EX CATHEDRA Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

ex cathedra

[ eks kuh-thee-druh, kath-i-druh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

from the seat of authority; with authority: used especially of those pronouncements of the pope that are considered infallible.

ex cathedra

/ ɛks kəˈθiːdrə /

adjective

with authority
RC Church (of doctrines of faith or morals) defined by the pope as infallibly true, to be accepted by all Catholics

ex cathedra

Descriptive term for an official pronouncement from the pope . Ex cathedra is Latin for “from the chair.” Roman Catholics believe that the pope speaks infallibly when speaking ex cathedra on questions of faith or morals, such as when Pope Pius XII declared in 1950 that Mary, the mother of Jesus , was physically taken up to heaven after her death.

Discover More

Notes

Figuratively, any authoritative pronouncement may be called “ex cathedra.”

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of ex cathedra¹

First recorded in 1810–20, ex cathedra is from Latin ex cathedrā literally, “from the chair”

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of ex cathedra¹

Latin, literally: from the chair

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Popes wield such power that they can speak ex cathedra — literally, from the papal throne — to make infallible pronouncements on morality that the faithful must obey.

From

The last time a pope issued an ex cathedra decree was in 1950, when Pius XII made the assumption of Mary into heaven an article of faith.

From

It is a conviction descended, ex cathedra, from Robert Penn Warren, in his spare masterpiece, “Tell Me a Story.”

From

He is the one who can promulgate dogma and whose papal pronouncements when speaking “ex cathedra” — with the authority of the office — on questions of faith and morals are considered infallible.

From

Which Catholics believe in the primacy of the Pope's teachings, when he is not speaking ex cathedra?

From

Related �y��vlogs

Browse