Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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OFFICE, ECCLESIASTICAL

In general, any duty that one legitimately assumes for a spiritual purpose. More technically, it is a duty established by divine or ecclesiastical ordination, conferred according to the norms of cannon law, that involves some share in ecclesiastical power, orders, or jurisdiction.