Bema

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Bema

For the Christian eschatological concept, see Bema Seat
Bema Seat

According to the Christian Bible, there are two different judgments -- one for the saved before the Bema Seat, and one for the un-saved before the Great White Throne....
; for other uses see Bema (disambiguation)
Bema (disambiguation)

*A bema is a ceremonial platform set up in an assembly. Originally referring to the presidium of the Greek political assembly, the term came to be used to describe the raised platform in synagogues and Eastern Christian church es....

The Bema (from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: bema, “step”) means a raised platform. In antiquity it was probably made of stone, but in modern times it is usually a rectangular wooden platform approached by steps.

The original use of the bema in Athens was as a tribunal from which orators addressed the citizens as well as the courts of law (see Pnyx

Pnyx

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The Bema (from the Greek

Greek language

Pnyx

The Pnyx is a hill in central Athens, the capital of Greece. It is located less than one kilometre west of the Acropolis, Athens and 1.6km south-west of the centre of modern Athens, Syntagma Square....
). In Greek law courts the two parties to a dispute presented their arguments each from separate bemas. Bema was also used as the name for a place of judgement, that is the raised seat of the judge, as described in the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, in and , and further, as the seat of the Roman emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
, in , and of God, in , when speaking in judgment.

The bema became a standard fixture in Jewish synagogue

Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer.Synagogues usually have a large hall for prayer , smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices....
s (see bemah) from which a selection ("parsha

Parsha

This article is about the divisions of the Torah into weekly readings. For this week's Torah portion, see Portal:Judaism/Weekly Torah portion box...
") from the Torah

Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
and the Haftarah

Haftarah

The haftarah or haftorah is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Judaism....
are read. In Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is a Jewish denominations of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict constructionist and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim....
, the bema is located in the center of the synagogue, separate from the Ark

Ark (synagogue)

The Ark or Torah Ark in a synagogue is known in Hebrew as the Aron Kodesh by the Ashkenazim and as the Hekh?l amongst most Sefardim....
. In other branches of Judaism, the bema and the Ark are joined together.

The ceremonial use of a bema carried over from Judaism into early Christian church architecture

Church architecture

Church architecture or ecclesiastical architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of Christianity churches. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by imitating other architectural styles as well as responding to changing beliefs, practices and local traditions....
. It was originally a raised platform with a lectern

Lectern

A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to a some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon....
and seats for the clergy, from which lessons

Lection

A lection is a reading, in this context, from Scripture.The custom of reading the books of Moses in the synagogues on the Sabbath day was a very ancient one in the Jewish Church....
from the Scriptures were read and the sermon

Sermon

Western Christianity

Western Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, the Churches of the Anglican Communion and Protestantism, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage....
the bema developed over time into the chancel

Chancel

"Chancel" is an architectural term for the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse....
(or presbytery

Presbytery (architecture)

The Presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.References...
) and the pulpit

Pulpit

File:Convento Cristo Decemebr 2008-18.jpgA pulpit is a small elevated platform from which a member of the clergy delivers a Sermon in a house of worship....
.

In Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christianity traditions and churches which developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Christianity in Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity....
bema remains the name of the platform which composes the sanctuary; it consists of both the area behind the iconostasion and the platform in front of it from which the deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a role in the Christianity that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions....
leads the ektenia

Ektenia

Ektenia , often called simply Litany, is a prayerful petition in the Eastern Orthodox/Eastern Catholic liturgy. The prevalent ecclesiastical word for this kind of litany in Greek is S??apt? Synapt?, Ektenia being the Greek word preferred in Church Slavonic language ....
s (litanies) together with the ambo

Ambo

Ambo may refer to:* Ambo, Ethiopia** Ambo , the woreda of the Ethiopian town* Ambo, an abbreviation for ambulance.** Ambo, Australian slang term for paramedic ...
from which the priest delivers the sermon

Sermon

A sermon is an public speaking by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Bible, Theology, Religion, or Morality topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or Human behavior within both past and present contexts....
and distributes Holy Communion. It may be approached by one or several steps. The bema is composed of the altar (the area behind the iconostasion), the soleas (the pathway in front of the iconostasion), and the ambo (the area in front of the Holy Doors which projects westward into the nave

Nave

In Romanesque architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and Church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar....
). Orthodox laity

Laity

In religious organizations, the laity comprises all persons who are not clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not Holy Orders clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order ....
do not normally step up onto the bema except to receive Holy Communion.

Bema

See also