primitive church
Americannoun
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the early Christian church, especially in reference to its earliest form and organization.
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this church, especially as representative of Christianity in its supposedly purest form.
Etymology
Origin of primitive church
First recorded in 1520–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
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
It was usual in the primitive church to place crowns of flowers on the heads of deceased virgins.
From Curious Church Customs and Cognate Subjects by William Andrews
As for the love-feasts used in the primitive church, 1.
From The Works of Mr. George Gillespie (Vol. 1 of 2) by George Gillespie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
