Holy Office

noun Roman Catholic Church.

a congregation founded in 1542 to succeed the suppressed Inquisition and entrusted with matters pertaining to faith and morals, as the judgment of heresy, the application of canonical punishment, and the examination of books and prohibition of those held dangerous to faith and morals.

Origin of Holy Office

First recorded in 1720–30

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for holy office

Holy Office

noun

RC Church a congregation established in 1542 as the final court of appeal in heresy trials; it now deals with matters of doctrine

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012