congregation

noun con·gre·ga·tion \ ˌkäŋ-gri-ˈgā-shən \

Definition of congregation

1 a :an assembly of persons :gathering; especially :an assembly of persons met for worship and religious instruction

b :a religious community: such as

(1) :an organized body of believers in a particular locality

The pastor delivered a lengthy sermon to the congregation.

(2) :a Roman Catholic religious institute with only simple vows

a congregation of nuns

(3) :a group of monasteries forming an independent subdivision of an order

2 :the act or an instance of congregating or bringing together :the state of being congregated

3 :a body of cardinals and officials forming an administrative division of the papal curia

See congregation defined for English-language learners

See congregation defined for kids

Examples of congregation in a Sentence

The priest addressed the congregation.
She is a member of a small congregation.

Recent Examples of congregation from the Web

Local congregations have played a crucial role during times of disaster, said Jamie Aten, founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College in Illinois.

— stephanie kuzydym, chicagotribune.com, "Joel Osteen pushes back against accusations he closed his megachurch to Harvey victims," 30 Aug. 2017
Local congregations have played a crucial role during times of disaster, said Jamie Aten, founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College in Illinois.

— stephanie kuzydym, chicagotribune.com, "Joel Osteen pushes back against accusations he closed his megachurch to Harvey victims," 30 Aug. 2017
Local congregations have played a crucial role during times of disaster, said Jamie Aten, founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College in Illinois.

— kristine phillips, Washington Post, "‘We were never closed’: Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch disputes claims it shut its doors," 29 Aug. 2017
His wife cleans the Slavic Grace Baptist Church, one of several Ukrainian congregations where women must cover their heads and wear long skirts.

— miriam jordan, New York Times, "Soviet-Era Program Gives Even Unoppressed Immigrants an Edge," 26 Aug. 2017
In 1984, two members of Aryan Nations offshoot Silent Brotherhood set off bombs at Boise’s Congregation Ahavath Israel Synagogue.

— sven berg, idahostatesman, "Why is a church on list of Idaho hate groups with KKK, neo-Nazis?," 19 Aug. 2017
Macomber doesn’t sugar-coat the classist and judgmental rejection Shay receives from Drew’s congregation.

— jean marie brown, star-telegram, "Flawed characters find joy in ‘Any Dream Will Do’," 1 Aug. 2017
Still, no Chicago area congregation took on the name of St. John of Chicago.

— madeline galassi, Daily Southtown, "Iconic saint's image heralds New Lenox church's new name," 24 July 2017
Until recently, most of the decline in America’s churches was in mainline Protestant congregations.

— jeff cimmino, National Review, "For Evangelicals, the Marriage Debate Is Just Beginning," 20 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'congregation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The verb congregate may be used for spontaneous gatherings. A crowd quickly congregates at the scene of an accident, for example, just as cows, sheep, or horses tend to congregate during a storm. And under military rule, citizens are often forbidden to congregate on street corners or anywhere else. But a congregation is generally a group that has gathered for a formal purpose, usually in church. The Congregational Church was originally the church of the Puritan settlers, in which each congregation governed its own church independent of any higher authority.