consistory

American  

[kuhn-sis-tuh-ree] / kənˈsɪs tə ri /

noun

• consistories
  plural

1. any of various ecclesiastical councils or tribunals.

2. the place where such a council or tribunal meets.

3. the meeting of any such body.

4. Roman Catholic Church. a solemn assembly of the whole body of cardinals, summoned and presided over by the pope.

5. Anglican Church. a diocesan court for dealing with ecclesiastical and spiritual questions, held in the cathedral church and presided over by the bishop, the bishop's chancellor, or the commissary.

6. (in certain Reformed churches) the governing board of a local church or congregation.

7. any assembly or council.

8. Obsolete. a council chamber.

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consistory British  

/ kənˈsɪstərɪ /

noun

1. Church of England

   1. the court of a diocese (other than Canterbury) administering ecclesiastical law

   2. the area in a church where the consistory meets

2. RC Church an assembly of the cardinals and the pope

3. (in certain Reformed Churches) the governing body of a local congregation or church

4. archaic a council or assembly

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• consistorial
  adjective
• consistorian
  adjective
• nonconsistorial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• consistories
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of consistory

1275–1325; Middle English consistorie < Anglo-French < Late Latin consistōrium meeting place, equivalent to Latin consist ( ere ) ( see consist) + -( t ) ōrium -tory ²

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

consistory consistories

At a ceremony in St. Peter's Square known as a consistory, Francis "created" 21 new cardinals, the red-hatted "princes of the Church" who are his closest advisers at the Vatican and around the world.

From Reuters ● Sep. 30, 2023

Cardinals are seen before a consistory ceremony to install 14 new cardinals in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, June 28, 2018.

From Reuters ● Aug. 25, 2022

After the next consistory, the number of voting-age cardinals from Asia and Africa will have nearly doubled, compared with the conclave that elected Francis.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2022

In announcing the Aug. 27 consistory, Francis also announced he would host two days of talks the following week to brief the cardinals about his recent apostolic constitution reforming the Vatican bureaucracy.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2022

In the secret consistory, the Holy Father again referred to the insulting measures of the separation law.

From The War Upon Religion Being an Account of the Rise and Progress of Anti-christianism in Europe by Francis A. (Francis Aloysius) Cunningham

But Pope Francis has now held eight consistories — gatherings of cardinals — to create new ones over the last nine years, and Gomez hasn’t even been whispered about as a contender.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2022

Popes don’t normally call for consistories at the end of summer, when Rome is still in vacation shutdown mode.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2022

In making his selections, now and in previous consistories, Francis has been upending centuries of tradition by choosing cardinals from cities that have never before had cardinals.

From New York Times ● May 29, 2022

Usually, consistories are full of parties and crowds, with days of receptions, Masses and dinners for the new cardinals and their friends.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 28, 2020

He interfered with the education of Protestant children, confiscated property bequeathed to Protestant consistories, and on frivolous pretexts shut up Protestant churches.

From The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 2 by Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay

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