consistory
Americannoun
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any of various ecclesiastical councils or tribunals.
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the place where such a council or tribunal meets.
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the meeting of any such body.
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Roman Catholic Church. a solemn assembly of the whole body of cardinals, summoned and presided over by the pope.
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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.
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(in certain Reformed churches) the governing board of a local church or congregation.
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any assembly or council.
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Obsolete. a council chamber.
noun
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Church of England
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the court of a diocese (other than Canterbury) administering ecclesiastical law
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the area in a church where the consistory meets
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RC Church an assembly of the cardinals and the pope
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(in certain Reformed Churches) the governing body of a local congregation or church
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archaic a council or assembly
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The ceremony to install them, known as a consistory, will be held on Sept. 30, Francis announced during his noon prayer to pilgrims and tourist in St. Peter's Square.
From Reuters ● Jul. 9, 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
Van Looy had been one of 21 individuals Francis selected for the honor, a move that will be formalized — for the other 20 — during a consistory in August.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 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
The pope, who had long defended them, was about to yield to the pressure put upon him and had called a consistory for their suppression, but died suddenly on the evening before its assembling.
From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.
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
I hate lying and violence in all their forms, and am equally repelled by the secretaries of consistories and by Notovitch and Gradovsky.
From Letters of Anton Chekhov by Garnett, Constance
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
