ɪn ɐ nˈæɹoʊ sˈɛns, ðə tˈɜːm "kˈæɾɐkˌoʊm tʃˈɜːtʃ" mˈiːnz nˌɑːt dʒˈʌst ɪlˈiːɡəl kəmjˈuːnᵻɾiz, bˌʌt kəmjˈuːnᵻɾiz ðæt ɹᵻdʒˈɛktᵻd sˌʌboːɹdᵻnˈeɪʃən tə ðɪ ˈæktɪŋ pˈeɪtɹɪˌɑːɹkəl lˈoʊkəm tˈɛnənz mˌɛtɹəpˈɑːlɪtən sˈɜːdʒɪəs stɹˌæɡoːɹˈɑːdski ˈæftɚ nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd twˈɛnti sˈɛvən, ænd ɐdˈɑːptᵻd ˈæntaɪsˈoʊviət pəzˈɪʃənz.
In a narrow sense, the term "catacomb church" means not just illegal communities, but communities that rejected subordination to the Acting patriarchal locum tenens Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) after 1927, and adopted anti-Soviet positions.