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church militant

American  

noun

Theology.
  1. those Christians on earth who are engaged in a continuous war against evil and the enemies of Christ.


Etymology

Origin of church militant

First recorded in 1530–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

People who worry about the worldly dignity of the church militant will be pleased to know that the bishop's residence was finally painted by volunteers four years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

Neither group acknowledges the ghostly authority of any earthly pope; together they elect a bishop to preside over one and all, and formally their Church is one church, militant.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Jesuits have been a zealous, well-disciplined unit of the church militant ever since.

From Time Magazine Archive

Such simple, wet words from a leader of the church militant had effect in defeating the bill by 166 to 50 votes.

From Time Magazine Archive

I live, this is a manifest member of the church militant.

From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 06 by Scott, Walter, Sir