primitive church

American  

noun

1. the early Christian church, especially in reference to its earliest form and organization.

2. this church, especially as representative of Christianity in its supposedly purest form.

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Etymology

Origin of primitive church

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

primitive church

A persuasive, lucid speaker, Dom Gregory is lecturing on the primitive church at Hobart, as he will at numerous other U.S. universities and Episcopalian centers during the next six months.

From Time Magazine Archive

Such a belief yearns for a purer and more primitive church than anyone is likely to see, and something in Graham retains the nostalgia for that purity.

From Time Magazine Archive

Out of their evangelical preaching emerged a faith that tried to be not another denomination but a movement to restore the primitive church known by Jesus' followers.

From Time Magazine Archive

I will add some more instances which will serve to confirm the belief of the primitive church on the subject of apparitions.

From The Phantom World or, The philosophy of spirits, apparitions, &c, &c. by Christmas, Henry

What does primitive suggest, as in the expressions, the primitive church, primitive simplicity?

From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by Fernald, James Champlin