decretal
9.9
Relating to official letters or orders from the pope about church law
- adjective
- /dɪˈkriːtəl/
- Formal
:
decretal
- Writing to the bishop of Troyes, Innocent warned in his decretal Magne devotionis that if he failed to fulfill his crusading vow, he would set a bad example for his subjects and lead his people astray.
Examples
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This idea was echoed in Peter the Chanter's declaration that the Church could justly impose the interdict for a lord's sin on his subjects and was included in Innocent III's decretal Vergentis.
Academic text (2002) -
Scholars often debate the implications of each decretal issued by the Vatican.
-
The theologian referenced the important decretal during his lecture on church authority.
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In her paper, she analyzed a decretal that addressed moral conduct within the clergy.
Synonyms
9.7
Like an official order that must be obeyed
is limited to papal or church rulings rather than any official order
Surface Forms
decretal positive
Etymology
The word decretal comes from the Latin decretum, meaning 'decision', and shares the same root as the everyday word decree. It was used for important church decisions, often from the pope, so decretal means 'relating to those official church rulings'.
