Theology of The Church

The Great Assembly

The Great Assembly

The study of the church, including its nature, ordinances, ministries, mission, and governmental structure, is called Ecclesiology. Evolving from the Scottish word kirk, the English word “church” derived from the Greek Kuriakos, meaning “belonging to the Lord.” It is found only twice in the New Testament, an adjective applied to the Lord’s supper and the Lord’s day. The frequent word ekklesia was translated into the English expression “church” that we employ in the New Testament today. Neither Kuriakos nor ekklisa were used to refer to a building or place of gathering until the Greeks, in post-Apostolic times, substituted the term kuriakos, meaning “the Lord’s House,” to designate a church building. In the New Testament, the words used for a religious place of assembly are exclusively temple or synagogue.