sola ecclesia

noun

The doctrine that the Church, and not Scripture alone, is the ultimate source of authority for Christian doctrine.

OriginLatin sōla ecclēsia →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounsola ecclesia (uncountable)
  1. uncountableChristianityThe doctrine that the Church, and not Scripture alone, is the ultimate source of authority for Christian doctrine.

Origin

  1. Latinsōla ecclēsia
  2. Englishsola ecclesia

Learned borrowing from Latin sōla ecclēsia (literally “the church alone”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sola ecclesia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sola%20ecclesia

MLA

“sola ecclesia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sola%20ecclesia. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sola ecclesia,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sola%20ecclesia.

Source: sola ecclesia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.