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Glite Dictionary
prelature

prelature

1 9.9
An office, rank, or group of senior church leaders in the Catholic Church
  • noun
  • /ˈprɛlətʃər/
  • Jargon
translation icon : prelatura
  • To have one mass a week or a month at individual parishes or to move to a separate Rite or prelature, similar to the Opus Dei for the traditional mass.

Examples

  • The Pope is offering them a Papal Prelature in order to protect them from modernist Prelates.

    Blog text (30)

  • And making the society another "personal prelature" would only put it beyond the touch of local bishops, so that it could spread its mistaken ideas with greater ease.

    Blog text (26)

  • The "personal prelature" projection seems like a pretty distasteful option to me.

    Blog text (26)

  • Once under Papal Prelature, no bishop will be able to push the SSPX around.

    Blog text (30)

  • Opus Dei is a prelature to the Vatican.

    The Da Vinci Code (2006)

  • A personal prelature for a group that calls the documents of Vatican II heretical, the reformed Mass invalid, rejects ecumenism, and lays down demands to the Holy See?

    Blog text (26)

  • The bishop's prelature involves overseeing several parishes in the diocese.

  • In the Roman Catholic Church, a prelature is a rank held by high-ranking officials who perform important duties.

  • After the reforms, the new prelature was established to better serve the needs of the clergy.

Synonyms

episcopacy
vsprelature
  • Formal
1 9.9

A group of bishops who lead a church and the way they run it

refers to leaders more generally and often links to a particular tradition
prelacy
vsprelature
  • Formal
9.9

A system where bishops and senior leaders lead the church

focuses more on the specific office or group especially in Roman Catholic context
episcopate
vsprelature
  • Formal
9.9

The position and authority of a bishop in a church

covers the rank or group level rather than a single office
ecclesiarchy
vsprelature
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of church leaders who make official decisions

is narrower naming high-ranking officials or their offices in a certain tradition

Surface Forms

prelature singular
prelatures plural

Morphology

prelature = prelate (semi-transparent) = prelate + ure

The word is clearly based on prelate, but the -ure formation is not a fully productive or fully predictable English pattern for learners.

Etymology

The word prelature comes from prelate, from old parts pre- 'before' and latus 'carried', and the pre- is the same 'before' you see in prepare. So, a prelate was someone 'placed before' others as a church leader, and a prelature is the office or group of these high church leaders.