church

church

church [church churches churched churching]   [tʃɜːtʃ]    [tʃɜːrtʃ]  noun
1. countable a building where Christians go to worship
• a church tower
• The procession moved into the church.

• church services

2. uncountable a service or services in a church
• How often do you go to church?
• (BrE) They're at church (= attending a church service).
• (NAmE) They're in church.

• Church is at 9 o'clock.

3. Church countable a particular group of Christians
• the Anglican Church
• the Catholic Church
• the Free Churches

see also  denomination

4. (the) Church singular the ministers of the Christian religion; the institution of the Christian religion
• The Church has a duty to condemn violence.
• the conflict between Church and State
• to go into the Church (= to become a Christian minister)
see a broad church at  broad  _adj.  
Word Origin:
Old English cir(i)ce, cyr(i)ce, related to Dutch kerk and German Kirche, based on medieval Greek kurikon, from Greek kuriakon (dōma) ‘Lord's (house)’, from kurios ‘master or lord’. Compare with kirk.  
Culture:
churches and cathedrals
In Britain churches are landmarks in every town and village. Their tower or spire (= a cone-shaped structure on top of a small tower) can often be seen from far away. Churches are used for worship by the Church of England, Roman Catholics and other groups, while some Nonconformist Churches use chapels or halls. The church and church hall, a building used for meetings and Sunday School, were formerly the centre of the community. Now, far fewer people attend church and this has resulted in some churches being closed or used for other purposes such as housing.
Cathedrals may belong to either the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church. Many cathedrals were built as part of a monastery, for example Durham was started in the 11th century by Benedictine monks. Some of these cathedrals are called minsters, e.g. York Minster, and they were originally centres for teaching Christianity. St Chad’s in Birmingham dates from the middle of the 19th century and was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in England since the Reformation. A cathedral is the headquarters of a bishop or archbishop. Canterbury Cathedral is the headquarters of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is head of the Church of England.
Many people visit churches and cathedrals to admire their architecture. In Britain churches are usually built of stone, with a tower or spire at the west end. Bells are placed high up in the tower and rung by long ropes before services. In villages the church is approached through a gate, sometimes a lychgate (= a gate with a roof over it), which leads into the churchyard where people are buried. The main entrance is usually on the south side. The church porch has a noticeboard and often a seat in it. Cathedrals are large churches, usually built in the shape of a long cross with a central tower. Older cathedrals are often in a quiet grassy cathedral close.
The earliest stone churches date from the Anglo-Saxon period (6th-11th centuries). Norman churches, from the 11th and 12th centuries, are massive structures. Rounded arches over doorways and windows are a distinctive feature of Norman architecture. Examples of Norman cathedrals are those at Durham and Ely.
The English Gothic style of the 13th-15th centuries is characterized by pointed arches and increasingly ornate designs for the vault. Windows were tall and narrow in the Early English period (13th century), and later, in the Decorated period, had tracery (= lace-like patterns) at the top. In the Perpendicular period (15th century), they were greatly increased in size and filled with stained glass (= small pieces of coloured glass in a lead frame) showing pictures of saints. Ceilings with elaborate fan vaults (= curved strips of stone spreading out from a point, with patterns between them) are supported by flying buttresses that lean at an angle from the wall and form an arch. Salisbury Cathedral is a characteristic Early English building. Exeter Cathedral dates mainly from the Decorated period and Gloucester Cathedral with its fan vaults is typical of the Perpendicular period.
Some later buildings, such as St Paul's Cathedral designed by Christopher Wren, are more like classical temples, with a central dome and spire added. Wren and James Gibbs, designer of St Martin-in-the-Fields, influenced architects in America: Christ Church in Philadelphia is a copy of St Martin. But the modern Coventry Cathedral, designed by Basil Spence in the 1950s, is a hall-like church with narrow stained-glass windows.
In the US the earliest churches were one-room buildings made of wood that were used also as schools. Most communities now have several churches in varying styles. Some are made of stone in order to look like old English churches, some are small, plain buildings made of brick or wood, and others are modern buildings with glass walls. Storefront churches are found in shopping streets and look like shops/stores. 
Collocations:
Religion
Being religious
believe in God/Christ/Allah/free will/predestination/heaven and hell/an afterlife/reincarnation
be/become a believer/an atheist/an agnostic/a Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Buddhist, etc.
convert to/practise/ (especially US) practice a religion/Buddhism/Catholicism/Christianity/Islam/Judaism, etc.
go to church/(NAmE) temple (= the synagogue)
go to the local church/mosque/synagogue/gurdwara
belong to a church/a religious community
join/enter the church/a convent/a monastery/a religious sect/the clergy/the priesthood
praise/worship/obey/serve/glorify God
Celebrations and ritual
attend/hold/conduct/lead a service
perform a ceremony/a rite/a ritual/a baptism/the Hajj/a mitzvah
carry out/perform a sacred/burial/funeral/fertility/purification rite
go on/make a pilgrimage
celebrate Christmas/Easter/Eid/Ramadan/Hanukkah/Passover/Diwali
observe/break the Sabbath/a fast/Ramadan
deliver/preach/hear a sermon
lead/address the congregation
say/recite a prayer/blessing
Religious texts and ideas
preach/proclaim/spread the word of God/the Gospel/the message of Islam
study/follow the dharma/the teachings of Buddha
read/study/understand/interpret scripture/the Bible/the Koran/the gospel/the Torah
be based on/derive from divine revelation
commit/consider sth heresy/sacrilege
Religious belief and experience
seek/find/gain enlightenment/wisdom
strengthen/lose your faith
keep/practise/practice/abandon the faith
save/purify/lose your soul
obey/follow/keep/break/violate a commandment/Islamic law/Jewish law
be/accept/do God's will
receive/experience divine grace
achieve/attain enlightenment/salvation/nirvana
undergo a conversion/rebirth/reincarnation
hear/answer a prayer
commit/confess/forgive a sin
do/perform penance 
Grammar Point:
school
When a school is being referred to as an institution, you do not need to use the: ▪ When do the children finish school? When you are talking about a particular building, the is used: ▪ I’ll meet you outside the school. Prison, jail, court, and church work in the same way: ▪ Her husband spent three years in prison.
note at college, hospital  
Example Bank:
• Do you go to church?
• He left the Church after a loss of faith.
• He loves all the high church traditions— incense and processions and vestments.
• He served the church for over sixty years.
• He went into the Church when he was 23.
• He went into the Church= became a priest when he was 23.
• Linda joined the local Methodist church.
• Mrs Parsons wasn't at church this Sunday.
• She was actively involved in church groups.
• The Catholic church teaches that life begins at conception.
• The church is dedicated to St Paul.
• The church was consecrated in 1250.
• The early Church believed miracles were proof of who Jesus was.
• There's an interesting organ in the church.
• They're at church.
• We decided not to get married in church.
• a chamber concert at our local church
• a church youth group

• Church is at 9 o'clock.