chapel of ease

American  

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

1. a chapel in a remote part of a large parish, in which Mass is celebrated.

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chapel of ease British  

noun

1. a church built to accommodate those living at a distance from the parish church

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Etymology

Origin of chapel of ease

First recorded in 1530–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chapel of ease

No longer a regular parish, it is used for special occasions and is known as a "chapel of ease."

From Time Magazine Archive

To get around canon law, St. Mark's will technically be known as a "chapel of ease" rather than a parish for Catholics, but it will nonetheless be an approved place of worship.

From Time Magazine Archive

What additional energy might it have given to his remark, had he known that the tea-table was the chapel of ease to the council-room, and gossip a new power in the state.

From The Fortunes Of Glencore by Lever, Charles James

There was a chapel of ease there to Grinton.

From A Month in Yorkshire by White, Walter

The place had not only its parish church, but also its Gaelic chapel, which, though on the ordinary foundation of a chapel of ease, was endowed, and under the patronage of the crown.

From My Schools and Schoolmasters or The Story of my Education. by Miller, Hugh