Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

Source : WordNet®

bema
     n : area around the altar of a church for the clergy and choir;
         often enclosed by a lattice or railing [syn: {chancel}, {sanctuary}]