Term

interdict

An ecclesiastical penalty that forbids the administration of sacraments to the faithful, except in cases of imminent death, without the full severity of excommunication.

Filed underEcclesiology

Definition

An ecclesiastical penalty that excludes the faithful from the sacraments but does not impose the more severe penalties of excommunication. Administration of sacraments is forbidden, except in cases of imminent death.

Connections

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Contrasted with

Sources

  1. 1.Jerald C. Brauer and B. A. Gerrish, ed. The Westminster Dictionary of Church History. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971). 437Original citation: Brauer, Jerald C., and B. A. Gerrish, eds. The Westminster Dictionary of Church History. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971, 437.

Last revised August 14, 2026