Etymology

Great Church

Today it means: The orthodox Christian church of antiquity, after 380 CE the established church of the Roman Empire, especially as distinct from smaller Christian movements or heresies. Full definition →

Koine Greek μεγάλη ἐκκλησία
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The story

  1. Koine Greek · calque ofμεγάλη ἐκκλησία
  2. English todayGreat Church

Calque of Koine Greek μεγάλη ἐκκλησία (megálē ekklēsía). In sense of “orthodox Christian church”, cf. Celsus (2nd century) describing mainstream Christian believers, quoted in Origen, Contra Celsum, 5.59: “Σαφῶς γε τῶν ἀπὸ μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας τοῦτο ὁμολογούντων […] ” (“Certainly, the members of the Great Church agree […] ”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.