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• established church
  established church

  noun

  a church that is recognized by law, and sometimes financially supported, as the official church of a nation.
• Established Church
  Established Church

  noun

  a Church that is officially recognized as a national institution, esp the Church of England

established church

American  

noun

1. a church that is recognized by law, and sometimes financially supported, as the official church of a nation.

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Established Church British  

noun

1. a Church that is officially recognized as a national institution, esp the Church of England

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established church ¹ Cultural  

1. A church supported by the government as a national institution. The Church of England is an established church in England, as is the Lutheran Church in the countries of Scandinavia and the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.

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established church ² Cultural  

1. A religious denomination that receives financial and other support from the government, often to the exclusion of support for other denominations. (See under “World Literature, Philosophy, and Religion.”)

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Etymology

Origin of established church

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

established church Established Church

Before it was formed after the American Revolution, Anglicanism was the established church of the Virginia colony.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 14, 2022

In Europe, bitter wars were fought between and within states, often because the established church of one territory was in conflict with that of another.

From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021

It started with the Anglican Church, or Church of England, the first established church of the Virginia colony.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 8, 2020

An academic theologian, rather than a parish priest, he became for many, the symbol of modernisation and liberal ideas in the established church.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2016

Several clergymen of the established church prayed to be liberated from their obligation to subscribe to the "Thirty-nine Articles."

From Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth, Volume I (of 2) Including, Among Other Important Matters, Full Particulars of the Mysterious Death of the Princess Charlotte by Hamilton, Lady Anne

When romance conflicts with the canons of the Established Church, and with the Briton's inbred view of royalty, it is no easy role.

From Time Magazine Archive

Living in a stratosphere of piety, Lord Hugh regards the Established Church as above and apart from England's Protestant sects.

From Time Magazine Archive

With the spiritual might of the Established Church behind him, the Archbishop of Canterbury gave Pakenham's view his unqualified support.

From Time Magazine Archive

His inglorious job was to uphold the unpopular Established Church, put down the dissenting Covenanters with a heavy hand.

From Time Magazine Archive

An eminent Archdeacon of the Established Church, well known in the West of England, will conduct the services at Mr. Spurgeon's Tabernacle, and Mr. Spurgeon will exchange pulpits with him.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 62, January 1, 1872 by Various