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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

The Saints are not affiliated with an established church in Australia and count around two dozen members from three families among its members.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2025

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

When King Charles the First had dissolved his third parliament, thus putting his head on the bleeding heart of puritanism, there lived in Springfield, England, a warden of the established church.

From Ocean to Ocean on Horseback Being the Story of a Tour in the Saddle from the Atlantic to the Pacific; with Especial Reference to the Early History and Devel by Willard W. Glazier

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

The bishops will have to vote on them in March, the Church as a whole in July, and later Parliament, for in the end Parliament controls the Established Church in Egland.

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

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

They probably find the rigidity of the Established Church too formal for their fervent souls.

From Cornwall by G. E. (Geraldine Edith) Mitton