papistic ritual

9.9

A church ceremony like those used in the Catholic Church

noun
/ˈpæpɪstɪk ˈrɪtʃuəl/

Archaic

: ritual papista

Many Protestant reformers objected to what they considered papistic rituals in the church.

Examples

Her criticism focused on the excessive use of papistic rituals during mass.
The ceremony was condemned by some as containing too many papistic rituals not found in scripture.
The church's papistic ritual drew criticism from the community.
Many believe that the papistic rituals are outdated.
Many Protestant reformers objected to what they considered papistic rituals in the church.
The ceremony was condemned by some as containing too many papistic rituals not found in scripture.
The church's papistic ritual drew criticism from the community.

Synonyms

religious ritual

vspapistic ritual

4 4.2

A ceremony with set actions from a religion like prayers and singing

is tied especially to the pope and Roman Catholic Church

religious rite

vspapistic ritual

2 4.1

A formal ceremony that people follow as part of a religion

is specific to ceremonies associated with the Roman Catholic Church and the pope

How Papal

ultramontane

Formal

9.9

papistic ritual

Archaic

9.9

religious ritual

4 4.2

Surface Forms

papistic ritual singular

papistic rituals plural

Morphology

papistic + ritual

The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'papistic' (relating to the Pope/Catholicism) modifies 'ritual' (a ceremonial practice), so the phrase straightforwardly means a ceremony characteristic of the papacy or Catholic tradition. This follows standard adjective+noun composition and would be inferable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents, even if 'papistic' is somewhat formal or infrequent.

Etymology

The phrase papistic ritual comes from the word papistic, meaning 'of the Pope', and ritual, meaning 'a formal church act'. It makes you think of candles, incense and formal steps, so it now means a ceremony like those of the Roman Catholic Church.