Relating to or constituting a Church or denomination.
‘the modernization of ecclesial buildings’
‘The book has four parts: The first provides an analysis of the current social and ecclesial context from which church ministers come and in which they must serve.’
‘The profound relationship between the invisible and the visible elements of ecclesial communion is constitutive of the Church as the sacrament of salvation.’
‘The passage in Ephesians that compares the union of husband and wife to that of Christ and the church is a favorite ecclesial image, yet it has always been problematic.’
‘Many mistakenly believe that, in the years that followed, the Church governed both ecclesial and civil affairs with a heavy hand.’
‘The liturgical ecclesial community becomes a community in diaspora (without thereby ceasing to be the ecclesia in essence).’
‘If ordinations are classed as invalid because of such considerations, then the sacramental character of the ecclesial community is called into question.’
‘The Gospel writers wrote in the context of the evolving Church and sometimes skewed their portraits to match ecclesial interest rather than historical reality.’
‘The moral responsibility of the theologian as educator is to model a faithful critique of ecclesial reality in the service of an adult, accountable church.’
‘Similarly, the ecclesial intuitions of the Eastern and Reformed churches could become a very profitable complement to the Roman vision.’
‘This, however, helps us understand the significant role women played in certain ecclesial communities of the early church.’
‘One of the strengths of the seminary as a site for preparing lay ecclesial ministers is that it offers an early experience of collaboration.’
‘I want to flag four aspects of this research, which affect the preparation of lay ecclesial ministers.’
‘This means that its interpretation is properly ecclesial, serving the mission of the church.’
‘As old clerical models of liturgical prayer give way to genuinely ecclesial models, how will these new models relate to the inherited tradition of Anglican worship?’
‘Perhaps this is to be expected with an issue in which all ecclesial communions have such pronounced self-interests in justifying their own ecclesial orders.’
‘The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is currently preparing a document on the theological foundations of lay ecclesial ministry.’
‘Now, however, students carry out their ministry in ecclesial settings.’
‘He is, he insisted, Anglican and part of the ecclesial communion called Anglicanism.’
‘He also devoted enormous energy to the spiritual health and ecclesial discipline of other churches in north Italy, not least through his correspondence and his attendance at synods.’
‘There are, of course, other forms of authority in the Church than ecclesial ones.’
Origin
Mid 17th century (rare before the 1960s): via Old French from Greek ekklēsia ‘assembly, church’ (see ecclesiastic).
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