article

The term national church is usually a reference to a church organization in Christianity that claims pastoral jurisdiction over a nation. Sometimes the head of state is considered the ceremonial head of the national church, while at the same time not endorsing itself as the state religion. The term should not be confused with established church (state church): a national church differs to a state church since a national church does not necessarily need to be officially endorsed by the state, and even in some cases is persecuted by the government (as were the Orthodox churches during the communist regimes).

The term national church or independent church is most often used within, but not limited to, the Anglican Communion and the Orthodox Christianity. For example, the Episcopal Church in the United States of America considers itself the national church of the United States.

In Catholicism, the term national church may refer to a parish catering to immigrants from another nation. Such national churches may hold church services and other activities in the language of the different nation. They may also follow the liturgies of the other nation, which may be slightly different.

__NOTOC__

List of National Churches

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

L

K

M

N

P

R

S

T

U

Z

  • Zambia - Uniting Church of Zambia

National churches

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "National church".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world