conventicle

Conventicle is a term used to describe a small, often private religious assembly that is held outside the official worship of a church, typically by dissenters or separatists. The word derives from Latin conventiculum, a diminutive of conventus, and in English usage it has been employed since the Reformation to denote gatherings for worship or discussion not authorized by the established church. While neutral as a descriptive term, conventicles have frequently been associated with religious dissent and legal suppression by authorities seeking uniformity of doctrine and practice.

In early modern Europe, adherents of reform movements, Puritans, Anabaptists, Lutherans and Calvinists at times met in conventicles to study Scripture, pray, or confer away from parish churches. Such assemblies could occur in private homes, barns, or other informal venues, and could be considered illegal in jurisdictions that required conformity to a state church.

In England after the Restoration, laws known as the Conventicle Acts prohibited religious gatherings of more than five people that did not conform to the Church of England; attendance or hosting such conventicles could be punished. Similar restrictions existed in parts of Scandinavia and the German-speaking world during certain periods; authorities often used the term to stigmatize such meetings.

Today the term is mainly used by historians and scholars to describe past practices. It is not tied to a single denomination and may refer to any unauthorized or discreet religious meeting, from secret prayer circles to study groups.