two subjects.
According to most au thorities, the word is derived from the Gr. KvpcaeOv (8c7.1.4a), "the Lord's (house)," and is common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages, under various forms—e.g., Scottish kirk, Ger. kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Bulg. cerkova, Czech. cirkev, Finn. kirkko, etc. The word was originally applied to the building used for Christian worship. and subsequently ex tended to the Christian community (ecclesia) itself. Conversely, the Greek word ecclesia (EKKXfl ria) was transferred from the community to the building, and is used in both senses, especially in the modern Romance and Celtic languages (e.g., Fr. eglise, Welsh eglwys, etc.). The Gothic New Testament of Ulfilas has aikklesjo.
