1. any law requiring a person to belong to the established church of a country as a condition for holding public office.
2. ( caps. ) Eng. Hist. the statute (1673) requiring all military officers and public officials to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown, receive the sacraments of the Church of England, and reject the doctrine of transubstantiation: repealed in 1828.
[ 1700-10 ]