Church (congregation)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A church (or local church) is a religious organization or congregation that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by clergy or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek non-profit corporate status.
Local churches often relate with, affiliate with, or consider themselves to be constitutive parts of denominations, which are also called churches in many traditions. Depending on the tradition, these organizations may connect local churches to larger church traditions, ordain and defrock clergy, define terms of membership and exercise church discipline, and have organizations for cooperative ministry such as educational institutions and missionary societies. Non-denominational churches are not part of denominations, but may consider themselves part of larger church movements without institutional expression.
The word church may also be used for other religious communities, although for non-Christian communities the term is sometimes considered archaic or even offensive, while some other non-Christian communities themselves use the word to refer to their community or house of worship.
See also
- Ecclesiastical polity
- Congregational church
- Parish
- Particular church
- House church
- Early centers of Christianity
