Kenesa

A kenesa (Karaim: כְּנִיסָא kǝnîsāʾ) is an Eastern European or Persian Karaite synagogue.

[citation needed] The word derives from Arabic كنيسة "church" or كنيس "synagogue" (ultimately from the Semitic root k-n-s in the sense of "to assemble")[1] and is first found in Karaim and Karaite Hebrew texts from the late nineteenth century.

Before this, and commonly after, Karaites used the standard Jewish terms בית הכנסת and synagogue.

The principal, operating place of Karaite worship in Ukraine is located in Yevpatoria, Crimea.

Karaite synagogues in Lithuania were built in the 14th century, in Trakai, Biržai, Kėdainiai, Panevėžys and Vilnius.