Anathema
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(1 Cor. 16:22) (a curse, excommunication). By this word, in a general sense, is meant the devoting of some animal, person, or place to utter destruction, or to divine vengeance (Lev. 27:28; Josh. 6:16). In the narrower sense, in the ancient Christian Church the word “anathema” meant excommunication from the Church, or exclusion from the company of believers, of heretics or impenitent sinners. In the Orthodox Church the rite of excommunicating such persons is still performed to this day on the Sunday of Orthodoxy. In Hebrew the word “anathema” is rendered by the word cherem.