lay investiture

[ ley in-ves-ti-cher, -choor ]

noun

1. (in medieval Europe) bestowal of a church office by a member of the secular nobility rather than by church officials:

   Pope Gregory VII prohibited lay investiture of bishops and, in 1076, excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor for his resistance.

Word History and Origins

Origin of lay investiture¹

First recorded in 1610–20

Example Sentences

Gregory held a second council and utterly forbade lay investiture.

From Project Gutenberg

In time the Church came to perceive how closely lay investiture was bound up with simony.

From Project Gutenberg

In forbidding lay investiture Gregory attempted nothing less than a revolution.

From Project Gutenberg

Now, the papal rule in the matter was plain; all homage and lay investiture were strictly prohibited.

From Project Gutenberg

Therefore the papal ax must be laid at the very root of the evil, namely, lay investiture and the secular control of the clergy.

From Project Gutenberg