Profane use is a term used in the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
to refer to
closed parish churches that will no longer be used as churches. This is often done in preparation to sell the former church building to another party. In this context, ''Profane'' does not refer to
swearing, but rather to the older definition of those things that take place outside the temple.
With church buildings that are to be sold, first the sacred items (such as consecrated hosts) will be removed from the church. The
Diocesan
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
(or
Archbishop) will issue a decree stating that the church building has been relegated to profane use. This has the effect of deconsecrating the church building. Once this decree has been made the building is no longer an official church building. The diocese will sell the building for any use as long as it is not
sordid.
See also
*
Deconsecration
Deconsecration, also called secularization, is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The practice is usually performed on churches or synagogues to b ...
References
Catholic theology and doctrine
Former churches
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