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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MATRIMONIAL JURISDICTION
The Church's divinely authorized right to determine the conditions under which baptized persons may validly and/or licitly receive the sacrament of matrimony. Part of this jurisdiction is the right to determine who may witness the marriage and, if necessary, what dispensations are to be granted.
