A religious house presided over by a prior or prioress; - sometimes an offshoot of, an subordinate to, an abbey, and called also cell, and obedience. See Cell, 2.
A building set apart for Christian worship.
A Jewish or heathen temple.
A formally organized body of Christian believers worshiping together.
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.
The collective body of Christians.
Any body of worshipers; as, the Jewish church; the church of Brahm.
The aggregate of religious influences in a community; ecclesiastical influence, authority, etc.; as, to array the power of the church against some moral evil.
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.
