Hypertext Webster Gateway: "bema"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Bema \Be"ma\, n. [Gr. ? step, platform.]
1. (Gr. Antiq.) A platform from which speakers addressed an
assembly. --Mitford.
2. (Arch.)
(a) That part of an early Christian church which was
reserved for the higher clergy; the inner or eastern
part of the chancel.
(b) Erroneously: A pulpit.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
bema
n : area around the altar of a church for the clergy and choir;
often enclosed by a lattice or railing [syn: {chancel}, {sanctuary}]
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