canon law

noun

: the usually codified law governing a church

Examples of canon law in a Sentence

a marriage valid under Catholic canon law

Recent Examples on the Web

Eventually, Copernicus received a degree in canon law from the University of Ferrara and returned to Poland. —Danuta Hamlin, Fox News, 18 Feb. 2024

Except that Catholic canon law requires an ordained deacon or priest to say the homily at Mass, and women can be neither. —Kate Brady, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2023

Prosecutors, for their part, insisted that the defense rights had all been respected, defended the legitimacy of the trial and Francis' executive decrees and reminded lawyers that the church's canon law forms the basis of Vatican law, not Italian legislation. —Nicole Winfield, ajc, 4 Oct. 2021

The attorney, canon law specialist the Rev. Pius Pietrzyk, told the Tribune that some incidents — buying a cassock for a seminarian who couldn’t afford one, or reserving a hotel conference room where alumni of a Catholic high school club could play cards — were viewed as boundary violations. —John Keilman, chicagotribune.com, 3 Jan. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

canon law

noun

: the body of religious laws that govern a church

Legal Definition

canon law

noun

: a body of religious law governing the conduct of members of a particular faith

especially : the codified church law of the Roman Catholic Church

Note: Common law has been influenced by canon law in the areas of marriage and inheritance. Roman Catholic canon law, like the civil law, has been modeled on ancient Roman law. The source for Roman Catholic canon law is the Code of Canon Law. The Rudder (Pedalion) is a source for Greek Orthodox canon law. Jewish canon law is contained in the Talmud.