[church] Pronunciation Key | 1. | a building for public Christian worship. |
| 2. | public worship of God or a religious service in such a building: to attend church regularly. |
| 3. | (sometimes initial capital letter) the whole body of Christian believers; Christendom. |
| 4. | (sometimes initial capital letter) any division of this body professing the same creed and acknowledging the same ecclesiastical authority; a Christian denomination: the Methodist Church. |
| 5. | that part of the whole Christian body, or of a particular denomination, belonging to the same city, country, nation, etc. |
| 6. | a body of Christians worshipping in a particular building or constituting one congregation: She is a member of this church. |
| 7. | ecclesiastical organization, power, and affairs, as distinguished from the state: separation of church and state; The missionary went wherever the church sent him. |
| 8. | the clergy and religious officials of a Christian denomination. |
| 9. | the Christian faith: a return of intellectuals to the church. |
| 10. | (initial capital letter) the Christian Church before the Reformation. |
| 11. | (initial capital letter) the Roman Catholic Church. |
| 12. | the clerical profession or calling: After much study and contemplation, he was prepared to enter the church. |
| 13. | a place of public worship of a non-Christian religion. |
| 14. | any non-Christian religious society, organization, or congregation: the Jewish church. |
| 15. | to conduct or bring to church, esp. for special services. |
| 16. | South Midland and Southern U.S. to subject to church discipline. |
| 17. | to perform a church service of thanksgiving for (a woman after childbirth). |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| church
(chûrch) Pronunciation Key
n.
tr.v. churched, church·ing, church·es To conduct a church service for, especially to perform a religious service for (a woman after childbirth). adj. Of or relating to the church; ecclesiastical. [Middle English chirche, from Old English cirice, ultimately from Medieval Greek kūrikon, from Late Greek kūriakon (dōma), the Lord's (house), neuter of Greek kūriakos, of the lord, from kūrios, lord; see keuə- in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| Church
(chûrch) Pronunciation Key
American painter and leader of the Hudson River School. His works include Heart of the Andes (1859). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
church
| church | |
noun | |
| 1. | one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship |
| 2. | a place for public (especially Christian) worship; "the church was empty" |
| 3. | a service conducted in a house of worship; "don't be late for church" [syn: church service] |
| 4. | the body of people who attend or belong to a particular local church; "our church is hosting a picnic next week" |
verb | |
| 1. | perform a special church rite or service for; "church a woman after childbirth" |
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
church
A group of Christians; church is a biblical word for “assembly.” It can mean any of the following: (1) All Christians, living and dead. (See saints.) (2) All Christians living in the world. (3) One of the large divisions or denominations of Christianity, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, Methodist Church, or Roman Catholic Church. (4) An individual congregation of Christians meeting in one building; also the building itself.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Church Creek, MD (town, FIPS 17050) Location: 38.50531 N, 76.15473 W
Population (1990): 113 (52 housing units)
Area: 0.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 21622
Church View, VA Zip code(s): 23032
Church Road, VA Zip code(s): 23833
Church Point, LA (town, FIPS 15465) Location: 30.40385 N, 92.21446 W
Population (1990): 4677 (1743 housing units)
Area: 7.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 70525
Church Hill, TN (town, FIPS 14980) Location: 36.52526 N, 82.71197 W
Population (1990): 4834 (2004 housing units)
Area: 16.3 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 37642
Church Hill, MS Zip code(s): 39055
Church Hill, MD (town, FIPS 17100) Location: 39.14357 N, 75.98071 W
Population (1990): 481 (200 housing units)
Area: 1.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 21623
Union Church, MS Zip code(s): 39668
Spring Church, PA Zip code(s): 15686
New Church, VA Zip code(s): 23415
Lebanon Church, VA Zip code(s): 22641
Falls Church, VA (city, FIPS 27200) Location: 38.88505 N, 77.17456 W
Population (1990): 9578 (4668 housing units)
Area: 5.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 22046
Wicomico Church, VA Zip code(s): 22579
Shaker Church, WA (CDP, FIPS 63550) Location: 48.05278 N, 122.22711 W
Population (1990): 670 (208 housing units)
Area: 12.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Falls Church, VA (city, FIPS 610) Location: 38.88505 N, 77.17456 W
Population (1990): 9578 (4668 housing units)
Area: 5.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Church
Church\, n. [OE. chirche, chireche, cherche, Scot. kirk, from AS. circe, cyrice; akin to D. kerk, Icel. kirkja, Sw. kyrka, Dan. kirke, G. kirche, OHG. chirihha; all fr. Gr. ? the Lord's house, fr. ? concerning a master or lord, fr. ? master, lord, fr. ? power, might; akin to Skr. [,c][=u]ra hero, Zend. [,c]ura strong, OIr. caur, cur, hero. Cf. Kirk.]1. A building set apart for Christian worship. 2. A Jewish or heathen temple. [Obs.] --Acts xix. 37. 3. A formally organized body of Christian believers worshiping together. "When they had ordained them elders in every church." --Acts xiv. 23. 4. A body of Christian believers, holding the same creed, observing the same rites, and acknowledging the same ecclesiastical authority; a denomination; as, the Roman Catholic church; the Presbyterian church. 5. The collective body of Christians. 6. Any body of worshipers; as, the Jewish church; the church of Brahm. 