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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

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

From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 2021

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

But in this endeavor his superior culture proved an impediment to him, and his widening doctrinal divergence from the established church finally drew upon his head, in 1891, the official curse of the Holy Synod.

From Prophets of Dissent : Essays on Maeterlinck, Strindberg, Nietzsche and Tolstoy by Otto Heller

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

England's Established Church has little to do with nonconformists on the one side, Roman Catholics on the other.

From Time Magazine Archive

There he spoke his mind about the leaders of the Established Church of England in Manchester's Free Trade Hall.

From Time Magazine Archive

I wish to set before you some thoughts as to the particular duties, which at this time devolve upon the Established Church as the National Church of this country.

From Satires And Profanities by G. W. (George William) Foote