churching

Pluralchurchings

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A religious ceremony blessing a woman after childbirth, traditionally observed in some Christian churches.

   After her churching, she rejoined the congregation for Sunday service.

   The vicar scheduled the churching for the Sunday after the baptism.

   Note

   Thanksgiving is at the heart of it: the mother gave thanks for coming safely through childbirth. The noun is both countable and uncountable. As a practice it is 'the churching of women'; as single ceremonies it takes a plural, so Dickens's hurried clergyman in Sketches by Boz (1834) faces 'two churchings, three christenings, and a funeral.' For a queen it could become a court festival, as Queen Philippa's did after Isabella's birth in 1333.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of church.

   The parish has a long custom of churching mothers after childbirth.

   Churching the new mother, the vicar offered prayers of thanksgiving.

   Note

   The verb behind it is transitive and historical: one churched a woman, so this form takes a direct object, as in 'churching the new mother.' The same verb could also cover a newly married couple. It had a separate use as well, meaning to educate someone religiously. Telling it from the noun for the ceremony is a matter of grammar: 'the churching' with an article is the noun, and 'churching her' is the verb.

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