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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

Christianity in Africa had been inextricably tied to the missionary model, in which Europeans came to Africa and established church missions to spread the Christian faith.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

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

From Washington Post ● Aug. 14, 2022

“Cures and charms go way beyond the established church, it predates Christianity,” Dr. Moore said.

From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 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

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 Lady Anne Hamilton

After about 180 executions, including the Jesuit Robert Southwell, Elizabeth said that if her council wanted to convert more Catholics to the Established Church, they should do so by the example of their lives.

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

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

He points out that although the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Established Church in England is strong among the clergy, especially in Canterbury, yet the movement has but a weak hold on the laity.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is a little place, three or four fishermen's cottages, a post-office, and two churches, a large Roman Catholic Cathedral and a small Established Church.

From Letters of a Diplomat's Wife 1883-1900 by Mary King Waddington