Evangelical, a term applied to all those forms of Christianity which regard the atonement of Christ, or His sacrifice on the Cross for sin, as the ground and central principle of the Christian faith.

E`van*gel"ic*al (?), a. 1. Contained in, or relating to, the four Gospels; as, the evangelical history.

2. Belonging to, agreeable or consonant to, or contained in, the gospel, or the truth taught in the New Testament; as, evangelical religion.

3. Earnest for the truth taught in the gospel; strict in interpreting Christian doctrine; preëminently orthodox; -- technically applied to that party in the Church of England, and in the Protestant Episcopal Church, which holds the doctrine of "Justification by Faith alone;" the Low Church party. The term is also applied to other religious bodies not regarded as orthodox.

Evangelical Alliance, an alliance for mutual strengthening and common work, comprising Christians of different denominations and countries, organized in Liverpool, England, in 1845. -- Evangelical Church. (a)The Protestant Church in Germany.(b)A church founded by a fusion of Lutherans and Calvinists in Germany in 1817. -- Evangelical Union, a religious sect founded in Scotland in 1843 by the Rev. James Morison; -- called also Morisonians.

E`van*gel"ic*al, n. One of evangelical principles.