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Glite Dictionary
Congregational Church

Congregational Church

2 4.8
A Protestant Christian group where each local church makes its own decisions
  • noun
  • /ˌkɒŋɡrɪˈɡeɪʃənəl tʃɜːrtʃ/
translation icon : Iglesia Congregacional
  • Many community events are held at the Congregational Church to support local charities.
  • First Congregational Church
  • Plymouth Congregational Church
  • Congregational Church of St.

Examples

  • After retiring from college teaching in the 1970s, they joined the Congregational Church in Montclair, New Jersey, most probably for social reasons, and were pleased to discover the church had lightened up during their long absence.

    Academic text (2017)

  • At a very early age, I was going to the Congregational Church.

    Academic text (2017)

  • As a child in a Congregational church, I knew nothing about a Lectionary.

    Academic text (2014)

  • My local Congregational church had become part of the U.C.C. in 1957.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Instead, Oker was a prominent member of the Swedish Congregational Church, where he was a lay minister and officer.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • There is a shimmering, pocket-sized harbor filled with small boats and tristriped buoys, and the towering white bell tower of the Congregational Church, which can be seen from almost anywhere in town and miles out to sea.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I attended the service at the Congregational Church every Sunday with my family.

  • As a member of the Congregational Church, she participated in numerous outreach programs.

How Self-Governing

Congregational Church
2 4.8
Episcopal Church
  • US
11 5.1
church-state
1 8.3

Surface Forms

Congregational Church singular
Congregational Churches plural

Morphology

Congregational + church

The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'congregational' describes the type/organisation of a 'church', so a learner who knows 'congregational' (governed by its congregation) and 'church' can infer it means a church run by its congregation. Although the term names a particular Protestant tradition, the core meaning is transparently derived from the constituents and follows normal adjective + noun composition.

Etymology

The term Congregational Church comes from the idea that the local congregation, the people who attend the church, ran it themselves. That's why it means a church where each local group is 'self-governing' or 'independent'.