Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The right in English ecclesiastical law of presentation to a vacant benefice.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Originally, the obligation to defend an ecclesiastical office or a religious house. See
advocate of the church , under advocate. - noun In English law, the right of presentation to a vacant benefice.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Eng. Law) The right of presenting to a vacant benefice or living in the church. [Originally, the relation of a patron (
advocatus ) or protector of a benefice, and thus privileged to nominate or present to it.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun UK, law The right of presenting to a vacant
benefice or living in the church.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the right in English law of presenting a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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a hill, rose an old ruin with one tower left, and this, with half the country round it, had once belonged to the clergyman's family; but all had been sold, -- all gone piece by piece, you see, my dear, except the presentation to the living (what they call the advowson was sold too), which had been secured to the last of the family.
The Caxtons — Volume 03 Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton 1838
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Until the year 1898 there was also a third kind, known as advowson donative.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1: Aachen-Assize 1840-1916 1913
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This "advowson" (advocatio), or right to present to the benefice, is in origin an ownership of the soil upon which the church stands and an ownership of the land or goods set apart for the sustenance of the priest who serves it.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 12: Philip II-Reuss 1840-1916 1913
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This clerical mansion was large and commodious, for the living was an excellent one, and the advowson belonged to a very wealthy family in the neighbourhood, who had usually bred up a son or nephew to the church for the sake of inducting him, as opportunity offered, into this very comfortable provision.
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He had been very assiduous to pin himself upon George Prankley, who was a gentleman-commoner of Christchurch, knowing the said Prankley was heir to a considerable estate, and would have the advowson of a good living, the incumbent of which was very old and infirm.
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And it so happens that our nearest parish church is at this moment without a priest until it pleases the bishop to name his choice, for the advowson is with him.
The Confession of Brother Haluin Peters, Ellis, 1913- 1988
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And it so happens that our nearest parish church is at this moment without a priest until it pleases the bishop to name his choice, for the advowson is with him.
The Confession of Brother Haluin Peters, Ellis, 1913- 1988
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The advowson of the living was vested in the abbey, and the great church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul was equally the parish church of Holy Cross, the nave open to the people living here outside the town gates, in this growing suburb which almost considered itself a borough like the borough within the walls.
The Raven In The Foregate Peters, Ellis, 1913-1995 1986
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Monastery lent him a large sum to take him to the Holy Land, and received from him the lordship of Coventry (excepting the Manor House and Park of Cheylesmore) and the advowson of St. Michael's and its dependent chapels, thus becoming the landlords of nearly the whole of
The Churches of Coventry A Short History of the City & Its Medieval Remains Frederick W. Woodhouse
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In 1874 the advowson was sold to a private person.
The Churches of Coventry A Short History of the City & Its Medieval Remains Frederick W. Woodhouse
chained_bear commented on the word advowson
"'I was going through the mass of estate-papers with Adams... I had three advowsons and part of a fourth, with the right of presenting every third turn.'"
--O'Brian, The Truelove, 19
March 10, 2008