Eastern Orthodox Church

The second-largest Christian communion, consisting of a family of self-governing churches that share a common theology, liturgical tradition, and adherence to the decisions of the first seven ecumenical councils. It is rooted in the early Christian communities of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and formally separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the East–West Schism of 1054. The Church emphasizes Holy Tradition, the sacraments, and the divine liturgy, and is organized into autocephalous (independent) national churches, each led by a bishop, commonly called a patriarch. The spiritual and theological heritage of the Eastern Orthodox Church is heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, Byzantine culture, and monasticism.

East–West Schism

See Schism of 1054.

Eden (עֵדֶן)

Hebrew. “Delight”. Name for the garden of God, where he put Adam and Eve, the first man and woman whom he had created, to dress it and to keep it, and specifically commanded them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. After disobeying, they were expelled from this place. The name Eden, appears only once in the New Testament in Luke 3:38, called Edem (Ἐδέμ) in Greek, where some manuscript traditions insert it between Seth (Σήθ) and Adam (Ἀδάμ) in Jesus’ genealogy, reflecting Septuagintal variations, while elsewhere the New Testament does not use the word directly but evokes its imagery through references to paradise, i.e. paradeisos (παράδεισος). See also Garden of Eden.

Edict of Milan

A proclamation issued in 313 AD by the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius that granted religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire, particularly legalizing Christianity and ending the persecution of Christians. It allowed individuals to freely practice their religion, restored confiscated Christian property, and marked a turning point in the history of the Roman Empire by recognizing Christianity as a legally protected faith, paving the way for its growth and eventual dominance within the empire.

Edict of Thessalonica

A decree issued by Roman emperors Theodosius I, Gratian, and Valentinian II on 27 February 380 AD, that declared Nicene Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire. It recognized the bishops of Rome and Alexandria as authoritative and mandated that all subjects adhere to the faith defined by the Nicene Creed, condemning pagan practices and heretical Christian sects such as Arianism. The edict marked a decisive step in the Christianization of the Roman Empire, establishing a legal framework for the suppression of paganism and reinforcing the unity of the empire under a single, orthodox Christian doctrine.

Enoch (Ἑνώχ)

Name of the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah, and a descendant of Adam through the line of Seth (Genesis 5:18–24; 1 Chronicles 1:3). In Hebrew his name is Hanokh (חֲנוֹךְ), which derives from the Hebrew root ḥ-n-k (ח־נ־ך), meaning “to dedicate” or “initiate”, reflecting a life devoted to God. Enoch is notable for his exceptional piety: Genesis 5:24 states that “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him”, implying that he was taken directly into divine presence without experiencing death. In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, Enoch is regarded as a model of righteousness and a prophetic figure; in apocryphal literature, particularly the Book of Enoch, he is attributed with visions and revelations concerning heaven, angels, and the judgment of the world.

Enos (אֱנוֹשׁ)

Name of the son of Seth and grandson of Adam (Genesis 4:26; 5:6–11). His name derives from the Hebrew word ʾenosh (אֱנוֹשׁ), meaning “mortal man” or “humanity”, emphasizing human frailty and mortality. Enos is significant in biblical genealogies as the continuation of the righteous line from Seth, and Genesis 4:26 notes that “then people began to call upon the name of the LORD”, linking his time with the emergence of organized worship. In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, Enos is regarded as a patriarchal figure who maintains the covenantal line through which Noah and subsequent humanity descend. Also transliterated as Enosh.

Enosh (אֱנוֹשׁ)

See Enos.

Epistles

Twenty-one Christian letters, many written by the Apostle Paul and known as Pauline epistles, that consist mostly of counsel and instruction to the early Church. The term comes from the Greek word epistole (επιστολή), meaning “letter” and referring to a usually rather formal and elegant writing directed or sent to a person or group of persons.

Erasmus

See Desiderius Erasmus.

