excommunication
noun
ex·com·mu·ni·ca·tion
ˌek-skə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən 
1
: an ecclesiastical censure depriving a person of the rights of church membership
2
: exclusion from fellowship in a group or community
Examples of excommunication in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
They are set to be bailed out in two days, and the colony’s bishop demands that the victims forgive them—or else face excommunication and be denied a spot in heaven.
—
Ruth Madievsky, The Atlantic, 20 Nov. 2024
But there are 10 narrow circumstances in which excommunication is not automatic — and Pope Francis in 2016 granted Catholic priests a right once limited to bishops: to absolve those who have had abortions.
—Jonathan M. Pitts, Baltimore Sun, 13 Oct. 2024
And in 1964, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church canceled their mutual excommunications of one another (dating back to 1054), thereby allowing interchurch dialogue to begin.
—Victor Gaetan, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2013
When Hazimi’s followers were fighting in Iraq and Syria, some of them argued that locals who had used government courts and participated in elections were infidels deserving of excommunication.
—Vera Mironova, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2017
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Ruth Madievsky, The Atlantic, 20 Nov. 2024
But there are 10 narrow circumstances in which excommunication is not automatic — and Pope Francis in 2016 granted Catholic priests a right once limited to bishops: to absolve those who have had abortions.
—Jonathan M. Pitts, Baltimore Sun, 13 Oct. 2024
And in 1964, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church canceled their mutual excommunications of one another (dating back to 1054), thereby allowing interchurch dialogue to begin.
—Victor Gaetan, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2013
When Hazimi’s followers were fighting in Iraq and Syria, some of them argued that locals who had used government courts and participated in elections were infidels deserving of excommunication.
—Vera Mironova, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2017
See all Example Sentences for excommunication
Dictionary Entries Near excommunication
Cite this Entry
“Excommunication.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excommunication. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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