Congregation

Congregation (Lat. grex, flock), a collection of people or, indeed, other things. The word is used in the Universities to signify the body of regent masters of arts collected for voting and legislative purposes. It has also several ecclesiastical significations. In Rome it denotes the several committees of the College of Cardinals for different administrative purposes, e.g. the Congregation of Rites. Again, convents may group themselves together to form a congregation. In Scotland it was used to denote the body of those who subscribed the Covenant of 1557, the nobles who adhered being called Lords of Congregation. It is also used to denote sometimes the habitual, sometimes the casual, body of worshippers in any church or chapel.