7. The aggregate of religious influences in a community; ecclesiastical influence, authority, etc.; as, to array the power of the church against some moral evil. Remember that both church and state are properly the rulers of the people, only because they are their benefactors. --Bulwer. Note: Church is often used in composition to denote something belonging or relating to the church; as, church authority; church history; church member; church music, etc. Apostolic church. See under Apostolic. Broad church. See Broad Church. Catholic or Universal church, the whole body of believers in Christ throughout the world. Church of England, or English church, the Episcopal church established and endowed in England by law. Church living, a benefice in an established church. Church militant. See under Militant. Church owl (Zo["o]l.), the white owl. See Barn owl. Church rate, a tax levied on parishioners for the maintenance of the church and its services. Church session. See under Session. Church triumphant. See under Triumphant. Church work, work on, or in behalf of, a church; the work of a particular church for the spread of religion. Established church, the church maintained by the civil authority; a state church.Church
Church\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Churched; p. pr. & vb. n. Churching.] To bless according to a prescribed form, or to unite with in publicly returning thanks in church, as after deliverance from the dangers of childbirth; as, the churching of women.Church
Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., "the Lord's house"), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia, which is synonymous with the Hebrew _kahal_ of the Old Testament, both words meaning simply an assembly, the character of which can only be known from the connection in which the word is found. There is no clear instance of its being used for a place of meeting or of worship, although in post-apostolic times it early received this meaning. Nor is this word ever used to denote the inhabitants of a country united in the same profession, as when we say the "Church of England," the "Church of Scotland," etc. We find the word ecclesia used in the following senses in the New Testament: (1.) It is translated "assembly" in the ordinary classical sense (Acts 19:32, 39, 41). (2.) It denotes the whole body of the redeemed, all those whom the Father has given to Christ, the invisible catholic church (Eph. 5:23, 25, 27, 29; Heb. 12:23). (3.) A few Christians associated together in observing the ordinances of the gospel are an ecclesia (Rom. 16:5; Col. 4:15). (4.) All the Christians in a particular city, whether they assembled together in one place or in several places for religious worship, were an ecclesia. Thus all the disciples in Antioch, forming several congregations, were one church (Acts 13:1); so also we read of the "church of God at Corinth" (1 Cor. 1:2), "the church at Jerusalem" (Acts 8:1), "the church of Ephesus" (Rev. 2:1), etc. (5.) The whole body of professing Christians throughout the world (1 Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:13; Matt. 16:18) are the church of Christ. The church visible "consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, together with their children." It is called "visible" because its members are known and its assemblies are public. Here there is a mixture of "wheat and chaff," of saints and sinners. "God has commanded his people to organize themselves into distinct visible ecclesiastical communities, with constitutions, laws, and officers, badges, ordinances, and discipline, for the great purpose of giving visibility to his kingdom, of making known the gospel of that kingdom, and of gathering in all its elect subjects. Each one of these distinct organized communities which is faithful to the great King is an integral part of the visible church, and all together constitute the catholic or universal visible church." A credible profession of the true religion constitutes a person a member of this church. This is "the kingdom of heaven," whose character and progress are set forth in the parables recorded in Matt. 13. The children of all who thus profess the true religion are members of the visible church along with their parents. Children are included in every covenant God ever made with man. They go along with their parents (Gen. 9:9-17; 12:1-3; 17:7; Ex. 20:5; Deut. 29:10-13). Peter, on the day of Pentecost, at the beginning of the New Testament dispensation, announces the same great principle. "The promise [just as to Abraham and his seed the promises were made] is unto you, and to your children" (Acts 2:38, 39). The children of believing parents are "holy", i.e., are "saints", a title which designates the members of the Christian church (1 Cor. 7:14). (See BAPTISM.) The church invisible "consists of the whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one under Christ, the head thereof." This is a pure society, the church in which Christ dwells. It is the body of Christ. it is called "invisible" because the greater part of those who constitute it are already in heaven or are yet unborn, and also because its members still on earth cannot certainly be distinguished. The qualifications of membership in it are internal and are hidden. It is unseen except by Him who "searches the heart." "The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2 Tim. 2:19). The church to which the attributes, prerogatives, and promises appertaining to Christ's kingdom belong, is a spiritual body consisting of all true believers, i.e., the church invisible. (1.) Its unity. God has ever had only one church on earth. We sometimes speak of the Old Testament Church and of the New Testament church, but they are one and the same. The Old Testament church was not to be changed but enlarged (Isa. 49:13-23; 60:1-14). When the Jews are at length restored, they will not enter a new church, but will be grafted again into "their own olive tree" (Rom. 11:18-24; comp. Eph. 2:11-22). The apostles did not set up a new organization. Under their ministry disciples were "added" to the "church" already existing (Acts 2:47). (2.) Its universality. It is the "catholic" church; not confined to any particular country or outward organization, but comprehending all believers throughout the whole world. (3.) Its perpetuity. It will continue through all ages to the end of the world. It can never be destroyed. It is an "everlasting kindgdom."
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