brethren(n = noun.group) - (plural) the lay members of a male religious order;
is a kind of religious order, religious sect, sect
" This form of the plural is used, for the most part, in solemn address, and in speaking of religious sects or fraternities, or their members." [1913 Webster]
brethren, see BROTHER.
N laity, flock, fold, congregation, assembly, brethren, people, society, temporality, secularization, layman, civilian, parishioner, catechumen, secularist, secular, lay, laical, civil, temporal, profane.
church of the brethren, evangelical united brethren church, plymouth brethren