Conventicle

A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level conventicle is a Latinized synonym of the Greek word for church, and points to Jesus' promise in Matthew 18:20, "Where two or three are met together in my name."

Over time, it came to be explicitly applied to meetings of religious associations, particularly private and secret gatherings for worship. Later it became a term of deprecation or reproach, implying that those who used it opposed the ruling ecclesiastical authorities; for example, it was applied to a plot of mutinous monks in a convent or monastery.

Ultimately it came to mean religious meetings of dissenters from an established church, held in places that were not recognized as specially intended for public worship or the exercise of religious functions. It implied a condition of affairs in which the state made a distinction between the forms of religion whose practice and propagation were authorized by statute, and those that were expressly prohibited. This usage has received legal sanction in Britain.