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

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

There, in 1780, a chapel of ease was built, and opened for worship on March 25, 1781.

From Chronicles of Strathearn by Macdougall, W. B.

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

St. Paul’s, situated at Falmouth, was entirely destroyed; as also St. Stephen’s chapel of ease, the district church of All Saints, and the chapel schools of St. Bartholomew’s and St. Mark’s, not long ago erected.

From Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume II (of 2) A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day by Anonymous