decretal

American  

[dih-kreet-l] / dɪˈkrit l /

adjective

1. pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing a decree or decrees.

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noun

1. a papal decree authoritatively determining some point of doctrine or church law.

2. Decretals, the body or collection of such decrees as a part of the canon law.

decretal British  

/ dɪˈkriːtəl /

noun

1. RC Church a papal edict on doctrine or church law

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adjective

1. of or relating to a decretal or a decree

Other Word Forms

• decretalist noun

Etymology

Origin of decretal

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French < Late Latin dēcrētālis fixed by decree, equivalent to dēcrēt ( um ) decree + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

To put an end to this neglect, Lucius III, jointly with the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa and the bishops of his court, enacted a decretal at Verona in 1184, regulating the episcopal inquisition.

From The Inquisition A Critical and Historical Study of the Coercive Power of the Church by Conway, Bertrand L. (Bertrand Louis)

This command to Abraham does not show that there ever was any such contrariety between the revealed and the decretal wills of God, as is contended for by Hobbes and Edwards.

From A Theodicy, or, Vindication of the Divine Glory by Bledsoe, Albert Taylor

Had this been written by the Benedictines, there would have been every reason to think that though Boniface's decretal itself did not forbid dissection it had unfortunately been so misinterpreted.

From The Popes and Science The History of the Papal Relations to Science During the Middle Ages and Down to Our Own Time by Walsh, James J.

In 1528 he was sent with Gardiner to Rome to obtain from Clement VII. a decretal commission for the trial and decision of the case between Henry VIII. and Catherine of Aragon.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

Why should not the Pope, then, allow the decretal to be put in execution?

From The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon The Story as Told by the Imperial Ambassadors Resident at the Court of Henry VIII by Froude, J.A.