bema

American  

[bee-muh] / ˈbi mə /

noun

plural

bemata, bemas

1. Eastern Church. the enclosed space surrounding the altar; the sanctuary or chancel.

2. (in a Christian basilica) an open space between the end of the nave arcade and the apse.

3. bimah.

4. a platform for public speaking.

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bema British  

/ ˈbiːmə /

noun

1. the speaker's platform in the assembly in ancient Athens

2. Eastern Orthodox Church a raised area surrounding the altar in a church; the sanctuary

3. Judaism another word for almemar

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Etymology

Origin of bema

1675–85; < Greek bêma step, platform, equivalent to bē- (verbid stem of baínein to step, go; see come) + -ma (noun suffix denoting result of action)

Example Sentences

With an affectation of carelessness, �schines ascended the bema and plunged at once into his argument, like a man who speaks what first occurs to his mind.

From The Golden Hope A Story of the Time of King Alexander the Great by Fuller, Robert H.

It is then carried round the building, and forms the impost moulding of the side arches in the bema and of the east window.

From Byzantine Churches in Constantinople Their History and Architecture by Van Millingen, Alexander

The bema is almost square and is covered by a barrel vault formed by a prolongation of the eastern dome arch; the apse is lighted by a lofty triple window.

From Byzantine Churches in Constantinople Their History and Architecture by Van Millingen, Alexander

The use of the name in ecclesiastical buildings is thus natural, for the altar stood in the place occupied by the bema in the apse of the basilica.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

This allows of an east window in the tympanum of the dome arch above the bema.

From Byzantine Churches in Constantinople Their History and Architecture by Van Millingen, Alexander