Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Roman Catholic Church An assembly of cardinals presided over by the pope for the solemn promulgation of papal acts, such as the canonization of a saint.
- noun A governing body of a local congregation in certain Reformed churches.
- noun A court appointed to regulate ecclesiastical affairs in Lutheran state churches.
- noun An Anglican diocesan court presided over by a bishop's chancellor or commissary.
- noun The meeting of a consistory.
- noun A council; a tribunal.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A place of meeting; especially, a council-house or place of justice, or the assembly which convenes in it; under the Roman emperors, a privy council.
- noun Hence An ecclesiastical or spiritual court, or the place where such a court is held.
- noun In the Reformed (Dutch) Ch., the lowest ecclesiastical court, having charge of the government of the local church, and corresponding to the session of the Presbyterian Church. In the Reformed (French) Ch., a higher court, corresponding to a presbytery.
- noun In the Roman Catholic Church, an ecclesiastical senate, consisting of the whole body of cardinals, which deliberates upon the affairs of the church.
- noun In the Lutheran state churches, a board of clerical officers, either national or provincial, usually appointed by the sovereign, charged with various matters of ecclesiastical administration.
- Belonging to or of the nature of a consistory.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of the nature of, or pertaining to, a consistory.
- noun Primarily, a place of standing or staying together; hence, any solemn assembly or council.
- noun (Eng. Ch.) The spiritual court of a diocesan bishop held before his chancellor or commissioner in his cathedral church or elsewhere.
- noun (R. C. Ch.) An assembly of prelates; a session of the college of cardinals at Rome.
- noun A church tribunal or governing body.
- noun obsolete A civil court of justice.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Primarily, a place of standing or staying together; hence, any solemn
assembly orcouncil . - noun The
spiritual court of adiocesan bishop held before hischancellor orcommissioner in hiscathedral church or elsewhere. - noun An assembly of
prelates ; a session of the college ofcardinals atRome . - noun A
church tribunal orgoverning body, especially ofelders in aReformed church. - noun obsolete A
civil court ofjustice .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a church tribunal or governing body
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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And then, if that were not enough, the pope has called a consistory, which is a meeting of all the cardinals, cardinals being, if you want, the ministers or the number one people in the Catholic Church below the pope, of course.
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Speaking to faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square on Friday to celebrate the Epiphany, the pope said he planned to elevate the prelates to the rank of cardinal during a Feb. 18 ceremony, known as a consistory.
New Yorker Among 22 New Cardinals Stacy Meichtry 2012
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Cardinals Win One consistory Speaking to faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square on Friday to celebrate the Epiphany, the pope said he planned to elevate the prelates to the rank of cardinal during a Feb. 18 ceremony, known as a consistory.
Week in Words Erin McKean 2012
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Pope Benedict will convene the meeting of " prayer and reflection " for the cardinals on Nov. 19, one day before he elevates 24 new cardinals in a Vatican ceremony known as a consistory, the Vatican said Monday.
Pope to Discuss Sex Abuse at Meeting With Cardinals Stacy Meichtry 2010
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The ordination, known as a consistory, was performed in a lavish ceremony Saturday in Saint Peter's Basilica.
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David and Ken stick with us, also, David, consistory, that is a good word of the day.
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In the preservation of academical discipline, the rector was assisted by the senate (also called the consistory or regency), which usually comprised the preceding rector and three counsellors.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913
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The consistory was the ordinary tribunal and audience of the pope for the transaction of all the business of the Universal Church.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 4: Clandestinity-Diocesan Chancery 1840-1916 1913
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It was demonstrated that the arrangement had only been undertaken to provide the Christian princes with another weapon for attacking the Ottoman Empire, and before this consideration, one may readily suppose, all the pope's scruples vanished; on the 25th of June, therefore, it was decided to call a consistory which was to declare Frederic deposed from the throne of
The Borgias Celebrated Crimes Alexandre Dumas p��re 1836
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He'll assume the newly created position of chairman of the church's consistory, which is its board of directors, The Orange County
yarb commented on the word consistory
"It was a constant practice with them, in their midnight consistories, to swallow such plentiful draughts of inspiration, that their mysteries commonly ended like those of the Bacchanalian orgia..."
— Smollett, Peregrine Pickle
January 19, 2022