ecclesiastical court

noun

1. a church court in ecclesiastical matters, presided over by members of the clergy and usually having no compulsory jurisdiction.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ecclesiastical court¹

First recorded in 1675–85

Example Sentences

The matter be decided at a consistory court hearing, which is an ecclesiastical court dealing with matters of law relating to the Church - mainly in relation to its buildings.

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An ecclesiastical court is to decide whether Cambridge University can move a memorial to a 17th Century benefactor who invested in the slave trade.

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A judge of the Ecclesiastical court for the diocese, Stephen Eyre QC, Chancellor of the Diocese of Coventry, had said the inscription could be seen as a political statement.

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Father Sergei faces another session of the ecclesiastical court on 26 June.

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After suspending him in May the Russian Orthodox Church organised an ecclesiastical court to determine his future.

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