dispensation

dispensation
dispensational, adj.dispensatorily /di spen"seuh tawr'euh lee, -tohr'-/, adv.
/dis'peuhn say"sheuhn, -pen-/, n.
1. an act or instance of dispensing; distribution.
2. something that is distributed or given out.
3. a certain order, system, or arrangement; administration or management.
4. Theol.
a. the divine ordering of the affairs of the world.
b. an appointment, arrangement, or favor, as by God.
c. a divinely appointed order or age: the old Mosaic, or Jewish, dispensation; the new gospel, or Christian, dispensation.
5. a dispensing with, doing away with, or doing without something.
6. Rom. Cath. Ch.
a. a relaxation of law in a particular case granted by a competent superior or the superior's delegate in laws that the superior has the power to make and enforce: a dispensation regarding the Lenten fast.
b. an official document authorizing such a relaxation of law.
[1325-75; ME dispensacioun < ML dispensation- (s. of dispensatio) a pardon, relaxation, LL: order, system, divine grace, L: distribution, equiv. to dispensat(us) (ptp. of dispensare to DISPENSE; see -ATE1) + -ion- -ION]
Syn. 1. dispersion, meting out, apportioning, dissemination, bestowal.

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▪ ecclesiastical law
also called  Economy,  

      in Christian ecclesiastical law, the action of a competent authority in granting relief from the strict application of a law. It may be anticipatory or retrospective.

      Economy is the term that is normally employed in the Eastern Orthodox churches for this type of action. The church strives for the salvation of souls, and, when this is more likely to be achieved by a relaxation of a rule rather than by a strict adherence to it, economy permits the relaxation. With typical Orthodox elasticity, no canon defines the limits or use of economy, although certain broad principles are discernible. Thus, to run counter to fundamental dogma is permissible when this is conducive to the greater good of the church and the salvation of souls. Lack of precision is also found with regard to the persons who may exercise economy. All bishops (bishop) exercise it in their own right and not by delegation; but they should have regard to the views of episcopal synods, which themselves exercise economy, although only after consultation with the bishop of the district within which it is to be exercised. Above both the bishop and the synod is the general council, which has the authority to exercise economy of its own and can reverse the decisions of synods and bishops. Below the bishop is the priest, who exercises economy in day-to-day matters but whose authority is delegated to him by the bishop.

      The Western Christian churches have evolved rules with regard to dispensation with far greater precision and, in the Roman Catholic church (Roman Catholicism), in some detail. At first, it was held that only the common good of the church as a whole justified the granting of a dispensation and that only the person or body that made the laws, whether pope, synod, or bishop, could dispense from them. With the development of canon law and the growth of the power of the papacy, however, it came to be accepted that the ultimate dispensing power resided in the pope, though it could be delegated by him to subordinate persons and bodies. The field over which dispensation could operate was significantly widened, for, whereas formerly the divine law and the natural law were outside the scope of the dispensing power, the view was gradually reached that the jurisdiction of the pope, while unable to abrogate the divine or the natural law, could nevertheless dispense from the obligations imposed by them and from their effects in particular cases, though only where the ultimate object of such laws was not thereby thwarted.

      Gradually, dispensations were granted solely for the benefit of individuals, regardless of whether or not the whole church could be said to benefit thereby, and the belief that such dispensations were granted too frequently and for financial gain was a factor contributing to the movement that led to the Protestant Reformation. The Council of Trent (Trent, Council of) (1545–63) tried to guard against abuses but left intact the papal authority, and the Roman Catholic system of dispensation today is essentially the same as that which had developed by the end of the Middle Ages. While the authority that has the power to legislate may dispense from its own legislation, so also may its superior; and the subordinate authority's power may be limited by superior authority. The ultimate authority resides in the pope.

      In England, the Reformation, which was inspired in part by the pope's refusal to grant Henry VIII an annulment of an earlier dispensation that enabled his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, put an end to the papal authority in this and all other spheres of its previous jurisdiction. The need for a dispensing authority was, however, recognized, and a statute in 1534 preserved the bishops' dispensational powers and conferred upon the archbishop of Canterbury the power of dispensing formerly exercised by the pope, subject in the more important cases to royal confirmation. These provisions, however, have remained largely a dead letter, with the consequent lack of any ordered, practical system of dispensation in the Church of England. The same holds true for the various Protestant churches, none of which has as elaborate a system of laws as the Roman Catholic Church.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Dispensation — • An act whereby in a particular case a lawful superior grants relaxation from an existing law Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Dispensation     Dispensation      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • dispensation — ⇒DISPENSATION, subst. fém. Vx et littér. Action, fait de dispenser (cf. ce mot B), de distribuer. Équitable, sage, juste dispensation des grâces, des récompenses; être préposé à la dispensation de certains droits. Synon. distribution,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Dispensation — may refer to: Dispensation (Catholic Church), the suspension, by competent authority, of general rules of law in particular cases in the Catholic Church Dispensation (period), a period in history according to various religions Dispensation… …   Wikipedia

  • dispensation — DISPENSATION. sub. f. Distribution. Sage dispensation. Juste dispensation. Dispensation des grâces …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • dispensation — Dispensation. s. f. v. Distribution. Sage dispensation. juste dispensation. avec la dispensation des graces …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Dispensation — Dis pen*sa tion, n. [F. dispensation, L. dispensatio.] 1. The act of dispensing or dealing out; distribution; often used of the distribution of good and evil by God to man, or more generically, of the acts and modes of his administration. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Dispensation — Dispensation, s. v. wie Enthebung, Entbindung von einer gesetzlichen Obliegenheit. Die Dispensation findet in der katholischen Kirche in der Fastenzeit beim Fleischverbote, wie auch im Advente bei Trauungen Statt. Wer sich ohne Aufgebot (s. d.)… …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • dispensation — [n1] allocation of supply allotment, appointment, apportionment, award, bestowal, conferment, consignment, courtesy, dealing out, disbursement, distribution, dole, endowment, favor, indulgence, kindness, part, portion, quota, service, share;… …   New thesaurus

  • dispensation — I (act of dispensing) noun accommodation, administration, allocation, allotment, appointment, apportionment, assignment, bestowal, bestowment, conferment, conferral, dispersal, dispersion, disposal, disposition, dissemination, distribution,… …   Law dictionary

  • dispensation — late 14c., from O.Fr. despensacion (12c., Mod.Fr. dispensation), or directly from L. dispensationem (nom. dispensatio) management, charge, from pp. stem of dispensare (see DISPENSE (Cf. dispense)). Theological sense is from the use of the word to …   Etymology dictionary

  • Dispensation — (v. lat.), die Anordnung, durch welche die Anwendung einer allgemeineren gesetzlichen Vorschrift für einen bestimmten einzelnen Fall ausgeschlossen wird (Relaxatio legis). Bei der Unmöglichkeit, daß ein Gesetz für alle unter seine Regel fallenden …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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