’et (את/אֵת/אֶת)

A small but significant term in Biblical Hebrew, functioning primarily as a definite direct object marker. It consists of the two letters Alef (א) and Tav (ת), the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, a feature that has invited both linguistic and mystical interpretation. Grammatically, אֵת precedes a definite noun to indicate that it is the object of a verb and is ubiquitous throughout the Torah and other biblical texts, occurring over 900 times. For example, in Genesis 1:1, the phrase “B’reishit bara Elohim et ha-shamayim ve-et ha-aretz” (בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ), translated as “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”, the two occurrences of אֵת serve to mark “the heavens” and “the earth” as definite objects of the verb “created”. In less frequent contexts, את functions as a preposition meaning “with”, often attaching to pronominal suffixes, forming constructions such as itti (אִתִּי, “with me”), itkha (אִתְּךָ, “with you, masculine”), and itto (אִתּוֹ, “with him”). Beyond its grammatical function, את carries rich symbolic and mystical significance. In Jewish mystical traditions, particularly Kabbalah, the letters Alef and Tav are seen as representing completeness and totality, encompassing the entirety of creation from beginning to end. Early Christian theologians similarly noted a symbolic resonance between את in Genesis 1:1 and the Greek term Alpha and Omega (Α Ω) used by Jesus in Revelation 1:8 to declare, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” In this reading, אֵת is seen as a hidden or typological reference to Christ, present in the act of creation and symbolically spanning all of existence. Every occurrence of את, therefore, can be understood in a mystical sense as pointing to divine presence or completeness, though grammatically it functions as a simple particle marking the definite object. In Paleo-Hebrew script, Alef–Tav appears as 𐤀𐤕, directly paralleling the Alpha–Omega symbolism of Greek. Thus, את/אֵת operates simultaneously as a functional element of Hebrew syntax, a prepositional marker of accompaniment, and a symbol of theological and mystical significance, particularly in Christian interpretations that see Christ as the beginning and the end of creation. Note that in the Masoretic Text, the authoritative Hebrew text with vowels, the particle את sometimes appears with a Tzere (ֵ  ), a long “e”, under the Alef, as אֵת, and sometimes with a Segol (ֶ ), a short “e”, as אֶת, depending on phonetic context and cantillation rules. In practice, אֵת is the default long-vowel form, while אֶת occurs before certain words or in connected phrases to facilitate smoother pronunciation. Importantly, the meaning does not change, and both forms function as the definite direct object marker. The first time it appears in the Bible with a short “e”, as אֶת, is in Genesis 1:4.

Euphrates (Εὐφράτης)

Greek name for a river in the Bible, known in Hebrew as Perat (פְּרָת), that is mentioned as one of the four rivers flowing out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:14) and is frequently cited as a boundary in biblical narratives. Originating in the Armenian Highlands and flowing through modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, the Euphrates forms part of the fertile crescent and has historically supported early Mesopotamian civilizations. In the Eden account, it symbolizes life-giving abundance and divine provision, flowing alongside the Pishon, Gihon, and Tigris to water the primordial garden. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the Euphrates also functions as a geographical marker for the limits of the Promised Land (Genesis 15:18) and as a symbol of distant nations and empires in prophetic literature (e.g., Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 31:3). Its recurring presence emphasizes both the historical and symbolic importance of watercourses in sustaining life and framing the narrative of human civilization.

Eve

English interpretation of the name that Adam gave to his wife, who was made from one of his ribs, in order to create a suitable companion for him. In Hebrew she is named Hawa (חַוָּה‎), meaning “Life” or “Living”, because she would become the mother of all the living. The statement that she was created from one of Adam's ribs has long been an issue of controversy, often fueled by the popular misbelieve that women indeed have a rib less than men. Women and men both have twelve pairs of ribs. And this is not contradictory, as the Bible doesn’t say anything about how many ribs Adam had before or after the procedure, nor about how many ribs Eve had. The assumption that women had more ribs than men was seemingly made without checking. And even if Adam ended up with a rib less, that would not imply that his children would have missing ribs too, no less than that the children of a person with an amputated body part would be born with body parts missing! Besides this, since the ribs are the closest to the hearth, the text might also be interpreted metaphorically. Through the cunning temptation of the serpent she violated the commandment of God by eating from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which she gave also unto Adam. Consequently, both were expelled from the garden of God.