churchly

comparative churchlier · superlative churchliest

1. Pertaining to or relating to the church, its government, forms, or ceremonies; ecclesiastical.

   [...] upon getting their hearts right in the sight of God, confident, meanwhile, that then all churchly things would not only be conserved, but gathered into right form.

   1890, Jens Christian Jensson, American Lutheran biographies

   1 more example

   There are gays and lesbians within the Church who steadfastly refuse to leave it, be booted out, or be closeted within it. Their churchly involvement, in this sense, ought not to be merely a matter of curiosity to the non-religious.

   1983, David Townsend, “Staying On”, in The Body Politic

   Synonyms: churchical, churchlike, churchical, churchish, churchlike, churchy, ecclesial, ecclesiastic

2. Devoted to, or inclined to attach great importance to, the order and ritual of a particular section of the Christian church.

   And in the Smiths of Stratford, in Suffolk, of whom we would now discourse, a middle class family of no great opulence, we have signs of the churchly instinct passing down from generation to generation, [...]

   1890, Suffolk Institute of Archaeology, East Anglian

3. In accordance with ecclesiastical standards or ceremonies; appropriate for or befitting a church.

   churchly music

   1 more example

   The church was in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, in the tent of Abraham, and in the palace of David. It must be in every Christian home, and every Christian home must be in the church. In a word, our families must be churchly.

   1865, Samuel Philips, The Christian Home

4. Characteristic of a church; churchy.

   Synonyms: churchical