Quick Definition
λειτουργία, ας, ἡ n.f. a charitable gift, public service
Strong's Definition
from 3008; public function (as priest ("liturgy") or almsgiver)
KJV Usage: ministration(-try), service
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
noun, f. | -ας | λαός + ἐργάζομαι
35.22 · Help, Care For · Serve
to serve, service to serve, with the implication of more formal or regular service
35.25 · Help, Care For · Serve
ministry, service (derivative of λειτουργέω[a] ‘to serve,’ 35.22) an assignment or role in serving The meaning of ‘ministry’ may be expressed in some languages as ‘a way of serving.’
1 In general Greek usage, λειτουργέω and λειτουργία denote service performed by an individual, free of charge, on behalf of the state. This meaning is not found in the NT. In the NT λειτουργέω[b] and λειτουργία[c] (53.13) are less specifically religious in connotation than λατρεύω and λατρεία (53.14).
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
λειτουργία, -as, 7), (fr. λειτουργέω, q. V-) 1. prop. a public office which a citizen undertakes to administer at his own expense: Plat. legg.12 p. 949 c.; Lys. p. 163, 22; Isoer. p. 391 d.; Theophr. Char. 20 (23), 5; 23 (29), 4, and others. 2. univ. any service: of military service, Polyb.; Diod. 1, 63.73; of the service of workmen, c. 21; of that done to nature in the cohabitation of man and wife, Aristot. oec. 1, 3 p. 1343", 20. 3. in biblical Greek a. the service or ministry of the priests relative to the prayers and sacrifices offered to God: Lk. i. 23; Heb. viii. 6; ix. 21, (for WWay, Num. viii. 22; xvi. 9; xviii. 4; 2 Chr. xxxi. 2; Diod. 1,21; Joseph.; [Philo de caritat. § 1 sub fin.; al.; see Soph. Lex. 8. v.]); hence the phrase in Phil. ii. 17, explained 8. v. θυσία, b. fin. [(ef. Bp. Lghtft. on Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 44)]. Ὁ. a b. A. τῷ κυρίῳ, gift or benefaction, for the relief of the needy (see λειroupyéw, 2 c.): 2 Co. ix. 12; Phil. ii. 80.
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
λειτουργία leitourgia 6x
pr. a public service discharged by a citizen at his own expense; in NT a sacred ministration, Lk. 1:23; Phil. 2:17; Heb. 8:6; 9:21; a kind office, aid, relief, 2 Cor. 9:12; Phil. 2:30*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
λειτουργία, -ας, ἡ
(< λειτουργέω), [in LXX chiefly for עֲבֹדָה, Nu 4:24, I Ch 9:13, al.;]
in cl. (chiefly of Athens), the discharge of a public office at one's own expense (v. LS, s.v.), hence,
a service, ministry; in π. (Deiss., BS, 140 f.) and in LXX (though here also of secular service, III Ki 1:4, al.), of religious service or ministration; and so in NT: of priestly ministrations, Lk 1:23, He 8:6 9:21; fig., θυσία καὶ λ. τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν, Phl 2:17; of Christian beneficence, II Co 9:12, Phl 2:30.†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
λειτουργία. The use of λειτουργία for sacerdotal ministration (as in the LXX and Heb 85, 9%) meets us with reference to the Egyptian priesthood in Diod. Sic. i. 21 τὸ τρίτον μέρος τῆς χώρας αὐτοῖς δοῦναι πρὸς τὰς τῶν θεῶν θεραπείας τὲ Kal λειτουργίας : cf. the complaint of the Serapeum Twins P Lond 2217 (B.c. 164-3) (=I. p. 7) οὐδὲν εἰλήφαμεν ποιούμεναι μεγάλας λειτουργίας τῶι θεῶι, and similarly P Par 3319 (B.c. 160). See also BGU IV. 12017 (A.D. 2) πρὸς τὰς λιτουργείας καὶ θυσείας τῶν θεῶν (cf. Phil 217 with Lightfoot’s note), P Tebt II. 30 255 (A.D. 71-2) ἐκτελοῦντες τὰς τῶν θεῶν λειτουργίας Kal imnpectas—of the priests of Soknebtunis. Other exx. of the word, showing its variety of application, are P Tor I. 1-79 (B.C, 116) τῶν τὰς λειτουργίας ἐν ταῖς vekplats παρεχομένων, ‘‘publicis in re mortuaria muneribus fungentes ” (Ed.), 16. Yii-J6 μηδὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ἐργαolay ἐπιτελεῖν, διαφέρειν δὲ τὴν τούτων λειτουργίαν, ‘neque eodem, ac 1111, funguntur officio, sed differunt utrorumque munera” (Ed.), P Strass I. 5711 (ii/A.D.) οὐκ ἐξαρκῶ δὲ πρὸς Tas δύο Avrovpylas—proving that two liturgies might be laid on a man if he were able for them, which was not so in from some form of public service (ἀλειτουργησία) on the ground that the petitioner was a doctor—tatpts ὑπάρχων tiv té]xvqv τούτους αὐτοὺς οἵτινές με εἰς λειτο[υ]Ἱρ[γ]ίαν δεδώκασι ἐθεράπευσα, “1 am a doctor by profession and I have treated these very persons who have assigned me a
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
λειτουργία (leitourgia) — ministry. λειτουργ-ία, ἡ, earlier Attic dialect λητ- [Refs 5th c.BC+], public service performed by private citizens at their own expense, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; λ. ἐγκύκλιοι ordinary, i.e. annual, liturgies, [Refs 4th c.BC+]
II. any public service or work, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν λειτουργιῶν τεταγμένος, in an army, the officer who superintended the workmen, carpenters, etc., [Refs 2nd c.BC+]: generally, military duty, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]
II.2. generally, any service or function, ἡ πρώτη φανερὰ τοῖς ζῴοις λ. διὰ τοῦ στόματος οὖσα [Refs 4th c.BC+]
II.3. service, ministration, help, [NT]
III. public service of the gods, αἱ πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς λ. [Refs 4th c.BC+]; the service or ministry of priests, [LXX+NT]
