Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The buying or selling of ecclesiastical offices or of indulgences or other spiritual things.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The act or practice of trafficking in sacred things; particularly, the buying or selling of ecclesiastical preferment, or the corrupt presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical benefice for money or reward.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The crime of buying or selling ecclesiastical preferment; the corrupt presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical benefice for money or reward.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The act of
buying andselling ecclesiastical offices andpardons .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun traffic in ecclesiastical offices or preferments
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Divine laws the term simony is applicable only to the exchange of supernatural treasures for temporal advantages, its meaning has been further extended through ecclesiastical legislation.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14: Simony-Tournon 1840-1916 1913
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The term simony comes from a sorcerer named Simon Magus, who tried to bribe the Apostles into selling him their power (Acts 8: 18-20).
orrologion 2009
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(Acts 8: 9-24) The memory of his peculiar guilt has been perpetuated in the word simony, as applied to all traffic in spiritual offices.
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It had been told him that his admission into the Order had been connected with the bestowal of temporal goods, and from this comes the sin called simony, which consists in the purchase of something spiritual with something temporal.
The Life of Blessed Henry Suso by Himself. Heinrich or Suso 1865
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V with regard to episcopal elections, and passed several disciplinary decrees directed against existing abuses, such as simony and concubinage among the clergy.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson-Clairvaux 1840-1916 1913
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For this kind of simony places on a par things supernatural and things natural, things eternal and things temporal, and constitutes a sacrilegious depreciation of Divine treasures.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14: Simony-Tournon 1840-1916 1913
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They followed no definite ecclesiastico-political programme, but directed their attacks principally against individual offences such as simony, marriage of the clergy, and the uncanonical marriage of the laity.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 11: New Mexico-Philip 1840-1916 1913
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One such sin, so subtle, so dangerous, and so constantly recurring in Christian history, having taken the name of its first author and being called "simony," has been handed down from generation to generation.
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Preeminent among Luther's complaints were the practice of selling of indulgences (essentially, the selling of forgiveness for sin), the practice of "simony" (selling church positions), and the Church's policy on purgatory.
The Vail Trail - All Sections Rohn Robbins Vail, CO, Colorado 2009
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She supported synods that reformed abuses that were so prevalent at the time, such as simony and usury.
Catholic Exchange 2008
arby commented on the word simony
NOUN: The buying or selling of ecclesiastical pardons, offices, or emoluments.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English simonie, from Old French, from Late Latin simnia, after Simon Magus, a sorcerer who tried to buy spiritual powers from the Apostle Peter (Acts 8:9–24).
OTHER FORMS: simo·nist —NOUN
May 15, 2007