dispensations

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | 700+ words | Copyright

dispensations. Licences granted by ecclesiastical authority to do something otherwise canonically illegal, or for the remittance of a penalty for breaking such a rule. By the later Middle Ages dispensation had become virtually a papal prerogative, but in 1965 RC diocesan bishops were given ordinary power to dispense from the general laws of the Church in particular cases, except in matters specially reserved for the Pope. Objects of dispensation include matters relating to the ordination of clergy, vows, marriage, and divorce. The Church can suspend or abrogate only laws of its own making, not natural or Divine laws. In the C of E the dispensing power of the Pope was transferred to the Abp. of Canterbury in 1534; it is now used mainly in the granting of special marriage licences. The Methodist Conference sometimes grants dispensations allowing a lay person to preside at Holy Communion.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "dispensations." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "dispensations." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-dispensations.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "dispensations." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-dispensations.html

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