\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.