The service and worship of God; an institutionalized system of religious beliefs and practices. The Israelites’ service and worship of God had become institutionalized by the time Jesus lived. Jesus himself criticized several of its practices for having a show of piety but lacking true heart-felt adoration of God. The institutionalization of the Christian faith occurred in many churches long after the time of the apostles. Hence, it is not discussed in the NT.
See also Judaism.