Apostolical

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Apostolic \Ap`os*tol"ic\, Apostolical \Ap`os*tol"ic*al\, a. [L.
     apostolicus, Gr. ?: cf. F. apostolique.]
     1. Pertaining to an apostle, or to the apostles, their times,
        or their peculiar spirit; as, an apostolical mission; the
        apostolic age.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. According to the doctrines of the apostles; delivered or
        taught by the apostles; as, apostolic faith or practice.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Of or pertaining to the pope or the papacy; papal.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Apostolical brief}. See under {Brief}.
  
     {Apostolic canons}, a collection of rules and precepts
        relating to the duty of Christians, and particularly to
        the ceremonies and discipline of the church in the second
        and third centuries.
  
     {Apostolic church}, the Christian church; -- so called on
        account of its apostolic foundation, doctrine, and order.
        The churches of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem
        were called apostolic churches.
  
     {Apostolic constitutions}, directions of a nature similar to
        the apostolic canons, and perhaps compiled by the same
        authors or author.
  
     {Apostolic fathers}, early Christian writers, who were born
        in the first century, and thus touched on the age of the
        apostles. They were Polycarp, Clement, Ignatius, and
        Hermas; to these Barnabas has sometimes been added.
  
     {Apostolic king} (or {majesty}), a title granted by the pope
        to the kings of Hungary on account of the extensive
        propagation of Christianity by St. Stephen, the founder of
        the royal line. It is now a title of the emperor of
        Austria in right of the throne of Hungary.
  
     {Apostolic see}, a see founded and governed by an apostle;
        specifically, the Church of Rome; -- so called because, in
        the Roman Catholic belief, the pope is the successor of
        St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, and the only
        apostle who has successors in the apostolic office.
  
     {Apostolical succession}, the regular and uninterrupted
        transmission of ministerial authority by a succession of
        bishops from the apostles to any subsequent period.
        --Hook.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  apostolical
       adj 1: proceeding from or ordered by or subject to a pope or the
              papacy regarded as the successor of the Apostles;
              "papal dispensation" [syn: {papal}, {apostolic}, {pontifical}]
       2: of or relating to or deriving from the Apostles or their
          teachings [syn: {apostolic}]