Divine Lexicon

Term

secular clergy

Clerics who live in the world rather than in religious orders, following no monastic rule but bound by oaths of loyalty to their bishop.

Filed underEcclesiologyChurch History

Definition

Clerics not members of religious or monastic orders and who therefore do not follow a rule. The term 'secular clergy' was first used for priests who lived in the world (saeculum). They took no vows but were bound by oaths of loyalty to their bishop.

Connections

Follow this entry through the Lexicon.

Contrasted with

Sources

  1. 1.Jerald C. Brauer and B. A. Gerrish, ed. The Westminster Dictionary of Church History. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971). 759Original citation: Brauer, Jerald C., and B. A. Gerrish, eds. The Westminster Dictionary of Church History. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971, 759.

Last revised August 14, 2026