canon law

American  

noun

1. the body of codified ecclesiastical law, especially of the Roman Catholic Church as promulgated in ecclesiastical councils and by the pope.

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canon law British  

noun

1. the law governing the affairs of a Christian Church, esp the law created or recognized by papal authority in the Roman Catholic Church See Corpus Juris Canonici Codex Juris Canonici

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Other Word Forms

• canon lawyer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of canon law

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

canon law

After completing studies in theology in Chicago and in canon law in Rome, the Catholic Church sent him to Peru for the first time.

From BBC ● May 9, 2025

Catholic canon law says the church “promotes the true and authentic veneration” of saints because of their pious examples.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024

Gay rights groups cheered the news, but Dawn Eden Goldstein, a Catholic theologian who holds a licensure in canon law, advised that church members should read the Vatican’s pronouncement carefully.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 18, 2023

To explain his stepping down, a Vatican statement at the time referred to a canon law that allowed bishops under 75 to retire for health reasons or other “grave” reasons, but did not elaborate.

From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2022

The Catholic Church has survived for centuries, not by passing on a ‘celibacy gene’ from one pope to the next, but by passing on the stories of the New Testament and of Catholic canon law.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari