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What does the word “church” mean?

Last week I was asked a question by one of our youths on what the Catholic Church teaches when it comes to the word “church”.  The youth saw a promotional sign at a non-denominational church stating, “we are the church.”  I suspect the messaging was more as an invitation to attend their services than implying themselves as “The Church.” 

In Christianity, the word “church” is used frequently, but depending on whom you ask can mean many different things. Most commonly it is used to refer to the physical building where Christians gather for public worship.  However, that is only part of the definition.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the term has a rich history behind it.

      The word “Church” (Latin ecclesia, from the Greek ek-ka-lein, to “call out of”) means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the people, usually for a religious purpose. Ekklesia is used frequently in the Greek Old Testament for the assembly of the Chosen People before God... By calling itself “Church,” the first community of Christian believers recognized itself as heir to that assembly. In the Church, God is “calling together” his people from all the ends of the earth. The equivalent Greek term Kyriake, from which the English word Church and the German Kirche are derived, means “what belongs to the Lord.” (CCC 751)

This definition is usually associated with a capitalized letter, referring to a much broader community of believers. On the other hand, the Catechism explains that there exist multiple definitions surrounding the “lowercase” church, which can be more localized.

      In Christian usage, the word “church” designates the liturgical assembly, but also the local community or the whole universal community of believers. These three meanings are inseparable. “The Church” is the People that God gathers in the whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical, above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so herself becomes Christ’s Body. (CCC 752)

For Catholics, we believe in one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church that was built by Jesus Christ on that rock which is Peter.  We acknowledge the existence of other faith denominations whose beliefs contain numerous elements of truth and sanctification but believe they lack the fullness of truth that the Catholic Church teaches.

The word church has a beautiful history and a multi-layered set of meanings.  It can be difficult to pin down and more so to find unity in its definition.  However, the one thing we can all agree upon is God’s desire to bring together all of his children. And when we get to heaven, we will all be Catholic, members of one Church.