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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

The necessity for the fathers of this republic to be united, and their being unable to unite upon any church, caused the idea of an established church to be eliminated.

From The Clergyman's Hand-book of Law by Charles M. Scanlan

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

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

Present was Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin to see and certify that the Most Reverend Fathers in God of the Established Church of England did duly swear their oaths of allegiance to the Crown.

From Time Magazine Archive

Kirk, kėrk, n. in Scotland, a church—sometimes 'the Kirk' means the Established Church specially.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various