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Consistory
(878 words)

A consistory (from Latin consistere, “come together, meet”) is a collegial governing body, usually of religious organizations, especially Protestant churches. In the Roman Catholic Church, a consistory is usually a formal meeting of the College of Cardinals presided over by the pope. In French-language church orders of the Reformed tradition, consistoire also denotes an ecclesiastical election body on the level of the congregation; similarly in the Reformed churches of the Netherlands, a presbytery is called a consistorie. The term has also been used for Jewi…

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Schneider, Bernd Christian, “Consistory”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_022543>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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