An assembly of people met together for religious worship. The term has been also used for assemblies of cardinals appointed by the pope for the discharge of certain functions, after the manner of our offices and courts; such as the congregation of the inquisition, the congregation of rites of alms, &c.&c.
It also signifies a company or society of religious persons cantoned out of this or that order and making an inferior order, &c. Such are the congregations of the Oratory; those of Clupy, &c. among the Benedictines.
Despite a stated reliance on the plain meaning of the Bible and the dictates of common sense, Buck's Theological Dictionary, first published in London in 1802, seeks to provide a textual basis for the evangelical community. By combining brief essays on orthodox belief and practice with historical entries on various denominations, Buck provided an interpretive lens that allowed antebellum Protestants to see Christianity's almost two millennia as their own history.Wikipedia
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