Simony

3 definitions found

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

  Simony \Sim"o*ny\, n. [F. simonie, LL. simonia, fr. Simon Magus,
     who wished to purchase the power of conferring the Holy
     Spirit. Acts viii.]
     The crime of buying or selling ecclesiastical preferment; the
     corrupt presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical benefice
     for money or reward. --Piers Plowman.


     [1913 Webster] Simoom

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  simony
       n : traffic in ecclesiastical offices or preferments

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  SIMONY, eccl. law. The selling and buying of holy orders, or an 
  ecclesiastical benefice. Bac. Ab. h.t.; 1 Harr. Dig. 556. By simony is also 
  understood an unlawful agreement to receive a temporal reward for something 
  holy or spiritual. Code, 1, 3, 31 Ayl. Parerg. 496.