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Glite Dictionary
Greek Church

Greek Church

4.6
The main Orthodox Christian church in Greece that governs itself
  • proper noun
translation icon : Iglesia griega
  • The Greek Church plays a significant role in the cultural history of Greece.

Examples

  • The traditions of the Greek Church shape the religious practices of its followers.

  • The desire of the revitalized papacy to assert itself, particularly over the Greek Church, also played a part.

    Blog text (4)

  • Many visitors to Greece explore the ancient architecture of the Greek Church.

Synonyms

Greek Orthodox Church
vsGreek Church
1 4.1

The main Christian church in Greece that follows the Eastern Orthodox tradition

is the shorter, more general name rather than the full formal title

Surface Forms

Greek Church main

Morphology

Greek + church

Both constituents are literal and compositional: 'Greek' means pertaining to Greece and 'church' denotes a Christian body, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer this refers to the church associated with Greece (the national/Greek Orthodox church). There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift and the construction follows cross-linguistically common nation + institution naming patterns.

Etymology

Greek Church comes from the fact that church services used the Greek language and the Church served the Greek people. That's why the phrase means 'the national church of Greece' today.