The answer
The origin of the word is Hebrew, which is taken from the word kanīsa, and it means “congregation,” or “assembly.”47 Some say that its origin is Greek, ekklēsia, which means the place of the calling.48
The term “Church” has three meanings:
- ❖ Place:
The place where the believers congregate, and where the Holy Spirit dwells amongst them. It is the building which is consecrated for that purpose (Acts 11:26).
- ❖ Clergy:
The orders of the priesthood that are responsible for the ecclesiastical work (Matt. 18:17).
- ❖ People:
The gathering of the believers throughout the world (Matt. 18:20), which lives a holy life, and participates in the Divine Mysteries that are performed by the Holy Priesthood.
As for the expression “Coptic Orthodox Church”:
It means the Egyptian Church that is upright in teaching, because Her Faith and doctrine have not changed since Her inception at the time of the Apostles themselves. She was established by the Holy Apostle Mark in the first century.
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II
Notes
47 Translator’s note: qĕhillah, n.: an assembly (cf. Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon.).
48 Translator’s note: ekklēsia, n. (fr. ekklītos: called out or forth): a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly (cf. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon.).
Pope Tawadros II, My Faith: A Series of Dialogues on the Creed (Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, 2014), 136–137.
The pages in the book (136–137)
