To go into the Church
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To take holy orders, or become an "ordained" clergyman.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “To go into the Church” mean?
To take holy orders, or become an "ordained" clergyman.
Is “To go into the Church” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.